noun
General Slang
shoneen
· noun · irish
An Irish person who fawns over English ways.
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Definitions
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Cutting Irish term for an Irishman who apes the English — the accent, the manners, the politics. Born in the colonial era as a serious insult for the 'West Brit' type. Still used, usually by republicans, for anyone seen as too eager to please the old empire.
“Putting on the cut-glass accent the second he crosses the Irish Sea — pure shoneen.”
by community
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shoneen In A Sentence
Putting on the cut-glass accent the second he crosses the Irish Sea — pure shoneen.
Origin & Usage
From Irish 'Seoinín' — little John (i.e. little John Bull), diminutive of Seán.
Variants
Seoinín
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