Friday, June 7, 2013

Grand v. Good

Five months later and I have finally deciphered the Irish (and more specifically, Dublin) saying of "Grand" (pronounced "grawnd" and usually used in the following sense "You're grand!") as opposed to "Good" (usually used in the following sense "It's good, isn't it?").

"You're grand" just means -- "No problem. It's okay. You're fine." As in oops, I bumped into someone and in response "You're grand!"

As opposed to when we were at the Bodhran session and raved about it. In response, the teacher said "It's good, isn't it?"

As Americans, we see "grand" as a very "grand" word. A word that would describe an avenue, or a huge event. Not just -- it's okay!

Figuring out this difference has made a world of difference.

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