Meanings
bicycle Irish1
alternative Bicycle Irish
- derogatoryoffensivepluralplural onlyslanguncommonContemptible or unpleasant individuals of Irish heritage.
The Bicycle Irish give you a sore ass. And they're mean. Nobody meaner. Or smaller. Watch for them.
1981, Eugene C. Kennedy, Father's Day, A Novel, page 983 more examples
Emma fell for it and we really laughed when I told her Bicycle Irish were the kind that made your ass tired.
1965, Benjamin Bluitt, “Gift, A Short Story”, in Negro Digest, volume 14, number 7, page 54Then he grinned and said, "Bicycle Irish are professional Irishmen who are a pain in the ass." Kimberly laughed at Ron's joke.
1989, Robert Coram, Drug Warriors, page 171My dad used to say that Aunt Ruth was "bicycle" Irish." "They're the kind that makes your butt tired".
2010, Dennis E. Ekardt, Every Life Is A Story and This Is Mine, A Memoir and Recollections, page 16
Bicycle Irish2
- pluralplural onlyAlternative letter-case form of bicycle Irish
Origin
From bicycle + Irish. So named because the seat of a bicycle often causes a pain in the rear, i.e. a pain in the ass.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
bicycle Irish. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bicycle%20Irish
“bicycle Irish.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bicycle%20Irish. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bicycle Irish,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bicycle%20Irish.
Source: bicycle Irish on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.