noun
verb
Etymology
Origin of blarney
First recorded in 1760–70; after the hamlet Blarney, in Ireland; see Blarney stone
Explanation
Blarney refers to smooth, flattering talk and actions meant to win someone over, like when someone sweet-talks their way into getting an extra dessert. The word blarney comes from Blarney Castle in Ireland, where kissing the Blarney Stone is said to give the gift of persuasive speech. This term describes gentle and flattering words used to charm or influence someone. An example of blarney could be telling your friend they make the best cookies ever, hoping they'll bake more for you. Politicians are often known for their blarney, using it to gain support and votes.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The man known for his charm and Irish blarney — a gift for the gab — was an ardent advocate of stronger U.S.-Canadian relations.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 29, 2024
And there is a little whimsy, or perhaps a touch of blarney, in “Belfast,” though you can sense Branagh hard at work, straining to keep every impulse toward cutesiness in check.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 11, 2021
He was about 5-foot-4 and known for theatrical blarney, greeting friends with a “top o’ the morning” while on walks with his dogs.
From New York Times ● Aug. 12, 2021
With his Gaelic good looks, charisma and Irish blarney, he set up a music club, the Scene, in London’s Soho district.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 24, 2020
“You are right to laugh, Captain Short. For a while there, I did believe in all that under-the-rainbow crock-of-gold blarney, but now I know better. Now I know about the hostage fund.”
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
But their handiwork caught the eye of another Democrat, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who had come into the Nixon White House as a presidential assistant, and who blarneyed Nixon into endorsing the idea.
From Time Magazine Archive
A little group round Schilsky blarneyed and expostulated.
From Maurice Guest by Henry Handel Richardson
Then we argued among ourselves, coaxed, blarneyed, persuaded, and tried to bribe one another.
From The Ivory Trail by Talbot Mundy
He worried through arithmetic and algebra and blarneyed his French and German tutors into making them believe he knew more than he did, but the purely scientific aspects of learning did not interest him.
From Paradise Garden The Satirical Narrative of a Great Experiment by George Gibbs
Without any influence whatever, save his pleasing address and his wide education, he blarneyed the State Department out of a consulate.
From The Goose Girl by Harold MacGrath
Despite blarneying speeches by Evita, a rank & file strike started.
From Time Magazine Archive
Moore's bow over it was positively blarneying in its deference.
From The Colonel of the Red Huzzars by John Reed Scott
And I thought that man a Juggins," said Haigh, "and imagined I was blarneying and greening him ad libitum, whilst all the time he was bamboozling me—me—me, gentlemen.
From The Recipe for Diamonds by Charles John Cutcliffe Wright Hyne
Waiting for their turn, the fish-women were blarneying with customs men or idlers who stood about looking at the big fish with the curiosity of landlubbers.
From Mayflower (Flor de mayo) A Tale of the Valencian Seashore by Arthur Livingston
"A husband can show his consideration without blarneying," remarked Mrs. Watterly coldly.
From He Fell in Love with His Wife by Edward Payson Roe
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