What does K.M.R.I.A. mean in Ulysses?
K.M.R.I.A. stands for “kiss my royal Irish arse”. It is the editor Myles Crawford's reply, in Episode 7, when Bloom asks him to give Alexander Keyes a free puff in the paper to win an advertisement. Bloom quietly decides it is not a good moment to ask.
Edited by Aidan O'Leary · Last updated 30 October 2026
Where it appears
Episode 7, Aeolus. Myles Crawford at the Evening Telegraph office, answering Bloom over his shoulder.
K.M.R.I.A. —He can kiss my royal Irish arse, Myles Crawford cried loudly over his shoulder.
What it means in plain English
Bloom earns his living getting adverts placed. Here he is trying to close a deal for Keyes, a tea and wine merchant. The editor's rude reply comes twice, first as K.M.A. and then in full royal form.
Bloom thinks it is the wind, the drink, and leaves it.
Literary context
Aeolus is set in a newspaper office and broken up by headlines; it is the episode of rhetoric and wind.
References
- Ulysses, Episode 7, “Aeolus”
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Questions readers ask
Who is Keyes?
Alexander Keyes, a merchant whose advert, with a design of crossed keys, Bloom is trying to place.
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