People who talk “blarney” are saying things they do not mean. Usually the expression blarney is applied to flattery designed to gain a favor.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Then it's the Blarney stone and four generations of one family living in the same house.
From The Guardian • Mar. 18, 2013
The timekeepers must have kissed the Blarney stone.
From Time Magazine Archive
But by the time the structure was completed and topped by a little china match-safe in the shape of a cupid, to represent the Blarney stone, she was ready for her part of the performance.
From The Little Colonel's Chum: Mary Ware by Barry, Etheldred B. (Etheldred Breeze)
It was averred that, like the majority of his countrymen, he must have kissed the famous Blarney stone which communicates to the lips which have pressed it the gift of suave falsehood.
From Garrick's Pupil by Filon, Auguston
Sylvia blushed once more, from mortification this time, and registered a vow to adopt a new tone with this disciple of the Blarney stone, and put an end forthwith to sentimental confidences.
From More about Pixie by Groome, William H. C.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
