My ma told me my da’s called her ‘a woman of capernosity and function’ for decades, she never knew where it was from—and neither did he. It is of course a Brendan Behan-ism.
Quoted in the book, Brendan Behan's Island (1962): ‘My grandmother was a woman of capernosity and function. She had money and lay in bed all day, drinking porter or malt, taking pinches of snuff, and talking to the neighbours.’
#irishism #mastadondaoine #ireland