blarney
noun
blar·ney ˈblär-nē 
1
: skillful flattery : blandishment
2
: nonsense, humbug
blarney verb
Synonyms
- adulation
- butter
- flannel [British]
- flattery
- incense
- overpraise
- soft soap
- sweet talk
- taffy
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
She was charmed by his blarney. a tale with more than a hint of blarney
Recent Examples on the Web After years of listening to Boris Johnson’s blarney, many Britons have had their fill, at least for now, of hot air cleverly channelled. 
John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2022 This might come as a surprise given the outsized and blarney-filled headlines on social media to the contrary. Lance Eliot, Forbes, 4 June 2022 Menu: soda bread with Irish whiskey butter and fried cabbage and rashers; pork bangers and Irish colcannon with red onion gravy and blarney stones and Irish bananas. Gege Reed, The Courier-Journal, 9 Mar. 2022 The blarney is still strong here (lapsing into Irish dialect is an occupational hazard of reading him), but these characters also act. Los Angeles Times, 18 Feb. 2022 Around the Cedars campus and among the Ross neighbors, Mulligan was known for his blarney, with a joke and a laugh for everyone. Sam Whiting, San Francisco Chronicle, 11 Nov. 2021 The result feels like a film filtered less through real life than the rosy lens of sentiment and memory: a soft-focus Irish fairy tale bathed in love and blarney and a whole lot of warbling Van Morrison. Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, 4 Sep. 2021 The 36-year Senate veteran with a touch of the Irish blarney and the on-message, one-term senator took time to warm to each other. Rob Crilly, Washington Examiner, 19 Mar. 2021 These reasons for opposing this vanguard of Warren/Sanders/Harris socialism, for objecting to this doddering culmination of a half-century of hackery and blarney, elicit varying degrees of disqualification and rage-inducement. Jack Fowler, National Review, 30 Oct. 2020 See More
John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2022 This might come as a surprise given the outsized and blarney-filled headlines on social media to the contrary. Lance Eliot, Forbes, 4 June 2022 Menu: soda bread with Irish whiskey butter and fried cabbage and rashers; pork bangers and Irish colcannon with red onion gravy and blarney stones and Irish bananas. Gege Reed, The Courier-Journal, 9 Mar. 2022 The blarney is still strong here (lapsing into Irish dialect is an occupational hazard of reading him), but these characters also act. Los Angeles Times, 18 Feb. 2022 Around the Cedars campus and among the Ross neighbors, Mulligan was known for his blarney, with a joke and a laugh for everyone. Sam Whiting, San Francisco Chronicle, 11 Nov. 2021 The result feels like a film filtered less through real life than the rosy lens of sentiment and memory: a soft-focus Irish fairy tale bathed in love and blarney and a whole lot of warbling Van Morrison. Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, 4 Sep. 2021 The 36-year Senate veteran with a touch of the Irish blarney and the on-message, one-term senator took time to warm to each other. Rob Crilly, Washington Examiner, 19 Mar. 2021 These reasons for opposing this vanguard of Warren/Sanders/Harris socialism, for objecting to this doddering culmination of a half-century of hackery and blarney, elicit varying degrees of disqualification and rage-inducement. Jack Fowler, National Review, 30 Oct. 2020 See More Word History
Etymology
Blarney stone, a stone in Blarney Castle, near Cork, Ireland, held to bestow skill in flattery on those who kiss it
First Known Use
1780, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Geographical Definition
Blarney
geographical name
Blar·ney ˈblär-nē
town in County Cork, southwestern Ireland population 1952
blarney 1 of 2
noun
1
as in butter
excessive praise laid the blarney on thick in order to get special treatment from the waitress Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- butter
- flattery
- praise
- taffy
- adulation
- sweet talk
- acclaim
- soft soap
- adoration
- incense
- flannel
- applause
- blandishments
- endearments
- compliments
- overpraise
- caresses
- respects
- fawning
- felicitations
- greetings
- congratulations
- cajolery
- sycophancy
- regards
- smarm
- allurements
- worship
- toadying
- ingratiation
- idolatry
- commendation
- cajolement
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- disparagement
- detraction
- depreciation
- belittlement
- put-down
- bad-mouthing
2
as in nonsense
language, behavior, or ideas that are absurd and contrary to good sense his excuse was his usual blarney about how he'd love to help out but he was just so darned busy Synonyms & Similar Words
- nonsense
- nuts
- rubbish
- silliness
- garbage
- drool
- blah
- stupidity
- hokum
- balderdash
- guff
- baloney
- blither
- malarkey
- twaddle
- muck
- folderol
- bunkum
- blather
- poppycock
- piffle
- claptrap
- hogwash
- blatherskite
- hooey
- jazz
- tosh
- tommyrot
- bunk
- fudge
- falderal
- buncombe
- trumpery
- flapdoodle
- foolishness
- codswallop
- boloney
- humbuggery
- fiddle
- bull
- crock
- fiddlesticks
- malarky
- crapola
- beans
- craziness
- insanity
- trash
- bilge
- punk
- madness
- humbug
- blah-blah
- drivel
- horsefeathers
- folly
- bosh
- rot
- moonshine
- taradiddle
- tarradiddle
- absurdity
- fiddle-faddle
- applesauce
- hoodoo
- flannel
- nerts
- greek
- hokeypokey
- idiocy
- tomfoolery
- senselessness
- absurdness
- foolery
- slush
- inanity
- asininity
- lunacy
- witlessness
- fatuity
- kookiness
- gas
- imbecility
- rigmarole
- hocus-pocus
- inaneness
- monkey business
- monkeyshine(s)
- double-talk
- hoity-toity
- hot air
- shenanigan(s)
- rigamarole
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- sensibleness
- reasonableness
- rationality
- sense
- wisdom
- reasonability
- levelheadedness
- horse sense
- discernment
- judgment
- judgement
- common sense
blarney
2 of 2verb
1
as in to coax
to get (someone) to do something by gentle urging, special attention, or flattery attendants at the nursing home sometimes have to blarney the patients to take their medicine Synonyms & Similar Words
- coax
- blandish
- palaver
- wheedle
- cajole
- lure
- woo
- seduce
- sweet-talk
- charm
- beg
- entice
- urge
- massage
- adulate
- soft-soap
- overpraise
- beseech
- wile
- butter up
- importune
- tempt
- flatter
- wangle
- cozen
- juggle
- beguile
- finagle
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- tease
- cow
- bug
- harass
- nag
- intimidate
- force
- pester
- bully
- demand
- coerce
- require
- browbeat
- oblige
- compel
- make
- constrain
- bulldoze
2
as in to honey
to praise too much an eager, young assistant who blarneys the boss shamelessly Synonyms & Similar Words
- honey
- adulate
- praise
- puff
- massage
- stroke
- butter up
- overpraise
- congratulate
- applaud
- commend
- blandish
- woo
- wheedle
- coax
- flatter
- toady
- belaud
- soft-soap
- cajole
- fawn
- kowtow
- compliment
- hero-worship
- sweet-talk
- slobber
- laud
- gush
- extol
- extoll
- ingratiate
- eulogize
- slaver
- romance
- idolize
- endear
- suck (up to)
- worship
- drool
- felicitate
- court
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- disparage
- decry
- put down
- depreciate
- belittle
- bad-mouth