Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (also gabshite) a fool, a dupe.

1946		R. Grinstead They Dug a Hole 38: That’s where the likes of us gobshites is definitely better off.
1961		(con. 1930s) D. Behan Teems of Times and Happy Returns 89: Yis must take me for a right gobshite altogether.
1966		P. Boyle At Night All Cats Are Grey 63: Lashing his money round on a crowd of gabshites.
1979		H. Leonard A Life (1981) Act II: Laugh away, make me out a gobshite.
1985		T. Murphy Thief of a Christmas in Plays: 2 (1993) Act I: Yeh-yeh thick pleb, yeh-yeh-yeh jolter-headed gob-shite!
1990		R. Doyle Snapper 14: Your man, Rolf Harris, is an awful gobshite, said Jimmy Sr.
1999		Indep. Rev. 3 Nov. 8: A thick-set gobshite in a V-necked sweater and greasy hair.
2001		K. Sampson Outlaws (ms.) 1: You can guarantee there’ll be one of them gobshites at least, any fucking time you go out.

2. (also gaubshite, gob) a general term of abuse; thus v. gobshite, to act in some negative manner.

[1894		G.F. Northall Folk-Phrases of Four Counties 39: Gaubshite = A filthy boor].
1959		L. Redmond Death is so Kind 61: A hell of a lot that little gobshite cares, except for the few bob he's missin’.
1966		(con. 1954) J. McGrath Events While Guarding the Bofors Gun II i: If you imagine [...] that either of those two rotten gobshites will think any better of you, you’re dreaming.
1973		H. Leonard Da (1981) Act II: There’s an old gobshite at the tradesmen’s entrance with thirty pairs of spectacle-frames.
1980		J. McClure Spike Island (1981) 73: I walk around the estate, which is full of gobshites – bloody idiots who all they do is hate the police.
1999		K. Sampson Powder 5: A well-deliberated fake-spontaneous soundbite. Gobshite.
2001		J. Stahl Plainclothes Naked (2002) 251: It would feel so good to call that patronizing gob at America’s Most Wanted and let him know that Lyn Fayton [...] had captured one of the most wanted Wanteds.
2003		Brummagem Dict. 🌐 gaubshite vulg. [...] now in widespread use as ‘gobshite’.
2009		R. Milward Ten Storey Love Song 93: ‘I’m really excited about your future, Bobby’ Lewis says, gobshiteing.
2010		Sun. Times Style. 19 Dec. 62/1: My favourite headline of the year, above a picture of the [Irish] cabinet: ‘Useless gobshites’.
2015		L. McInerney Glorious Heresies 27: [T]here’s no way I would have made a total gobshite of myself in front of everyone if I didn’t totally mean it.
2017		New European 26 May [headline] Professional gobshite Katie Hopkins is to leave her LBC show ‘immediately’ after calling for a ‘final solution’ following the Manchester bombing.
2021		L. McInerney Rules of Revelation 31: I’m still a massive prude and gobshite.

3. nonsense, rubbish; thus as adj., stupid.

1977		A. Bleasdale Who’s Been Sleeping in my Bed 167: All it sounded like t’me was five minutes of non-stop gobshite.
1995		Irish Times 24 Nov. 🌐 The Labour TD [...] said that the constant raising of the Government jet issue was ‘gobshite politics’ .
2000		Indep. on Sun. Culture 23 July 18: Talking gobshite into the microphones.

4. one who talks nonsense; a liar.

1997		Roger’s Profanisaurus in Viz 87 Dec. n.p.: gobshite n. Someone prone to uttering verbal inaccuracies; bullshitter.
2004		B. Parris Making of a Legionnaire 79: [T]his kid was a gob-shite [...] I had caught him out in so many lies it was no longer funny .

5. see gob n.² (4a)