Craic

Craic or crack is a term for fun, entertainment, and enjoyable conversation, particularly prominent in Ireland. It is often used with the definite article - the craic. Another sense of crack, found in the north of England, is "news, gossip", which influences the common Irish expression "What's the crack?" or "How's the crack?", meaning "how are you?", "how have you been?", or "have you any news?" The context involving 'news' and 'gossip' originated in Northern English and the Scots language. This sense entered into Hiberno-English from the Ulster Scots dialect in Northern Ireland, some time in the mid-20th century. or from 1955, "the Duke pulled the bolt on the door of the piggery, and let Coogan's old sow out...The Duke had been sitting on top of Kelly's gate watching the crack." It can frequently be found in the work of twentieth century Ulster writers such as Brian Friel (1980): You never saw such crack in your life, boys and Jennifer Johnston (1977): I'm sorry if I muscled in on Saturday. Did I spoil your crack? .
Like many other words over the centuries, 'crack' was borrowed into the Irish language with the Gaelicized spelling craic. and was popularized in the catchphrase 'Beidh ceol, caint agus craic againn' ('We'll have music, chat and craic'), used by Seán Bán Breathnach for his Irish-language chatshow SBB ina Shuí, broadcast on RTÉ from 1976 to 1982. The Irish spelling was soon reborrowed into English, and is attested in publications from the 1970s and '80s. However, The Dubliners' 2006 version adopts the Irish spelling. Now, 'craic' is interpreted as a specifically and quintessentially Irish form of fun. The adoption of the Gaelic spelling has reinforced the sense that this is an independent word (homophone) rather than a separate sense of the original word (polysemy). Frank McNally of The Irish Times has said of the word, "ost Irish people now have no idea it's foreign."
Criticism of the spelling craic
The spelling craic has attracted some criticism. English language specialist Diarmaid Ó Muirithe wrote in his Irish Times column "The Words We Use" that "the constant Gaelicisation of the good old English-Scottish dialect word crack as craic sets my teeth on edge." In his Companion to Irish Traditional Music, Fintan Vallely suggests that use of craic in English is largely an exercise on the part of Irish-themed pubs to make money through the commercialisation of traditional Irish music.
However, regardless of the foregoing, and despite the protestations from certain branches of traditional linguistic academics, the concept of evolutionary linguistics means that for current and future generations young and old, "craic" is now and will be considered a quintessentially Irish concept. If anything, this is amplified by the Gaelicisation of its spelling. In realistic terms, this is unlikely to be affected by an exposé of the term's ostensible foreign origins in an academic arena or otherwise.
Sociology
The craic has become a vital part of Irish culture. In a 2011 review of the modern Irish information economy, information sciences professor Eileen M. Trauth notes craic as an intrinsic part of the culture of sociability that distinguished the Irish workplace from those of other countries. Trauth found that even as Ireland transitions away from an economy and society dominated by agriculture, the traditional importance of atmosphere and the art of conversation - craic - remains, and that the social life is a fundamental part of workers' judgment of quality of life.
Critics have accused the Irish tourism industry and the promoters of Irish theme pubs of marketing 'commodified craic' as a kind of stereotypical Irishness.

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