Irish English meaning
giving out
Scolding, complaining to, or expressing anger at someone.
Uses your device’s built-in voice. Pronunciation is approximate because available voices and ireland pronunciation vary.
Meaning
In Irish English, giving out commonly means complaining, scolding, reprimanding, or speaking angrily to someone rather than distributing something.
Pronunciation and grammar
/ˌɡɪvɪŋ ˈaʊt/ · phrasal verb
Variants: give out
Everyday informal Hiberno-English.
How it is used
It often appears with to or about: someone may be giving out to a child, or giving out about a delay or problem.
Examples
Local: She was giving out to us for being late.
Plain English: She was scolding us for being late.
Local: He spent the morning giving out about the traffic.
Plain English: He spent the morning complaining about the traffic.
Important context
Outside Ireland, give out is more likely to mean distribute, emit, or stop functioning, so the Irish sense can be misunderstood.