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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692 |
Um, well. I looked up 'booze' in an Australian slang dictionary and there it was. Then I tried the OED and this is what it said, more or less:
Alteration of obsolete bouse, from Middle English bousen, to drink to excess, from Middle Dutch busen. No mention of Australia I admit.
But I guess none of that proves who first turned bouse into booze - could have been a Dutchman sailing in Southern latitudes or could have been a Dutch refugee in Olde England.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
a Dutchman sailing in Southern latitudes
Since Middle English was pretty much dead and gone by the time we had any Dutchmen [sic] sailing in Southern latitudes I think we can discount the notion that booze is an Ozism.
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Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400 |
re:"Bus Stop" is the place along the route where you flag a bus down; "Bus Station"
reminds me of a NY Triva game question..
Where is Grand Central Station?
most guess 42nd Street, some even place it at the intersection of 42nd Street and Park Avenue...
but the answer is 45th Street and Lexington.
Grand Centeral Termimal, is a Railroad terminal-- a terminal is a place where trains come to the end of the line . Grand central terminal is at 42nd Street and Park Avenue. (Park Avenue, for pedestrains passes through the terminal, the roadway for cars is routed round the terminal, (the opening scene of Men in Black is filmed on the roadway which is elevated, and actually passes through a building!)
Grand Central Station, is a Post office Station. (a place where mail starts and stops, and also passes through! it is on Lexington Avenue!
Penn(sylvaina) Station on the west side is a Rail road Station, traffic from Boston (or Washington) stops at New York, and passes through to Washington (or Boston)
So I also think of there is a difference between a train station, and a train terminal. all stops on a train are stations. bus stop are stops, and buses terminate at a depot. and post office buildings as stations too...and i buy my gas at a gas station, (i understand filling station, but it is old fashioned, and not terminology i would use.)
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stranger
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stranger
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 14 |
> However, there is one definitely Oz phrase which is firmly entrenched over here, now - "Go walk-about"
It may be of Australian origin, but it's an expression you would rarely hear now, because of its potentially derogatory implications.
Mark Waddington
Mark Waddington
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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...the answer is 45th Street and Lexington... Grand Central Terminal is at 42nd Street and Park Avenue. It's a big place, huh. 
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2001
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In reply to:
Go walk-about...it's an expression you would rarely hear now, because of its potentially derogatory implications.
What exactly are the "potentially derogatory implications"? I love the non-derogatory meaning and had no idea there might be a derogatory implication. If it's really bad, you can PM me. Thanks from this USn.
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addict
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addict
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 477 |
What exactly are the "potentially derogatory implications"
Well, Connie, I'm an Aussie and I wouldn't personally associate "gone walkabout" with anything derogatory.
That said, a reasonably high profile international Rugby player who left his squad to go home to his family without telling anyone (who also happened to be of Aboriginal origin) was tagged by the media as someone who had "gone walkabout" and I guess the implication in that case was that he was irresponsible.
Methinks it's all in the context...
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
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I would think it might be something like describing some young buck's first pub-crawl as his first communion. The walkabout is, originally, an aboriginal rite of passage and as such has something of a religious connotation. I think it has taken on less spiritual connotations among Anglo-Australians but it may raise the hackles of some Natives who feel that the old ways have been compromised.
Just the rantings of some know-nothing Yank.
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stranger
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stranger
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 14 |
> The walkabout is, originally, an aboriginal rite of passage and as such has something of a religious
> connotation. I think it has taken on less spiritual connotations among Anglo-Australians...
I think you're spot-on here. In the past, Anglo-Australians have failed to understand the spiritual aspect of the walkabout, so referring to an aboriginal Australian as having "gone walkabout" usually had a perjorative sense - i.e. it implied that they'd irresponsibly dropped their work and gone wandering in the bush. So, it's right that the negative connotations are context-sensitive, but it's still a phrase I would avoid using.
Mark Waddington
Mark Waddington
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204 |
Its most common usage over here was, originally, to describe HM Queen Liz II when she condescended to mingle with the crowds of the great unwashed who flock to gawk at her when she does anything. I have a vague memory that the first time she ever did this was on a tour of Oz, back in the 70s, or thereabouts.
The phrase is now used for any "personality" appearing in public, who deviates from the route prescribed by the organisers of the event, and stops randomly to talk to members of the public.
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