Without doubt the hardest working word in Irish-English has to be “grand”. This modest five-letter word has served us faithfully, without complaint, and with remarkable facility in all sorts of situations for more years than most of us care to be reminded about. For who wants to recall the speed at which time is passing, even as all remains, well, grand?
Indeed, in my own opinion, it is beyond time the great service of this word was acknowledged and honoured by us grateful if still indomitable Irish for its consistent and ongoing service – when all other words fail us or are deemed unnecessary.
Yes, there are protests from those many other words it has rendered redundant and their vociferous supporters, but it is a fundamental truth in the dog-eat-dog world of competing vocabularies that whichever word works hardest, across so many meanings, in so many contexts will, inevitably, win favour among the greatest number. It is the democracy of language, after all, before which all bow.
This is easy to understand. What word other than “grand” can simultaneously mean “good”, “very good”, “bad”, “okay”, “not okay”, “feeling all right”, “going for a pint?”, “staying in tonight”, “I’ll do that”, “I might do that”, “you’ll do that”, “the weather is...”, “the economy might be...”, “being from Roscommon is...”
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American writer F Scott Fitzgerald once said that “the ability to hold two opposing ideas in the mind at the same time while retaining the ability to function is a hallmark of first-rate intelligence”. You could say it’s a definition of “grand”.
That other great intellect, though of the 19th century, Humpty Dumpty (of Through the Looking Glass) was also near the mark, as in: “When I use a word,“ he said, in rather a scornful tone, ”it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less." “The question is,” said Alice (poor Alice), “whether you can make words mean so many different things." “The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master - that’s all.”
[ We should ban the word ‘grand’ before we go madOpens in new window ]
“Grand” means what the person using it intends, nothing more, nothing less? And yet, though its meaning rests entirely with the person using it, the one listening understands perfectly what is meant, context being all. Isn’t it grand?
Grand – beyond explanation outside this island but perfectly understood by Irish people.
