Irish Slanguage: Just got back from Dublin. Today we begin a weekly feature on Nuggets (for as long as my attention span allows) highlighting a bit of colloquial English spoken by the Irish. I'll be picking a word or phrase from a wonderful book entitled "Slanguage: A dictionary of Irish slang." My thanks to its author Bernard Share.

"Biting at a bare hook": "Financially straitened."

My Suggested Usage: Once a dotcom millionaire, the poor slob was now biting at a bare hook."