Faigh réidh leis! - Get Rid of It!

Get rid of it!

To talk about getting rid of something in Irish we use the word ‘réidh’ - (which also means ‘ready’ of course).

Faigh réidh leis an seanchóta sin! Ní fheileann sé duit ar chor ar bith!

Get rid of that old coat! It doesn’t suit you at all! (‘faigh réidh le- literally ‘get ready with’)

Ná faigh réidh leis an leabhar sin. Ba mhaith liom é a léamh uair amháin eile.

Don’t get rid of that book. I would like to read it one more time.

Tá sé in am agat fáil réidh leis an diabhal rud!

It’s time for you to get rid of the damn thing!

Another way to get rid of something is to throw it out…

Fuair sí réidh leis na seanleabhair agus chaith sí sa mbruscar iad.

She got rid of the old books and threw them in the bin.

Chaith mé amach gach píosa éadaigh nach raibh caite agam le bliain.

I threw out every bit of clothes that I hadn’t worn for a year.

(Notice that ‘caith’ can mean ‘throw’ - but also ‘wear’ (caite - worn))

Unwanted visitors!

You might want to see the back of someone or get rid of unwanted visitors sometime. There are a few ways to talk about this…

Chuir mé an ruaig air dhá mhí ó shin.

I got shot of him two months ago.

(‘ruaig’ means ‘chase’, and it can also be used as a verb:)

Ruaigeadh amach as an áit iad.

They were chased out of the place

Back to the visitors - you hardly want to chase them away, but they might be ‘turned away’…

Chuir mé ó dhoras é

I sent him off (lit. I put him away from the door - I didn’t let him in)

Thug mé bóthar dó

I sent him packing (lit. I gave him the road)

Thug an Taoiseach bóthar don Aire

The Taoiseach got rid of the Minister

If someone is being sent packing acrimoniously then they don’t just get the ‘bóthar’ …

Thug sí bata agus bóthar dó an bhliain seo caite

She gave him the boot last year (‘bata’ - a stick)