User:Stelio/have a thirst on

English

Etymology

From a literal translation of the Irish tá tart orm (“I'm thirsty”, literally “thirst is on me”).

Verb

have a thirst on (third-person singular simple present has a thirst on, present participle having a thirst on, simple past and past participle had a thirst on)

(Ireland, idiomatic) To be thirsty.
- 1922, James Joyce, “Episode 12”, in Ulysses:
  —Arrah, give over your bloody codding, Joe, says I. I’ve a thirst on me I wouldn’t sell for half a crown.
- 1957, Walter Starkie, “Mummers Again and a Ghost Story”, in The Road to Santiago: Pilgrims of St. James, University of California Press, published 1965, page 237:
  Now that you’ve found us it is time to wet our whistle: I’ve a thirst on me that will wait for no man.
- 2009, Allan Cole & Chris Bunch, chapter 34, in The Wars of the Shannons, America Star Books, published 2010, →ISBN:
  Come on, lads! I’ve a thirst on me like Pantagruel, the giant!

Usage notes

Typically used transitively, with the subject acting also as the object ("You have a thirst on you!"). But can also be used intransitively ("He had a thirst on.").