top of the morning
English edit
Etymology edit
A working-class phrase once popular throughout the British Isles, possibly in reference to cream rising in milk. Revived into popular consciousness, and associated with Irishmen, by the 1959 film Darby O'Gill and the Little People.
Pronunciation edit
Audio (AU) (file)
Phrase edit
- (Ireland, New England, idiomatic, archaic, sometimes humorous) A generic, cheerful greeting said to someone in the morning.
Usage notes edit
This term should be considered apocryphal of Irish speech and is a stereotype. While popularly used in the United States when imitating Irish people, or when celebrating one's Irish heritage (e.g. on St. Patrick's Day), latter-day native Hiberno-English speakers would be unlikely ever to use this phrase. See Hollywood Irish.