mullingar heifer
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Sense 1
A girl with thick ankles.
Register: slang
Sources & notes
Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).
Sense 2
a girl with thick ankles.—Irish. The story goes that a traveller, passing through Mullingar, was so struck with this local peculiarity in the women, that he determined to accost the next one he met. "May I ask," said he, "if you wear hay in your shoes?" "Faith an’ I do," said the girl; "and what then?" "Because," says the traveller, "that accounts for the calves of your legs coming down to feed on it."
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “mullingar heifer” mean?
A girl with thick ankles.
Is “mullingar heifer” formal or informal?
mullingar heifer is generally slang.