Meanings
plural Irish goodbyes
- USA hasty exit made without saying farewells to anybody.
to pull an Irish goodbye
3 more examples
If you get cornered, make like Hotspur in Henry IV, Part One. Say, “‘O gentlemen, the time of life is short!’”. Then swoop off into the next room and quickly pull an Irish goodbye.
2015, Sarah Knight, The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F**k, Hachette UK, →ISBNSo I pulled an Irish goodbye. Up and left before anyone realized I was gone. Thinking back on that now, I regret it.
2016, Rob Hart, South Village, Polis Books, →ISBNIt seemed I had flawlessly executed the Irish goodbye without even trying. All I had left to do was leave.
2023, Joey Hartstone, The Local, Pushkin Press, →ISBNSynonyms: Irish exit, French leave
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA hasty exit made without saying farewells to anybody.
Origin
The ethnicity has been swappable depending on the time and place of the speakers; more at French leave.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
French partir à l'anglaise
- partir à l'anglaiseFrench exit — see also French exit
Polish wyjść po angielsku
- wyjść po angielskuFrench exit — see also French exit
Russian уйти по-английски
- уйти по-английски (ujti po-anglijski)French exit — see also French exit
Cite this entry
Irish goodbye. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Irish%20goodbye
“Irish goodbye.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Irish%20goodbye. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Irish goodbye,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Irish%20goodbye.
Source: Irish goodbye on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.