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| The 'craic' is not quite what it seems... |
The word craic/crack is often assumed to from a vaguely distant past when Brian Boru was the High King, ruling over the Four Green Fields of Ireland. But it was not until 1972 that there was the first citation in an English language publication (Tbe Irish Independent)Nor was it a flagship entry in Irish language dictionaries. It was first popularised on RTE television programme called SBB ina Shuí which popularised the catchphrase beidh ceol, caint agus craic againn’ — we shall have music, chat and crack.
Before that Robbie Burns had used the word in his poem ‘Holy Fair’ (1785)
‘Wi’ faith an’ hope, an’ love an’ drink,/ They’re a’ in famous tune/ For crack that day.’
Is craic a loan word?
So did Burns speak Gaelic? No, he was writing in Scots - a norther English dialect - rather than Gaelic. Craic was a loanword - but from a English into Gaelic rather than reverse. It was then imported into Gaelic in the mid 20th Century.
The crack was initally slang for news or more specifically gossip. Burns 'crack that day' is meant in this sense. This usage survived the windy journey into Gaelic and back into Irish-English e.g. What's the crack over there?
This gradually morphed into an all-purpose expression to describe a good time.