top of the morning

English

Etymology

A working-class phrase once popular throughout the British Isles, possibly in reference to cream rising in milk. Revived into popular consciousness, and associated with Irishmen, by the 1959 film Darby O'Gill and the Little People.

A jovial leprechaun, stereotypically linked with the phrase "top of the morning!".

Pronunciation

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Phrase

top of the morning

1. (Ireland, New England, idiomatic, archaic, sometimes humorous) A generic, cheerful greeting said to someone in the morning.

Usage notes

This term should be considered archaic in regard to Irish speech and is now part of a stereotype of Irish people. While the term has been used in Ireland to some extent in the past and is currently popularly used in the United States and elsewhere when imitating Irish people, latter-day native Irish English speakers would be unlikely ever to use this phrase currently. See Hollywood Irish.

Related terms

• top of the hour