An Irish Grammar Lesson.

Each and every year millions of Irish, Irish-ish and amateur drinkers across America embrace the Holy Tradition of drinking themselves into a stupor in the name of Saint Patrick and the wee island he adopted as home.

Unfortunately, in their attempts to observe St. Paddy's day, many people accidentally observe "St. Patty's Day."

"Patty" is a woman's name. The nickname used for a man named Patrick, for example, the man named Patrick who is credited with converting great swaths of Ireland to Christianity, is "Paddy," from the Irish Padraig.

Calling St. Patrick's Day "St. Patty's Day" is like referring to Christmas Eve as "Christie's Eve" or Hanukkah as "Helen's Festival of Lights."

Isn't "Paddy" a Slur?

While it's true that "paddy" came into fashion as a slur against Irish people in the 19th century, it's also true that Paddy is just a regular old name still in use today.

You'll have to go by intent on this one. Calling a person "a paddy" because he's Irish is offensive. Calling a person "Paddy" because his name is Paddy, is not. Calling St. Patrick "Paddy" might upset some people since he's a canonized saint and not just some guy you know.

If someone gets rankled by your use of "St. Paddy," revert back to "St. Patrick," which is more correct, not "St. Patty," which is less. (And don't get into a big fight on St. Patrick's Day. It's a happy day.)

How Did Padraig Become Patty?

Just as the process that magically transforms shamrocks into McFlurries is so murky, it is unclear exactly where or when Padraig's feast day became Patty's tea party. The confusion obviously has something to do with the fact that the Irish name Padraig is Anglicized Patrick. But the English nickname is "Pat," not "Paddy." "Patty" is probably an American thing, like a McDonald's hamburger patty.

What does this have to do with Real Estate?

About as much as putting green dye into your beer. Since you are most likely in the Real Estate business, we'd like offer you a wee bit of luck selling today.

We do hope that you will show us the grace and favor of putting our name on your contract. We'll make sure that you get a pot of gold at the closing table.