gobshite

Gobshite is a vulgar slang term for a mean, despicable person, especially someone who brags a lot.

Gobshite can also mean a stupid or incompetent person.

Gobshite is chiefly Irish slang, but it is used by people throughout the British Isles. Because it’s a vulgar term, it’s much more likely to be used in informal writing or speech.

The first records of the term gobshite come from around 1946. It combines the word gob, a British slang word for “mouth,” and the word shite, a British variation of the word shit, a vulgar word meaning “feces” or “excrement.” A gobshite is figuratively making excrement come out of their mouth by making worthless boasts.

Today, gobshite is not considered to be as unacceptable as it once was. However, you are likely to see it used alongside a variety of other crass or vulgar language.

Gobshite is rarely used by Americans. In fact, it became a minor news story in Ireland when The New York Times used it for the first time ever in June 2020 while quoting Irish novelist Roddy Doyle.

What are some words that share a root or word element with gobshite?

• gob
• gobsmacked
• gob-stopper

What are some words that often get used in discussing gobshite?

• vulgar
• rude
• unkind

Which of the following words is a synonym of gobshite?

A. friend
B. braggart
C. sister
D. thief