blarney

[ blahr-nee ]
See synonyms for: blarneyblarneyedblarneying on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. flattering or wheedling talk; cajolery.

  2. deceptive or misleading talk; nonsense; hooey: a lot of blarney about why he was broke.

verb (used with or without object),blar·neyed, blar·ney·ing.
  1. to flatter or wheedle; use blarney: He blarneys his boss with the most shameless compliments.

Origin of blarney

1
First recorded in 1760–70; after the hamlet Blarney, in Ireland; see Blarney stone

Words Nearby blarney

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use blarney in a sentence

  • The Irish race appear to have kissed the blarney stone in globo.

    My New Curate | P.A. Sheehan
  • We'll send Travers back with a little collection, to fix it up with the farmer, and blarney him out of taking any action.

    Tramping on Life | Harry Kemp
  • One passes on the way to the wildwood, where everybody goes as often as may be,—a so-called "blarney stone."

    Over the Rocky Mountains to Alaska | Charles Warren Stoddard
  • There is deposited the celebrated blarney stone, a touch of which imparts to the tongue of the pilgrim the gift of persuasion.

    The Felon's Track | Michael Doheny
  • But if he'll be so quick with his tongue in Tralee Market, he'll chance on one here and there that he'll not blarney so easily!

    The Wild Geese | Stanley John Weyman

British Dictionary definitions for blarney

blarney

/ (ˈblɑːnɪ) /


noun
  1. flattering talk

verb
  1. to cajole with flattery; wheedle

Origin of blarney

1
C19: after the Blarney Stone

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for blarney

blarney

Smooth, flattering talk, often nonsensical or deceptive. Based on an Irish legend that those who kiss the Blarney Stone will become skilled in flattery.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.