Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 5 of 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,757
M
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
M
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,757
I recognise none of these phrases...

Thanks jj - which tends to confirm the sample of Oztymology I've sampled from my Melbourne cousins, most of which I can nearly understand

Does anyone have a clue where to find out more about Oz language and influences on the net?


Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 444
B
addict
Offline
addict
B
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 444
>Does anyone have a clue where to find out more about Oz language and influences on the net?<

At the risk of being confused with tsuwm, might I suggest typing 'Australian slang' into google.com? That's what I did. A great many pages came up. I had a look at a few on the first page and thought the first was the most impressive:

http://www.koalanet.com/australian-slang.html

One of the things I like about this is that it says it is trying to include only specifically Australian slang. (It doesn't succeeed, but it tries!) I can't count how many times I've had proud Australian quote Aussie rhyming slang at me, all unaware that in the UK we use the same phrase and call it Cockney rhyming slang.

Of course, a site that tries to exclude shared British / Australian slang may not be the best for some poor North Americans who haven't been exposed to enough external influences, but hey, can't please all the people all the time.



Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,757
M
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
M
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,757
Thanks Bridget - perfect start.

(What tsuwm neglects to mention is that the Great God LIU demands 24 hour service... )


Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
>At the risk of being confused with tsuwm...

oh, you're *much more photogenic!


Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 1,094
J
old hand
Offline
old hand
J
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 1,094
Bridget, that's a great site, especially for those of us who know little Australian slang outside of "G'Day, mate". I was rather surprised to find that "bastard" is a term of endearment.


Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 347
M
enthusiast
Offline
enthusiast
M
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 347
I was rather surprised to find that "bastard" is a term of endearment.

Fair suck of the sav, Jazzo, mate! I don't reckon that definition's ridgy-didge. A bloke'd wanna be pretty careful who he calls a bastard or he's likely to get in a blue and come a gutser.

On a slightly more serious note, the meaning of the word differs from one extreme to the other, depending on context, intonation and level of acquaintance between the two parties, eg:
"Listen here, you bastard" used in the middle of a heated argument, compared to
"How're you going, you old bastard?" used as a greeting to an old friend.

Hooroo,
Marty


Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204
R
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
R
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204
surprised to find that "bastard" is a term of endearment.

It is so not only in Australia. To some extent - and under similar conditions to those described by Marty - it is in use in UK as well. Even when not used as a positive term of endearment, it is frequently used here in a non-perjorative way as an alternative term for "person."


#6573 10/01/00 06:18 PM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,981
J
jmh Offline
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
J
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,981
To Bridget and other Sydney and Australian taxpayers

Just thought I'd say thanks for a wonderful Olympics. I watched the closing ceremony this morning and realised how much you guys spent on the whole thing (I hope all the sponsorship worked out OK) - I loved the fireworks - quite spectacular and was glad to see prawns made it onto the track.

We all loved Cathy Freeman's wonderful win in the 400m and our 11 gold medals were 10 more than we managed in Atlanta!

Ta


Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
>Here in the US, we are being treated to a lot of "feature" coverage of Australia in the run-up to the Olympics.

While this is a little off topic, I was a bit surprised to read that prostitution is legal in Sydney if not throughout the rest of Australia. Someone sent me a list of humorous ad slogans for these Sydney brothels, presented in its entirety below.


The Top 13 Advertising Slogans for Australian Brothels


[ The Top 5 List www.topfive.com ]
[ Copyright 2000 by Chris White ]


13> Catch Olympic Fever -- And Hepatitis!

12> The Best Down Under Down Under!

11> Just Do Us

10> Performance Enhancing Drugs Welcome

9> The Most Fun You Can Have in the Bush!

8> You're already halfway around the world -- let us finish
the job.

7> Didgeri-Do Me!

6> Ready for a REAL Floor Exercise?

5> Don't worry about using protection -- dingos eat all
of our babies!

4> Throw Another Barbie on Your shrimp!

3> G'd Lay, Mate!

2> Serious Yahoo!


and Topfive.com's Number 1 Advertising
Slogan for Australian Brothels...


1> You've got the Joey. We've got the pouches.




TEd
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204
R
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
R
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204
excellent!! Hooorah for the gutter


Page 5 of 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,913
Posts229,580
Members9,187
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
Karin, JeffMackwood, artguitar, Jim_W, Rdbuffalo
9,187 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 332 guests, and 0 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
wofahulicodoc 10,713
tsuwm 10,542
LukeJavan8 9,931
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5