Irish up

verb

To add alcohol to a drink that doesn't normally have it.

“You want me to Irish up that punch bowl for ya? No? Ha, OK — your loss!”

Similar
spike
Opposite
sober up
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verbIrish up (third-person singular simple present Irishes up, present participle Irishing up, simple past and past participle Irished up)

present singular third person Irishes up · participle present Irishing up · participle past Irished up · past Irished up

  1. informaltransitiveTo add alcohol to a drink that doesn't normally have it.

    You want me to Irish up that punch bowl for ya? No? Ha, OK — your loss!

    1 more example

    Ginger: Think you could Irish up this coffee for me? Flanders: Whoops, watch the swears, Honey Bear. We don't use the "I" word in this house.

    2002, Joel H. Cohen, “Brawl in the Family” (16:47 from the start), in The Simpsons, season 13, episode 7, spoken by Ginger

    Synonyms: spike

  2. intransitiveTo get drunk.

    Antonyms: sober up

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo add alcohol to a drink that doesn't normally have it.

Similar
spike

verbTo get drunk.

Opposite
sober up
Also see
spike

Origin

From a stereotype of Irish people as often having a drinking problem; see Wikipedia at Anti-Irish sentiment. The verb's popularization was increased by an episode of The Simpsons in 2002.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Irish up. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Irish%20up

MLA

“Irish up.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Irish%20up. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Irish up,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Irish%20up.

Source: Irish up on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.