What it means
Slagging is giving someone a bit of stick, ripping them for a laugh, usually with zero malice. Done right, it is basically social glue, a way to show you are part of the gang and not too precious. If everyone goes quiet around you, that is when you should worry. Goes hand in hand with good craic.
Usage examples
"I walked into the pub and the lads started slagging me about the tan lines from Lanzarote. I just laughed and bought the next round."
"My uncle in Cork is the king of slagging at any family gathering, he can rip the head off four nephews in fifteen seconds flat and leave everyone laughing including the targets, the secret is in the timing and the absolute warmth behind every jab."
"The lads at the rugby club in Limerick start slagging the new players from the first training session in September, by November the new arrivals have nicknames they will carry until retirement, and the friendships built around them last decades after the boots are hung up."
Where it comes from
Irish English coinage from the dialect verb to slag, originally meaning to insult or mock, with possible roots in the slag of metalworking, the unwanted byproduct of furnace processing. The Irish usage softened the insult into the affectionate ribbing of friends, and the verbal noun slagging now serves as the social glue of pub conversation across the entire island and the diaspora from Boston to Sydney.
Other ways to say it
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