David did an Irish goodbye last night at the bar.

My comments:

To do an Irish goodbye is for David to leave the bar without saying “Goodbye” to anyone whom he’s been drinking with.

I am not 100 percent certain but am pretty sure this phrase originated in the Irish bar, or pub. The Irish, among other things, love to drink. They drink a lot and, as a result, many get drunk.

And when you’re drunk, you don’t often remember to say “Goodbye” properly to everyone you know before you leave.

If you remember any social etiquette at all, that is.

Understandable?

Anyways, to do the Irish goodbye is to take your leave without uttering the usual niceties.

Perhaps the Irish know better. When your tongues are stiff, the usual niceties will not sound so nice after all.

Related stories:

In the wind

Try-angle

kicking up a fuss about

The coin of the realm

Toy with the idea of

Winner-take-all

Go with the moment

One throat to choke

Miss the boat

Shoe-in

Spotting and eliminating "pork"

All Greek to me

Have sth on the fire

Hard sell

Sold-out house

All bark and no bite

Leave money on the table

Boots on the ground

Jailbreak

Boots on the ground

Common thread

A fact of life

Leave no stone unturned

Train wreck

Keep up with Joneses

Finishing touch

No great shakes

Warts and all

Catch -22 situation

Pull-up trey

I'm sold

Flip-flop

Sit on its hands

Casing the joint

Free rein

Bear the brunt of

Cross one’s path

Tribute projects

Off the beaten track

At the forefront of

Seat warmer

The rule of the jungle

On-the-go

Go to Zhang Xin's column

本文僅代表作者本人觀點(diǎn)，與本網(wǎng)立場(chǎng)無關(guān)。歡迎大家討論學(xué)術(shù)問題，尊重他人，禁止人身攻擊和發(fā)布一切違反國家現(xiàn)行法律法規(guī)的內(nèi)容。

About the author:

Zhang Xin（張欣） has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.