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Joined: Jan 2001
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,773 |
So, I'm reading a paper from the land of Oz, and the lead story is about the problem the local community is having with hoon drivers. The article uses the term in several ways, all referring to speeders and otherwise careless drivers. From the context, I discerned that the term meant "loutish", and I confirmed that meaning in the online compact Oxford English Dictionary. But the entry is very sparse, just:
noun a lout.
• verb behave like a lout.
— ORIGIN of unknown origin
Does anyone know more about this term?
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 167
member
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member
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 167 |
Yes v common in Oz, as in "bunch of hoons". Also used as verb, eg. "hooning about". Yobs is closest equivalent term.
jj
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Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788 |
hoon (n & v) lout; show-off; reckless driver; behave recklessly - "stop hooning around". A recent example of the use of this word was in an article in "The Sunday Age" on 17 October 2004. The headline read, "Plans to seize hoons' cars". The article gave the following examples of "hoon driving behaviour": "excess noise, illegal street racing, refusal to leave a public place, exhibitions of acceleration and burn-outs". The article also referred to a "dob in a hoon" telephone hotline - two Aussie words in one go! http://ozlip.lexigame.com/ozdict.html#hoon
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,055
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,055 |
> Yes v common in Oz, as in "bunch of hoons". Also used as verb, eg. "hooning about". Yobs is closest equivalent term.
A more popular term in WA is 'bogan' - means pretty much the same thing, I think; though 'hoon' is more well known. It is pretty closely associated with people driving in cars - usually souped-up Holdens or Commodores. These people get their kicks from slowing down to shout obscenities at women and men alike and then speed away, spinning wheels. In that sense, they are very different to road rage drivers, who are just aggressive people getting from A to B and don't annoy pedestrians and motorists as a pastime!
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Joined: Jul 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467 |
And they all ended up at the same university. Who knew?
TEd
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210 |
formerly known as etaoin...
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
Ted: hoon you, too! 
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Joined: Jan 2001
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Pooh-Bah
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OP
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,773 |
The map is very cool. How interesting that a term has developed to describe bad behavior exclusively -- it appears -- in the context of operating motor vehicles. I don't think that there is a comparable term in the US.
Yobs?
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542 |
>Yobs
short for yobbos, I suppose, which is Brit. for hoodlums or goons -- and we've come full circle back to hoons.
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