Irish up

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Irish up

Where it comes from

From a stereotype of Irish people as often having a drinking problem; see Wikipedia at Anti-Irish sentiment. The verb's popularization was increased by an episode of The Simpsons in 2002.

verb Irishes up · Irishing up · Irished up

informal, transitive To add alcohol to a drink that doesn't normally have it. You want me to Irish up that punch bowl for ya? No? Ha, OK — your loss!
Similar: spike
intransitive To get drunk.
Opposite: sober up

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MLA

"Irish up." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/irish%20up. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

Irish up. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/irish%20up

Chicago

"Irish up." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/irish%20up.

BibTeX

@misc{irish_up_2026,
  title = {Irish up},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/irish%20up},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}