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a while back I was researching the word bluey and discovered it's used in Oz to refer to a swagman's bundle and in the phrase "to hump bluey", to travel with a swag, to hit the trail. I also found that bluey is apparently used as a slang term for a red-headed man! can anyone confirm this? or explain it??
p.s. - in response to J's note, without increasing the post count, I believe my original question predates the influx of Ozzies!
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Carpal Tunnel
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It has been a while! You must be taking Jazz' rule to heart.
tsuwm
(enthusiast)
Sat Jun 10 15:54:14 2000
Re: Australian words
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here's one that's mystified me ever since I happened upon it -- how did the word bluey come to be the nickname for a redhead?!
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enthusiast
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enthusiast
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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.htmlI 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.
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Carpal Tunnel
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>Virgin On the Ridiculous
...or rediculous. (thanx for the link)
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old hand
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old hand
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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!
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Carpal Tunnel
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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 ...
The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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Carpal Tunnel
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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
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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! 
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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 Blueyhttp://us.imdb.com/Name?Daddo,+Cameron
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old hand
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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
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