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Glite Dictionary
Blarney Stone

Blarney Stone

1 8.1
A stone at Blarney Castle in Ireland that people kiss to speak in a fluent, pleasant way
  • noun
  • /ˈblɑrni stoʊn/
  • Literature
translation icon : Piedra de Blarney
  • Have you ever considered kissing the Blarney Stone during your trip to Blarney Castle?
  • kiss the Blarney Stone

Examples

  • Legend says that if you kiss the Blarney Stone, you will be endowed with persuasive powers.

  • Many tourists visit Ireland each year to kiss the Blarney Stone and gain the gift of eloquent speech.

  • But no time to kiss the Blarney Stone, boys.

    Penguins of Madagascar (2014)

  • Have you ever kissed the Blarney Stone?

    Lolita (1962)

  • I think she must have kissed the Blarney Stone.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • That has the ring of the Blarney Stone, Father O'Shea.

    The Left Hand of God (1955)

  • Hey, the Blarney Stone.

    The Eternal (1998)

Surface Forms

Blarney Stone singular
Blarney Stones plural

Morphology

Blarney + stone

This is opaque because 'Blarney' is a proper name with no lexical meaning for learners and the legendary property (bestowing eloquence when kissed) cannot be inferred from the literal word 'stone'. Understanding this MWE requires specific cultural/encyclopedic knowledge about Blarney Castle rather than compositional analysis of the constituents.

Etymology

Blarney Stone is a real stone in Blarney Castle, Ireland, and one popular story says that anyone who kisses the stone receives the gift of 'speaking well'. That picture of kissing the stone to gain the power to talk smoothly is why the name now means clever or flattering speech.