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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.
Entire Thread Subject Posted By Posted bluey (Oz) tsuwm 12/20/00 01:37 AM Re: bluey (Oz) Jackie 12/20/00 01:44 AM Re: bluey (Oz) Marty 12/20/00 02:34 AM Re: bluey (Oz) tsuwm 12/20/00 03:33 AM Re: bluey (Oz) belligerentyouth 12/20/00 03:29 PM Re: bluey (Oz) Capital Kiwi 12/21/00 02:54 AM Re: bluey (Oz) Faldage 12/21/00 02:35 PM Re: Virgin Blue wow 12/21/00 12:15 PM Re: Virgin Blue Jackie 12/21/00 12:19 PM Re: Virgin Blue Bridget 01/09/01 10:14 AM Re: Virgin Blue RhubarbCommando 01/09/01 12:23 PM Re: Virgin Trains jmh 01/09/01 12:38 PM Re: bluey (Oz) stales 12/28/00 02:01 AM Re: bluey (Oz) Bridget 01/09/01 10:12 AM Re: bluey (Oz) possum 01/09/01 10:21 AM Re: bluey (Oz) RhubarbCommando 01/09/01 12:26 PM
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