Emergency means: World War II as experienced in Ireland.. The word is mostly archaic or historical; you will only encounter it in old texts, period drama, or school history rather than current teen conversation. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than risky behaviour. If your teen uses it, context will usually make the intent clear. A short, curious question about where they heard it is usually all that is needed to know whether to follow up.
Emergency
(historical, Ireland) World War II as experienced in Ireland.
Seen in the wild
10 citations · last seen May 2026
Seen in the wild
BlueskyMay 2026
do what i do and just emergency mute everything permanently it does wonders for your cortisol and blood pressure
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BlueskyMay 2026
An independent review of surgical operations carried out on children by Kuldeep Stohr at Addenbrooke’s Hospital is being extended to cover additional emergency procedures. healthcaretoday.com/article/adde... #Health…
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BlueskyMay 2026
I was taking empties to Uckfield once and I saw a herd of deer coming across the fields...oh shit! Put the unit in emergency brake and it stopped just as they all shot across the track a few metres ahead of me.
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BlueskyMay 2026
Broken device while out shopping? No problem. Gary's Tech Hub offers emergency express repairs — most devices fixed in under 1 hour while you shop at Killiney Shopping Centre. Walk-ins welcome!
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BlueskyMay 2026
I do, but at scale 80-90% of systems are replaced in an emergency so we have to play it where it lies. Also few Insulation contractors are truly good at air sealing. I just spent a decade trying to solve for both of…
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Definitions
#1·Apr 27, 2026
(historical, Ireland) World War II as experienced in Ireland.
Indeed, Northern Ireland held a substantial U.S. military presence for much of the war; American soldiers were by no means uncommon on the streets of some Irish towns and cities during the Emergency.
Origin: Sense 2 referred to the conflict between the British and Malaysians against communist guerillas, because London-based insurers would not pay out in instances of civil wars. Origin information sourced from Wiktionary contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0).
For parents
Emergency means: World War II as experienced in Ireland.. The word is mostly archaic or historical; you will only encounter it in old texts, period drama, or school history rather than current teen conversation. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than risky behaviour. If your teen uses it, context will usually make the intent clear. A short, curious question about where they heard it is usually all that is needed to know whether to follow up.
For ESL learners
Emergency means: World War II as experienced in Ireland.. Register: informal, Irish English. Often not understood outside its region; gloss the word on first use when writing for an international audience. A common learner mistake is using the word in a register it does not fit, or assuming a single global meaning; native speakers immediately notice when slang appears in formal contexts, so always check the surrounding register before producing it yourself.
Heard in the wild
“Ring ring Dispatcher: what's your emergency? Me: some lady told me there's people kicking off in the car park Dispatcher: in what way? Me: I don't know, she didn't want to get involved and thought telling me to do it would relieve her of her personal responsibility to society”
— Bluesky· May 2026“HRT is SLUT I LAGER?!? Like my arla yogurt? Is this a Hormuz thing or a "oh we sold all the emergency pandemic supplies off oopsie" or... 🫠🫂”
— Bluesky· May 2026“🟡 AviationIncident | 8/10 🇶🇦 KC-135 squawks 7700 near Qatar A US Air Force KC-135 tanker aircraft squawked emergency code 7700 while flying near Qatar #OSINT #USAF #AviationIncident”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Russian forces killed two Ukrainian rescuers and wounded dozens more in a deliberate repeated strike on emergency workers responding to an initial attack on a gas production facility in Poltava Oblast overnight, regional authorities and Ukraine’s Interior Ministry reported.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Do you know what actually delays ambulances, normal, accepted everyday driving. Driving also requires 1000s of ambulances per day to be called. If we care about emergency service response time we should only be talking about cycling as being helpful.”
— Bluesky· May 2026
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#2·Apr 27, 2026
(historical, Malaysia, euphemistic) the Malayan Emergency as experienced in Malaysia.
Indeed, Northern Ireland held a substantial U.S. military presence for much of the war; American soldiers were by no means uncommon on the streets of some Irish towns and cities during the Emergency.
Cluster: general
Heard in the wild
“do what i do and just emergency mute everything permanently it does wonders for your cortisol and blood pressure”
— Bluesky· May 2026“An independent review of surgical operations carried out on children by Kuldeep Stohr at Addenbrooke’s Hospital is being extended to cover additional emergency procedures. healthcaretoday.com/article/adde... #Healthcare #PublicHealth #Enquiry #PatientSafety”
— Bluesky· May 2026“I was taking empties to Uckfield once and I saw a herd of deer coming across the fields...oh shit! Put the unit in emergency brake and it stopped just as they all shot across the track a few metres ahead of me.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Broken device while out shopping? No problem. Gary's Tech Hub offers emergency express repairs — most devices fixed in under 1 hour while you shop at Killiney Shopping Centre. Walk-ins welcome!”
— Bluesky· May 2026“I do, but at scale 80-90% of systems are replaced in an emergency so we have to play it where it lies. Also few Insulation contractors are truly good at air sealing. I just spent a decade trying to solve for both of those and I don’t see the path sadly.”
— Bluesky· May 2026
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For specific readers
Why is this section here?
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
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🗺️About Regional & Other slang
Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
See all Regional & Other slang on Slangora.
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Other words near "Emergency" (E)
embuggeranceEmeEmeliaEmelyemeraldemergemergency manemergency physicianemergency roomemergicenterEmerieEmerson
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Related terms
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Semantically related
- The Emergency85%
(Ireland, historical) World War II.
- The Emergency79%
(Ireland, historical) The official euphemism used by the Irish Government during the 1940s to refer to its neutral position during World War II.
- emergency man60%
(historical, Ireland) A bailiff's officer or volunteer provided for a special service, especially one who was placed in charge of properties from which the tenants were evicted during the Land War, or who came to bring in the crops of men who were boycotted during that period.
- European War54%
(1940s-onwards) The European theatre of World War II / WW2 / Second World War.