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Lace-curtain

Adjective for a three-decker with delusions of grandeur.
KC Black

Comments

My brandmother always says that our family (orignally from Suhmahvil) is "Lace curtian Irish".

Callahan on August 9, 2004 09:03 AM.

yar it's also a word for a kind of genteel poor irish I think. poor but lotsa pride (and conservative).

Lars on April 29, 2006 10:24 PM.

We used to call the people in Southie who lived near the beach lace-curtain Irish.

Pauline on May 4, 2006 01:32 PM.

Briefly, Lace Curtain Irish is a term that was used during the times when the Irish were being taken over by a king of some sort. The ones that were able to still afford luxuries and had time enough to make them, had lace curtains, and lace table cloths, doilies, etc, etc.

Elaine on November 19, 2006 02:00 AM.

Lace was an industry that poor women in Ireland were able to pursue whilst doing everything else required to run homes on no resources. However, like the produce and livestock raised during the Irish Famine, lace wasn't made for home use. It was only for export and the tourist trade. Thus, "lace curtain Irish" were doing well for themselves, & might well be lording it over those a rung or two lower on the immigrant ladder. I got to visit Ireland in the fall of 2005, and was more than delighted to see that every single window in every dwelling had lace in it, from brownstone to little cottage. Even empty casements in abandoned row houses still had raggedy lace curtains happily waving in the breezes coming through! Ripped & filthy, yes ~ but made of lace!

Kate Marin on November 19, 2006 11:31 AM.

Growing up in Somerville, I remember the Spring Hill area (St.Catherine's Church)being considered "lace curtain Irish" --- a bit more money than those in other sections of Som'l., such as Brickbottom etc..

Charlie Irvine on August 15, 2007 05:23 PM.

So is being called a lace curtain irish a compliment or a dig,

Carolyn Roeding on March 19, 2008 12:04 AM.

So is being called a lace curtain irish a compliment or a dig,

Carolyn Roeding on March 19, 2008 12:04 AM.

If Irish call Irish Lace Curtain, it's a compliment. From non-Irish it's an insult.

There is so much rain in Ireland, and the skies are often overcast. Lace on the windows gives some privacy yet allows the sun to shine through.

Annie Dolan on March 30, 2008 08:17 PM.

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