top of the morning

English

Etymology

A working-class phrase once popular throughout the British Isles, possibly in reference to cream rising in milk. It has been revived into popular consciousness, and is associated with Irishmen, by the film Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959).

Pronunciation

  • Audio (General Australian):(file)

Phrase

top of the morning

  1. (Ireland, New England, idiomatic, archaic, sometimes humorous) A generic, cheerful greeting said to someone in the morning.

Usage notes

  • This term should be considered archaic in regard to Irish speech and is now part of a stereotype of Irish people. While the term has been used in Ireland to some extent in the past and is currently popularly used in the United States and elsewhere when imitating Irish people, latter-day native Irish English speakers would be unlikely ever to use this phrase currently, and may consider it demeaning. See Hollywood Irish.
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