What it means
Banjaxed means properly broken, wrecked, or gone to bits to the point it’s basically no use anymore. You’ll hear it for cars, phones, printers, plans, or for yourself when you’re absolutely done in. It’s a very Irish bit of slang with a cracked little grin on it, even when the situation’s a full disaster.
Usage examples
"The van conked out on the N7 and now the whole delivery’s banjaxed, plus my phone’s dead, so ring Seán if you need me."
"The printer is completely banjaxed again, it ate three pages and now it just blinks at me like it is my fault."
"Tried to start the lawnmower and the feckin thing’s banjaxed, so that’s the garden staying wild another week."
"Our night out was banjaxed before it even started because Declan lost the keys and the taxi never showed."
"I dropped the remote in the sink and now it's banjaxed, so we're stuck watching whatever channel it died on."
Where it comes from
A gloriously Irish word for utterly broken, ruined or wrecked, beyond any hope of repair. The origin is a mystery, pure Dublin invention from the early twentieth century, but everyone in Ireland knows the feeling. The car is banjaxed, the plan is banjaxed, and after a long week so are you.
Other ways to say it
Editors of this term
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