What is this - Oz week or something? (Speaking of which, don't forget to have a little drink for us on 1 Jan - we're celebrating 100 years since Federation - the amalgamation of states to form the Commonwealth of Australia.)

I can confirm that Bluey is indeed a nickname for a redheaded man, although you rarely hear it now, so perhaps this should be cross-linked to stales's thread about Australian sayings that are dying out. Unfortunately, whilst *lists of Aussie slang words and their meaning abound on the Internet, this is the closest I've found to an explanation of its origin, and frankly I don't buy the colour-blindness explanation:
http://www.shu.ac.uk/web-admin/phrases/bulletin_board/4/messages/1276.html

I think Bluey is just an example of a perverse sense of humour in using an opposite word. But I'd love someone to contribute more on the origin.

I can tell you that this expression was the inspiration for the winning entry in a competition to find a name for Richard Branson's Virgin Airlines' fledgling Australian operation. "Virgin Blue" now appears in large letters on all their bright red planes down here. Virgin On the Ridiculous, some say.

>Virgin On the Ridiculous

...or rediculous. (thanx for the link)

here's what 'Strine Decoded has to say:
(http://www.artistwd.com/joyzine/australia/strine/b.htm)

bluey - 1. summons issued by police. 2. cattle-dog; kelpie. 3. nick-name for a friend, mate, red-haired person. 4. a ten-dollar note.

Grueße an euch alle!

belligerentyouth says: bluey - 1. summons issued by police.

This use was quite common in New Zealand until a few years ago, probably imported from Oz. See the thread on endangered strine expressions ...

Marty wrote : can tell you that this expression was the inspiration for the winning entry in a competition to find a name for Richard Branson's Virgin Airlines' fledgling Australian operation. "Virgin Blue" now appears in large letters on all their bright red planes down here. Virgin On the Ridiculous, some say.
This is off the main thread (Goodness, has that ever happened before?)
Regarding Virgin Airlines : why would you buy a ticket to fly somewhere on an airline whose very name guarantees it won't go all the way?
wow

why would you buy a ticket to fly somewhere on an airline whose very name guarantees it won't go all the way?


Ohmigawd! Welcome to the gutter, with open arms, wow!

belligerentyouth quotes: bluey - ... 2. cattle-dog; kelpie...

In the TV series F/X: The Series Cameron Daddo's (a Melbourne lad) character has a robot dog named Bluey


http://us.imdb.com/Name?Daddo,+Cameron

Ah the perennial Oz favourite!!

Until a year or 2 ago, a learned Professor somebody had a regular slot on ABC (public) radio here in Perth - the focus of which was the strine language.

Despite being able to quote the first time it was seen in print, he reported that there was no official explanation for Blue/Bluey being used as a generic name for a red headed person. Thus everybody's personal favourite reason is just as valid as everybody elses.

For what it's worth, I think it's a typical example of "opposites" humour (my term - perhaps ironic is better?). Thus, quiet people are inevitably called "Rowdy", baldies get "Curly", the vertically challenged get "Lofty" whilst big buggers get "Tiny".

I suspect the origins for all of these (and this style of humour) are found in Lunnon English.

stales

I suspect the origins for all of these (and this style of humour) are found in Lunnon English.

Earlier and further north, surely? Wasn't Little John the biggest of Robin Hood's men?

why would you buy a ticket to fly somewhere on an airline whose very name guarantees it won't go all the way?

The cheap Australian alternative is to travel on Impulse. I'm not sure this is much more reassuring.

(and BTW Bluey is in no danger of dying out. Believe me, I know - my stepson is red-headed!)

I don't think the word "Bluey" is dying out - my youngest children, aged 3 and 4, recently were given a ginger kitten, and were allowed to choose his name themselves. Yup you guessed it: "Blue". Maybe it is intrinsic to human nature to choose opposites as names - when asked by Dutch friends to explain why the cat is called Blue, they shrug and say "He's red, so he's 'Blue' "

airline whose very name guarantees it won't go all the way?

Oh, no wow! The name merely guarantees that it hasn't been there before.

I suspect the origins for all of these (and this style of humour) are found in Lunnon English.

Could be so, but the only usage of "blue" that I am aware of is C19 thieves cant for lead (ve metal, not wot yer puts rahnd ve neck of yer dawg!)

>The name merely guarantees that it hasn't been there before.

Sounds very apt for the trains then, if not the aeroplanes!