Sir, – In my Washington days I was invariably greeted by the late Speaker Tip O’Neill with “Top of the mornin to ya”, to which (he instructed me) the appropriate response was “And the best of the rest of the day to ya”. – Yours, etc,
SEÁN DONLON,
Co Clare.
Sir, – An old acquaintance when asked “How are you doing?” would respond “Sittin’ up and takin’ an egg” – as good a description of rude good health as I have heard. – Yours, etc,
MIKE O’SHEA,
Killarney, Co Kerry.
Sir, – My father’s friend when asked how he was, would reply, “Not bad considering the alternative”. – Yours, etc,
JOHN KELLY,
Dublin 9.
Sir, – A general greeting in Waterford is “Well?”. To be answered by “Well!” or “Well?”, depending on the mood. – Yours, etc,
JOHN MCKEOWN,
Waterford.
A chara, –In Dundalk, people greet each other with nothing more elaborate than a simple “Well!”. But when I was growing up there in the 1960s, and even into the 1970s, an adult man passing a young boy in the street would always proffer an avuncular “Well, avick!”. This is of course Irish a mhic, the vocative of mac, “son”, an odd expression to have survived in this former garrison town, northernmost bastion of the medieval Pale.– Is mise,
SEÁN DUFFY,
Cabinteely, Dublin 18.
Sir, – Being a “read-aholic” and blessed with friends of a like ilk, my favourite form of greeting is “What are you reading?”.
The answer is usually informative, interesting or argumentative. All more interesting than the weather or one’s health. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN GRAHAM,
Dublin 13.
Sir, – Some years ago I heard the following salutation between two gentlemen out for their constitutional in a Tipperary town. “Stepping it out,” said one as they passed each other. “Bacon and cabbage” replied the other. – Yours, etc,
URSULA EGAN,
Ovens,
Co Cork.
Sir, – While living in the town of Katherine in Australia’s Northern Territory in the 1980s, one local greeted me each time we met with the words “Whadya know, mate?”. – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL CULLEN,
Sandycove, Co Dublin.