Irish colloquialisms: "gombeen".
A gombeen man is a pejorative Hiberno-English term used in Ireland for a shady, small-time "wheeler-dealer" businessman or politician who is always looking to make a quick profit, often at someone else's expense or through the acceptance of bribes. Its origin is the Irish word "gaimbín", meaning monetary interest. The term referred originally to a money-lender and became associated with those shopkeepers and merchants who exploited the starving during the Irish Famine by selling much-needed food and goods on credit at ruinous interest rates.
Replies (14)
Synonyms: Shady cunt, cute hoore, someone you couldn't watch with a bag of eyes .
Is Tinker in common usage?
They're trying to do the whole hatespeech bollox on it , but yes , it is.
I wouldn't a tinker a tinker to their face if you want to have a face yourself.
*wouldn't call
I don't view it as derogatory myself , it refers to the old travelling trade of being a "tin smith" , which was held in high regard by country folk in need of repairs.
I know someone Irish who uses it as a term of affectionate p much, but I have heard it is considered (very) rude.
Her cat is called Tinker. I think it just sounds like it should be a nice thing lol.
To the travellers chances are you'll offend , best to stay your tongue.
The only other group that gets offended by the word tinker is middle to upper class snobs who habitually censor speech and police behavior on behalf of minorities who never asked them to , don't need them too , and really rather that they wouldn't.
Regardless of what the word has become , traditionally it was similar to calling an electrician a "sparky" or a carpenter a "chippy" , you called a tin-smith a "tinker".
It only became derogatory after the travellers lost their identity as tin smiths , with the mass production of goods and so on , that the word took on a mocking tone.
In the UK a traveller is more likely to be called a pikey anyhow.
My grandmother affectionately refers to me as her tinker grandson on account of me hitchhiking in my youth.
There wasn't an ounce of badness in her.
Interesting that it is a word on the naught list radar tho, suppose I would never have known, pretty localised to your parts.
NGO's turn vulgar speech into illegal speech.
I can't stand the cunts .
