From an tOileánach:



The English is 'the news is always getting worse'. But I would think it would be 'the news is getting better', literally 'no story is coming but a story better than the [its] last'. Can someone help explain this?

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I'm an intermediate speaker of the Corca Dhuibhne dialect of Irish and also have knowledge on the old spelling
Soir gaċ síar, fé ḋeireaḋ thíar

I'd think:
The first part is negated (níl aon scéal ag teacht),
the second part (ach ...) is kind of a restriction:
No story will come, if one story is better than the other.
So, those stories that really come instead are: worse.

You’re right, but -

I had a look at the context, and it’s actually (more) bad news, so “is fear ná a chéile” is being used ironically. We do it in English too. We get another piece of bad news and say “It just gets better and better”.

You’re right, but -

I had a look at the context, and it’s actually (more) bad news, so “is fear ná a chéile” is being used ironically. We do it in English too. We get another piece of bad news and say “It just gets better and better”.[/quote]

I like Errigal's explanation. It has the ring of accuracy to it.

Is dóigh liom gur ag magadh atá sí, gurb íoróin atá ar siúl aici. Féach cuid den chaibidil a 4 de "Shéadna":
"Gobnait. —(…) Caithfead féin sgéal a dh’innsint dóibh.
Nóra. —"Níor chás duit!"
Duairt Nóra nár chás do Ghobnait é, ach ní baol ná gur mheas sí a rá gurbh é an t-athrach dob' fhíor.

Tá ceist eile agam ort, áfach, mar gheall ar an abairt a scríobh Tomás roimis an gceann a chuireas féin id phost síos: … "agus is dócha go mbeidh an t‑oileán so ar bheagán tighthe tráthnóna."
Ar mhiste leat do mhíniú dhom cad é an bhrí atá leis an bhfocal so 'bheith ar' atá ann? Tá eolas agam ar fhocal eile den tsórd san, mar shampla: "tá sé ar an ngarsún is fearr sa rang". Ach ní mheasaim gur mar a chéile iad.

Gramadach na Gaeilge:



I assume that here the use of the preposition in this way has just become more generalised.

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I'm an intermediate speaker of the Corca Dhuibhne dialect of Irish and also have knowledge on the old spelling
Soir gaċ síar, fé ḋeireaḋ thíar

Frása fé leith is ea "ar bheagán". Ní ghabhann sé leis an "bheith" a sheasaíonn roimis.

Féach anso le mórán samplaí den tsórd san:
https://www.teanglann.ie/en/fgb/ar_bheag%c3%a1n

Go raibh maith agat, a Dhavid! Tuigim anois é. (Nó samhlaítear dom go dtuigim ar aon chuma.)

It means the idiom is "ar bheagán X" as a whole. This has nothing to do with "bheith ar an nduine is ísle", etc. Ar bheagan - means with little of something. Ar bheagán cúise - for no real reason, with little reason.

Thank you. I definitely understand it now. It's bheith + prepositional phrase + genetive (or de + dative), like e.g. "bheith i ngátar (bídh)".