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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 1
stranger
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OP
stranger
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 1 |
G'Day,
Does anybody out there know the origin of the Australia colloquialism "dob". It's meaning is defined in the Macquarie dictionary as
"dob, dobbed, dobbing- colloquial expression to betray, report (someone)."
I feel that it may be related to date of birth - d.o.b.
Any ideas?
Cheers Mate,
Bruce.
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542 |
Wasn't there a Monty Python sketch where the lads all played Aussies named Bruce? (sorry, that was no help at all; but it *was what leaped to mind....)
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 81
journeyman
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journeyman
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 81 |
I seem to recall that they were all Doctors of Philosophy as well. (DOP in - to inform on someone ontologically?)
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 39
newbie
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newbie
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 39 |
OED,
Maybe it derives from "Do One Bad" or "Badly", i.e. to do one a bad turn such as inform or betray, much like we say "she did him dirt".
--Jeff
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 14
stranger
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stranger
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 14 |
Yes, the Monty Python sketch was about the staff of the Philosophy Department at the University of Sydney, which was in a tent, who were all indeed named Bruce. They all wore slouch hats and sang as they downed their tinnies of Fosters: 'Rene Descartes was a silly old fart,I drink, therefore I am."
Bruce also calls to mind a Kingsley Amis? character, an Australian in London, who was known as 'Call Me Cobber'.
Eric Partridge says that the Australian use of 'dob' is ex the English dialectal word 'dob' - to put down heavily, to throw down.
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542 |
As we've been divagating right from the start, I feel I can tell you that my mind has wandered from dob to DOB to DOP to dap (which is rather apropos, dap having the sense of skipping a stone off the surface of a lake). One spot where I encountered undertow was the acronym idea, as pertains to these forums (fora?) DOB doesn't do much for me (Disambiguation of Bumf?) but DOP....
Daily Obnoxious Post
Difference of Perception
Department of Pleonasm
-tsuwm
DOP Dept.
Iowa City, IA
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
Hey, Michael!
Thanks for the definition of dapping. (Scoped your profile just now). Humbuggery I can guess at. Does 'verbicide' mean you murder words? And does your first verb in your post imply that divas have been committing Watergate-type crimes? What about fori in place of forums? :-)
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542 |
>>Humbuggery I can guess at. Does 'verbicide' mean you murder words? And does your first verb in your post imply that divas have been committing Watergate-type crimes? What about fori in place of forums? <<
No; perhaps we should have some concern regarding your guess?!
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 1
stranger
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stranger
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 1 |
a bird watcher once pointed out to me that certain carrier pigeons are given dobious 'nick'names
then again, game lovers in other places enjoy receiving anonymous 'dips'; in other words, a little mysterious help from the dop greatly enhances one's chances at winning
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 112
member
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member
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 112 |
In South Africa, the word "DOP" is a colloquialism for a tot of spirits.
Drink or Perish?
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