Words at Play : Top 10 Words from Place Names
The annual Donnybrook Fair near Dublin included fiddlers and dancers, but it was best-known for the frequent eruption of whiskey-fuelled fighting – often involving heavy clubs known as shillelaghs.
The fair was shut down in 1855, but by that time the word donnybrook had bashed its way into the language to mean a free-for-all or brawl.
Photo: AZAdam from Flickr
More Words at Play
