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Previous Thread Next Thread Print Thread Page 1 of 2 1 2 Australian words #3389 06/09/00 06:16 PM 06/09/00 06:16 PM Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 10,538 this too shall pass tsuwm OP Carpal Tunnel tsuwm   OP Carpal Tunnel Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 10,538 this too shall pass Today's M-W word-of-the-day is the Aussie gem 'wowser', an obtrusively puritanical person -- which it also gives as origin unknown. Any ideas from down under? Re: Wowser #3390 06/10/00 10:05 AM 06/10/00 10:05 AM Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 140 Melbourne, Australia lusy member lusy   member Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 140 Melbourne, Australia The following is largely from The Oxford Companion To Australian Literature: Defined by the Macquarie Dictionary as 'a prudish teetotaller' or 'a killjoy' and by C.J. Dennis (read him for heaps of Aussie culture and folklore) as an 'ineffably pious person who mistakes this world for a penitentiary and himself for a warder'. A term of uncertain origin, popularly accepted to be an acronym coined by by John Norton, owner of the (bloody marvellous, now defunct newspaper Truth) signifying "We Only Want Social Evils Remedied—or Righted". Another suggestion is from "rouser" a term for religious fanatics current in Victoria in the 1870s. The wowser had his heyday from the 1880s to the end of WW1 and was frequently depicted in cartoons as bearded, wearing a small, flat hat or a gimlet, and carrying the universal symbol of a wowser, an umbrella. Rgds, lusy Re: Wowser #3391 06/10/00 07:21 PM 06/10/00 07:21 PM Joined: May 2000 Posts: 112 Auckland, New Zealand D David108 member David108   member D Joined: May 2000 Posts: 112 Auckland, New Zealand Here it is, folks - the definitive (?) Australian slang site, with thanks to http://www.Google.com http://goaustralia.about.com/travel/goaustralia/library/weekly/blstrine.htm Re: Australian words #3392 06/10/00 07:54 PM 06/10/00 07:54 PM Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 10,538 this too shall pass tsuwm OP Carpal Tunnel tsuwm   OP Carpal Tunnel Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 10,538 this too shall pass 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?! avagoodweegend #3393 06/10/00 10:04 PM 06/10/00 10:04 PM Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 1,981 J jmh Pooh-Bah jmh   Pooh-Bah J Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 1,981 Well spotted. I would give a XXXX for that! It's a bit of a beut. Yours A pom Re: avagoodweegend #3394 06/11/00 07:42 AM 06/11/00 07:42 AM Joined: May 2000 Posts: 112 Auckland, New Zealand D David108 member David108   member D Joined: May 2000 Posts: 112 Auckland, New Zealand >>I would give a XXXX for that! << ...thanks - will you come to New Zealand, or will it keep until I visit your part of the Planet? Re: avagoodweegend #3395 06/11/00 04:59 PM 06/11/00 04:59 PM Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 11,613 Louisville, Kentucky Jackie Carpal Tunnel Jackie   Carpal Tunnel Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 11,613 Louisville, Kentucky Tell you what, David-- Jo and I will meet you at paulb's party. She can bring her XXXX, I'll bring a slab ot two, and you can introduce us to Adrian Quist! AnnaS's Jack Daniels would be nice to meet, too, if she can bring him. Once again, Tsuwm--thanks for the neat site! Re: avagoodweegend #3396 06/11/00 07:43 PM 06/11/00 07:43 PM Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 10,538 this too shall pass tsuwm OP Carpal Tunnel tsuwm   OP Carpal Tunnel Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 10,538 this too shall pass Friday night we attended 'Eric Idle shamelessly exploits Monty Python'; of course, he reprised the Four Bruces sketch, which included the Philosopher's Song... http://www.library.adelaide.edu.au/guide/hum/philosophy/philos_song.html Re: Wowser #3397 06/12/00 05:01 AM 06/12/00 05:01 AM Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 3,065 Jakarta B Bingley Carpal Tunnel Bingley   Carpal Tunnel B Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 3,065 Jakarta In reply to: The wowser had his heyday from the 1880s to the end of WW1 and was frequently depicted in cartoons as bearded, wearing a small, flat hat or a gimlet, and carrying the universal symbol of a wowser, an umbrella. How do you wear a gimlet? Is it the name of the type of hat? I thought a gimlet was a cobbler's tool for making holes in leather. Bingley Bingley Re: Wowser #3398 06/12/00 11:59 AM 06/12/00 11:59 AM Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 460 Hobart, Tasmania, Australia P paulb addict paulb   addict P Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 460 Hobart, Tasmania, Australia Bingley: SOED, in addition to the tool to which you are referring, also has 'piercing, penetrating' (as of eyes) and a 20th century cocktail (which sounds most unlikely in the circumstances!). Perhaps there's a link with umbrellas here (or screwdrivers -- in the drinks department). An Australian journalist, Keith Dunstan, wrote a book called 'Wowsers' a few years ago. If I can find a copy I'll let you know. Page 1 of 2 1 2 Moderated by  Jackie  Hop To General Topics ------   Information and announcements   Q&A about words   Wordplay and fun   Words and languages in schools   Miscellany   Weekly Themes   Looking for (writers, speakers, ...) (Old) Weekly themes. 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