Saturday, 13 September 2008

Very interesting...

Today I noticed on a hair-gel advertisement the name Taïg. I initially thought 'Ooo, maybe it's a variation of the name Tadhg ♥'
[Tadhg = TYEg, think Tiger.]

I typed it into Wikipedia and this came up;

Taig (also Teague, Teg and Teig) is a derogatory term for an Irish Catholic.
Rarely heard outside
Ireland and Scotland, taig is the most vitriolic slur word in use against Irish Catholics and has been used by loyalists in Northern Ireland in slogans such as "If guns are made for shooting, then skulls are made to crack. You’ve never seen a better Taig than one with a bullet in his back" and "Don’t be vague, kill a Taig".

The term is a synecdoche derived from the given name Tadhg. The Irish phrase "Tadhg an dá thaobh" (Tadhg/Timmy of both sides) predates the derogatory use of the term and is similar to the contemporary expressions "average Joe" and "man on the street".

I'm not sure if this has put me off the name or not. I'm positive it hasn't, but this wee bit of info has certainly worked as a persuasive element to push Tadhg into my second favourite name slot.

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