pratie, n. — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

pratie n.

also parate, parater, paratie, prate, pratee, prater, prato, praty, praytee, pratur

[pron.]

1. (Anglo-Irish) a potato.

1754		T. Sheridan Brave Irishman I ii: Who smells of praties now, you refugee son of a whore.
c.1790		‘The Connaughtman’s Visit to Dublin’ Luke Caffrey’s Gost 3: She did bring me a plate / Overflown vid black pratie [...] cabitch and meat.
1792		H.H. Brackenridge Modern Chivalry (1937) Pt I Vol. I Bk VII 69: He would chuse roast bafe and parates, or pork and parsnips.
1804		J. Orr ‘To the Potatoe’ in Poems on Various Pubjects 36: Leeze me on the precious Prato, / My country’s stay!
1812		Spirit of Irish Wit 82: Run home with yourself, before the spalpeens [...] eat up de pratees.
1815		D. Roberts Military Adventures of Johnny Newcome II 40: Give me dear Ireland, whiskey, and paraters.
1817		M. Edgeworth Love and Law II iii: They say, he [...] has lations of them that he lets out on the craturs’ cabins, to larn how many grains of salt every man takes with his little prates.
1821		‘An Amateur’ Real Life in London I 620: The arrival of a Monarch on the Irish coast among the lads of praties, whiskey, and butter-milk.
1826		C.M. Westmacott Eng. Spy II 27: We [...] ate our paraters and butter-milk out o’ the same platter.
1827		J. Wight More Mornings in Bow St. 65: [He] picks up a pretty little living by the dispensation of praturs, parsnips, and pot-herbs.
1830		Mr Mathews’ Comic Annual 16: All these beautiful prates; all this baked mutton.
1833		‘Katty Neil’ in Convivialist in Spedding & Watt (eds) Bawdy Songbooks (2011) IV 22: O that I could pick up a sack of paratees, / I’d not stop to take off the rhind.
1834		Roscommon & Leitrim Gaz. 30 Aug. 2/2: ‘Think ov that, sir, to call the fine praytees [...] rubbishy stuff!!’.
1835		Comic Almanack Aug. 25: ‘Och! thunder and praties!’ said he.
1836		Marryat Mr Midshipman Easy I 129: The praters are in the copper.
1840		Flash Mirror 14: ‘Paddy, Paddy! where shall I set the paraties next year?’.
1842		S. Lover Handy Andy 57: Run to the well for some wather to wash the pratees.
c.1845		Garrick’s Head [poster] A Chop or Kindey [sic] at this hour, / With Pratee like a ball of flour.
1846		D. Corcoran Pickings from N.O. Picayune 172: Thim Dutch is as fond of sour krout as [...] the people of our beautiful, blissed [sic] country [...] is of praytees.
1847		Bell’s Life in Sydney 9 Oct. 3/1: Jeremiah had proposed to dispose of his ‘praties’ to him for spurious coin.
1848		‘Ned Buntline’ Mysteries and Miseries of N.Y. V 32: We always git our praties an’ beef at five!
1851		‘Paddy Miles’s Boy’ in Irish Songster 13: My cheeks it’s true, so rosy too, they were like red paraties, O!
1851		in Irish Songster 36: [song title] Dear Praties We Can’t Live Without Them.
1854		Goulburn Herald (NSW) 29 July 4/3: The pigs and the praties, illicit peat-stills [...] and other traditions of the old countrie.
1855		Delhi Sketch Bk 1 May 51/2: Tripe, sassages, bacon, and ducks that weren’t skinny uns, / And such praties.
1856		C. Reade It Is Never Too Late to Mend III 117: I wish it was pratees we are digging, I’d may be dig up a dinner any way.
1861		(con. 1840s–50s) H. Mayhew London Labour and London Poor II 483/2: Crossing to the green-grocer’s to git two pound of praties for my supper.
1874		‘Old Calabar’ Won in a Canter I 79: ‘[H]e’s been all over the fresh-planted praties, and cut them to smithereens, bad cess to him.
1877		‘Ould Irish Stew’ in Yankee Paddy Comic Song Book 2: Wid the mate, the onions and praties, / Hurroo for the ould Irish Stew.
1879		H. Hartigan Stray Leaves (2nd ser.) 93: ‘To dig the praties, lay in the turf, an’ put a wisp in the thatch’.
1881		Dundee Courier 30 Dec. 3/3: What do you say to a jug of punch, just by way of washin’ down them nice goose and praties?
1890		Sporting Times 5 Apr. 3/2: We had a great dinner intirely—praties, beef, &c.
1903		Ocala Eve. Star (FL) 7 May 3/4: Pittman’s Praties. Mr J.A. Pittman has an Irish potato patch which has supplied him and his family with all the bog oranges they could eat.
1906		Somerville & Ross Some Irish Yesterdays 40: An’ eggs is it? an’ praties?
1918		K.F. Purdon Dinny on the Doorstep 92: Pat [...] had his iron bed dragged out into the praty plot. [Ibid.] 250: Piling turf in the bog [...] or picking praties ... always together they’d be.
1927		P. O’Donnell Islanders (1933) 43: She can never eat praties.
1934		Sun. Times (Perth) 6 May 9s/8: You’re sure to get salt for your praties.
1937		(con. 1860s) ‘Genus’ Thomas (Ayson) 51: The pigs and praties of the Taieri were very poor compared with those of ‘Ould Oireland’.
1948		P. Kavanagh Tarry Flynn (1965) 131: ‘Bad luck to him, himself and his five pratie-washers,’ said Mrs. Flynn. The ‘pratie-washers’ were the five daughters.
1958		(con. 1940s) B. Behan Borstal Boy 80: Oh, the praties they were small over here.
1998		J. O’Connor Salesman 284: No more I’ll dig the praties. / I will leave me native home. / Now as sure as me name is Barney / I’ll be off to Californee.
2001		P. McCabe Emerald Germs of Ireland 298: The sparrow-taunting notes of ‘The Garden Where The Praties Grow’ trilling wantonly from his lips.
1874		‘Old Calabar’ Won in a Canter I 79: ‘[H]e’s been all over the fresh-planted praties, and cut them to smithereens, bad cess to him.