As part of his stand up routine, an Australian comedian called Vince Sorenti offers a suggestion about the origin of the word shark....

He says it stems from the panic swirling through a swimmer's head when they see a triangular fin near them in the surf.....their shout to the beach is a muddle of, "SH@#!" and "F&~#!". It comes out as, "SSHHAARRKK!!"

BTW(1) Vince is very proud of the fact that he comes from the Sydney suburb of Punchbowl. Now how's that for a suburb name!

BTW(2) There's an old shark saying that's worth sharing with you all. It refers to a person who is reluctant to pay for a round of drinks when it's their turn (ie to have their "shout" in Ozspeak). "He wouldn't shout if a shark bit him."

stales

Punchbowl is also the name of the American Military Cemetery on the island of O'ahu in Hawaii.
It's a valley made by the old volcano that formed O'ahu and is a beautiful place.

Being an inner city suburb, Punchbowl in Sydney is not a nice place - a fact that Vince Sorenti gets a lot of mileage from in his comedy routines. Probably our equivalent of what I imagine the seamier parts of the Bronx would be like.

stales

BTW(2) There's an old shark saying that's worth sharing with you all. It refers to a person who is reluctant to pay for a round of drinks when it's their turn (ie to have their "shout" in Ozspeak). "He wouldn't shout if a shark bit him."

Digressing slightly, there's an old New Zealand term, the "Australian Haka". This is a ritual only carried out in pubs, in which the person whose turn it is to pay stands up and symmetrically pats his breast, his sides and his backside with both hands before announcing loudly, "Strewth, someone's stole me flamin' wallet!"

We've been waiting for the Wallabies (the Australian national rugby team) to perform this particular version of the haka at the beginning of a Bledisloe Cup match ...

"Australian Haka"--oooh, stiles, 'e's gotten yu agin, moite!

Dead right, Jack me old sheila. I'm right strapped for sumpin to say. And, as me old man useta say, ifya got nuffin ter say then don't bloody say it.

seeyez layda

stales

ifya got nuffin ter say then don't bloody say it.
You sweet thing...