shanja
09-08-2006, 04:30 PM
Well it has come to my attention, in somewhat circumlocuatory fashion, that a degree of inexactitude and or esotericism may very well; unintentionally; exist in "that funny guys" utterances.
Now, if this apparent bafflement doesn't apply to your own good self, please take no further heed of the following appendix intended to ellucidate the meanings for those "other" members of KOTR. I should also like to add, before we start, that no thought of condescenion or superscillious intent should in fact be imagined in the contents of that which follows. As "that funny guy" from terra australis, I merely and meekly seek to educate and share what meagre knowledge I have. Kong-bu ha se yo!
Half-arsed - not much chop at all. Something done with shoddy/poor/low quaility efforts in a lazy and/or uncaring fashion. Note the long "a" vowel sound in "half" and "arse", similar to "harf" and "Arhs". Same goes with "laugh", "data", "aunt" and "can't". That piss-weak (see below) short "a" that sounds like a mongrel cross between "a" and "air" isn't good enough for the 21st century I'm afraid kiddies.
Banana - A universal substitute noun, to be used liberally and without fear in place of any regular noun. It's use is not condoned in lieu of pro-nouns however. Crikey! That wouldn't be cricket now would it?
Bloody - This little gen of linguistic ingenuity has been dubbed "the great Aussie adjective". Yet even this accolade falls far short of the words worth. It can be inserted almost anywhere in a sentence to lend that certain...class, which lifts language to the realm of art. e.g. "No bloody way!", "It's bloody hot/cold/good/silly/lovely/delicious", "Fan-bloody-tastic", "What the bloody hell do you bloody well think you're bloody doing you bloody idiot!?"
Cop it sweet/fair cop Not just a reference to those reverred men in blue who are upsatnding model citizens, but also a verb indicating the receival of a deserved punishment. The former a suggestion not to whinge about consequences when caught out doing something naughty, the latter an utterance of acceptance of said punishmants fairness.
Crab' - A carabiner, or "biner". You may also have a locking crab.
Crikey! - The ubiquitous call of the startled common Aussie (homo-sapien downunderis. A globally recognized feature of the recently departed and much missed "Crocdile Hunter":rip:
Holy Bloody Wars! - A similar expression whose undeniable attraction, has caused it to be placed on the endangered by plagarization list at the (mis)use of international groups such as Jihad, Al Queda and the IDA. Generally used in situations of disbelief, shock or outrage, but also great excitement.
Fair crack of the whip/ fair suck of the sav'/ fair go - An appeal to sweet reasonableness and the cessation of unwarranted thoughts, actions etc. A "sav'" is a "savaloy", which our North American compadres may know as a frankfurter/weiner...but the Aussie word carries no such derogatory implication. Eric is a past master in the art of sentence craft with this term.:D
Have a go - To give maximal exertions in pursuit of success. To try hard. Can be used much the same way as Koreans say "Fighting!" Not to be confused with:
Have a go at someone - To chastise, criticize, belittle or slander a person...verbally usually, but physically also possible. That then becomes: A donnybrook - a fight with fists etc. If conducted in public, one is liable to end up getting a ride in the back of:
a divvy van/ a paddy wagon - which is what our police drive.
Pom/Pommy - A person of British nationality, especially English. Gives rise to the back-formation of "Pommy-land", aka "England". The philology being uncertain...perhaps from 17th century Royal Navy rations of pommegranate juice issued to English seaman as a prophylactic against scurvy. Alternatively as an acronym from the convicts tunic stamp of P.O.H.M. - Prisoner of Her/His Majesty.
Kiwi - A distant relative breed of antipodean folk, from New Zealand. So named after a short hairy brown bird that can't even fly. The fruit got the name in a sensationally successful marketing fruit re-naming attempt (formerly "Chinese Gooseberry") that they failed to trademark, so now every "Tom **** and Harry" can sell his fruit under this appellation!
Yank - Anyone from the much beloved US of A. Not really a derogatory nick-name, nor suggesting any South of the Dixie-line origins. Used in such endearing jokes as "How do you get two crocodiles apart? - Give them a yank!"
Yeah-nah - We don't know either, well not exactly, but it can be both an agreement, a half agreement or a disagreement indicator depending on what follows afterwards. witness: "Do you wanna have a beer? - Yeah-nah that's a bloody great idea!", "This climb is way over-rated, don't you think? - Yeah-nah, it is but it isn't, if you know what I mean.", "Can you shout us a beer mate? - Yeah-nah, I'd really like to, but I'm broke as a bloody broke thing myself."
Mate - No-one who's seen any Aussie show, movie or what-have-you can be unawares of this beauty. It does mean friend, but can be used when greeting a stranger, or even as a belligerent term. We are mystified why Yanks pronounce it like "mite"...?
Stubby - Derivative noun from the more known adjective, a stubby is a small beer bottle, generally 375ml. Also available for your vocabulary is "stubby-holder" which is any covering used to insulate said bottle from hand. Oft times styrofom, card-board (home-bodgey-job) or cut up wet-suit material.
Dodgey/Dodgy - Anything which is sus', ugly, off, dicey, risky, poorly made, illegal, immoral or otherwise to be negatively regarded is "dodgy". A ubiquitous and universally applicable adjective. A dodgy anchor will not suffice, and a dodgy haircut will see you ostracized, a dodgy heart (ticker) means you should take it easy or see a doctor, and a dodgy person is under no circumstances what-so-bloody-ever to be entrusted with your belay, money, dog or beer.
Ticker - Onomatopoeic substitute noun for "heart", in the sense of either the bodily organ, or an exhibition of courage, perseverence, strength etc. Not used in romantic or amorous ways.
Guts - Ones innards. As a noun this is pretty self evident, even Blind Freddy could see this. But as a verb it approximates "over-eat" (Don't guts yourself on lollies before dinner!), and as an adjective it suggests the same sort of banana (thing) as ticker. If someone says you have lots of guts, and seems to be giving a compliment rather than having a go at your beer-belly, he/she mean they consider you brave. A courageous act is "Gutsy".
Blind Freddy - Who he was is lost in the wearied pages of time, but it seems he was of bloody poor eye-sight. Something that is bloody obvious, be it a physical manifestation or a conclusion, consequence or so on is within his realm of perception. It gives us the admonition "Even Blind Freddy could have seen that!". And if he could have seen it you should have been able to also...the fact that you didn't proves ipso facto that you are a bloody idiot.
Lollies - Candies for those of you from the North Americas.
A Barry (Crocker) - Negative adjectival comment on the seriously poor nature of something. Etymologically Australia shares a lot of linguistic ground with "Cockney rhyming slang", as a fair few of these buggers were shipped over by the Poms in the eary days (1788-1840) as convicts. Hence "A Barry Crocker (or just "A Barry")" is "A shocker". A very poor performance in-bloody-deed. Barry himself was a silver haired crooner of the honey-tongued sort, typically attired in a "a bag of fruit" (a suit) or a snazzy penguin suit (Tux). Now if you'd ever seen or heard this character in full swing, you'd agree that even Blind Freddy could see why his name became the moniker of choice for a very dodgey event.
Snazzy - Showy or stylish banana. Snazzy is an adjective, pretty neutral in intent, though it could be positive if said with admirational tones.
In full swing - an adverbial phrase indicating something is/was/will be in progress at the time, and at it's height of livelines and energy. "The party was in full swing when we arrived".
piss - Like our Pommy cousins we use this in a startling array of different ways. To be pissed is to be as full as a boot (drunk). To be pissed off is to be upset, angry, irked or annoyed severely. To be on the piss is to be drinking alcoholic bevvies in full swing. No bloody doubt you'll end up pissed out of your brain (head, tree). To take the piss (out of) is to be flippant, frivolous or make fun of someone/something...don't get pissed off if someone is taking the piss out of you, tis but a jest and all in good fun. To piss in someones pocket is to treat them like an idiot in trying to con them with untruths or otherwise beguiling words. If you do this to someone, they'll prob'ly tell you to piss off, and go away. Of course to piss oneself when not literally meant could either indicate a very high degree of fear (such as typically encountered when taking a 100 foot whipper on a poorly placed Rurp above a cactus plantation), or a great state of amusement (such as is typically felt by belayer witnesing above mentioned drama). Finally if something is piss-weak it is not bloody god enough, not by half. A piss weak excuse will not avert your copping a hefty punishment, and a piss weak effort will ensure failure. Now, if you are on the piss with some mates, don't forget your maners. If it's your:
shout it is your turn to buy the beers. You can shout someone more than beer of course. I've seen people shout each other a lift to the crag, a meal, a belay, a few dollars/rupees/baht/won/quid/et-bloody-cetera. If someone shouts you something you are morally obliged to return the favour. If you don't you'll be known as:
A bludger - This person "bludges" stuff from others and doesn't reciprocate. He/She is selfish, greedy often lazy and deserving of your scorn. If you want something you can self-depreciatingly ask "Can I bludge a...mate?" That's OK, Aussies like self-depreciating humour and everyone will know you're not an insecure macho wanker, you're just being modest.
Wanker -? Oh that is one swear word that slipped in unnoticed, sorry. It describes a person whose actons or attitude leave a lot, a bloody lot, to be deired. It doesn't hopwever necessarily indicate a tendency to indulge in auto-eroticism, from which this adjective is derived. Prob'ly it's just Catholic guilt over sensuality of all bloody sorts that linked the two together.
It's (just) not cricket - Why in bloody hell would anyone play baseball when cricket exists? :eek8: I just can't figure that one out. But anyways maybe it is a boring esoteric game that a mere 60% of the world is passionate about. What? Oh yeah...it's not cricket is an interjection/ exclamation that means something is unfair, improper in a moral kinda way or very unsportsman-like. Cricket being the most gentlemanly manner bound game. It is intimately bound up with that most British of British notions, of "fair-play" even in love and war. The whole mountaineering debates on guideles ascents in the 1890's-1920's and of the later furors on oxygen use, chalk and even bolting are clear extension of this morality, even Blind Freddy can see this.
Strewth! (see Crikey!) What other words do you clowns need to know in order to get on in the world? I guess you miht need to know that Hero dust is chalk, and that thrutching is a rather inelegant means of ascending a route whereby the body is wiggled, scraped and hauled like a stunned mullet in a vaguely upwards direction. Bumblies (those dear souls new to the climbing game, like myself) are wont to employ this maneuvre, but one shouldn't have a go at them for it, we all stated in the same boat (some of us are still to disembark!:o )
Now kiddies I think that this ought suffice for lesson 1 in your linguistic development. Study hard and don't be scared to have a go yourself, should we run into each other at the meet and greet etc. Best wishes and regards,
I remain thy humble servant.
Now, if this apparent bafflement doesn't apply to your own good self, please take no further heed of the following appendix intended to ellucidate the meanings for those "other" members of KOTR. I should also like to add, before we start, that no thought of condescenion or superscillious intent should in fact be imagined in the contents of that which follows. As "that funny guy" from terra australis, I merely and meekly seek to educate and share what meagre knowledge I have. Kong-bu ha se yo!
Half-arsed - not much chop at all. Something done with shoddy/poor/low quaility efforts in a lazy and/or uncaring fashion. Note the long "a" vowel sound in "half" and "arse", similar to "harf" and "Arhs". Same goes with "laugh", "data", "aunt" and "can't". That piss-weak (see below) short "a" that sounds like a mongrel cross between "a" and "air" isn't good enough for the 21st century I'm afraid kiddies.
Banana - A universal substitute noun, to be used liberally and without fear in place of any regular noun. It's use is not condoned in lieu of pro-nouns however. Crikey! That wouldn't be cricket now would it?
Bloody - This little gen of linguistic ingenuity has been dubbed "the great Aussie adjective". Yet even this accolade falls far short of the words worth. It can be inserted almost anywhere in a sentence to lend that certain...class, which lifts language to the realm of art. e.g. "No bloody way!", "It's bloody hot/cold/good/silly/lovely/delicious", "Fan-bloody-tastic", "What the bloody hell do you bloody well think you're bloody doing you bloody idiot!?"
Cop it sweet/fair cop Not just a reference to those reverred men in blue who are upsatnding model citizens, but also a verb indicating the receival of a deserved punishment. The former a suggestion not to whinge about consequences when caught out doing something naughty, the latter an utterance of acceptance of said punishmants fairness.
Crab' - A carabiner, or "biner". You may also have a locking crab.
Crikey! - The ubiquitous call of the startled common Aussie (homo-sapien downunderis. A globally recognized feature of the recently departed and much missed "Crocdile Hunter":rip:
Holy Bloody Wars! - A similar expression whose undeniable attraction, has caused it to be placed on the endangered by plagarization list at the (mis)use of international groups such as Jihad, Al Queda and the IDA. Generally used in situations of disbelief, shock or outrage, but also great excitement.
Fair crack of the whip/ fair suck of the sav'/ fair go - An appeal to sweet reasonableness and the cessation of unwarranted thoughts, actions etc. A "sav'" is a "savaloy", which our North American compadres may know as a frankfurter/weiner...but the Aussie word carries no such derogatory implication. Eric is a past master in the art of sentence craft with this term.:D
Have a go - To give maximal exertions in pursuit of success. To try hard. Can be used much the same way as Koreans say "Fighting!" Not to be confused with:
Have a go at someone - To chastise, criticize, belittle or slander a person...verbally usually, but physically also possible. That then becomes: A donnybrook - a fight with fists etc. If conducted in public, one is liable to end up getting a ride in the back of:
a divvy van/ a paddy wagon - which is what our police drive.
Pom/Pommy - A person of British nationality, especially English. Gives rise to the back-formation of "Pommy-land", aka "England". The philology being uncertain...perhaps from 17th century Royal Navy rations of pommegranate juice issued to English seaman as a prophylactic against scurvy. Alternatively as an acronym from the convicts tunic stamp of P.O.H.M. - Prisoner of Her/His Majesty.
Kiwi - A distant relative breed of antipodean folk, from New Zealand. So named after a short hairy brown bird that can't even fly. The fruit got the name in a sensationally successful marketing fruit re-naming attempt (formerly "Chinese Gooseberry") that they failed to trademark, so now every "Tom **** and Harry" can sell his fruit under this appellation!
Yank - Anyone from the much beloved US of A. Not really a derogatory nick-name, nor suggesting any South of the Dixie-line origins. Used in such endearing jokes as "How do you get two crocodiles apart? - Give them a yank!"
Yeah-nah - We don't know either, well not exactly, but it can be both an agreement, a half agreement or a disagreement indicator depending on what follows afterwards. witness: "Do you wanna have a beer? - Yeah-nah that's a bloody great idea!", "This climb is way over-rated, don't you think? - Yeah-nah, it is but it isn't, if you know what I mean.", "Can you shout us a beer mate? - Yeah-nah, I'd really like to, but I'm broke as a bloody broke thing myself."
Mate - No-one who's seen any Aussie show, movie or what-have-you can be unawares of this beauty. It does mean friend, but can be used when greeting a stranger, or even as a belligerent term. We are mystified why Yanks pronounce it like "mite"...?
Stubby - Derivative noun from the more known adjective, a stubby is a small beer bottle, generally 375ml. Also available for your vocabulary is "stubby-holder" which is any covering used to insulate said bottle from hand. Oft times styrofom, card-board (home-bodgey-job) or cut up wet-suit material.
Dodgey/Dodgy - Anything which is sus', ugly, off, dicey, risky, poorly made, illegal, immoral or otherwise to be negatively regarded is "dodgy". A ubiquitous and universally applicable adjective. A dodgy anchor will not suffice, and a dodgy haircut will see you ostracized, a dodgy heart (ticker) means you should take it easy or see a doctor, and a dodgy person is under no circumstances what-so-bloody-ever to be entrusted with your belay, money, dog or beer.
Ticker - Onomatopoeic substitute noun for "heart", in the sense of either the bodily organ, or an exhibition of courage, perseverence, strength etc. Not used in romantic or amorous ways.
Guts - Ones innards. As a noun this is pretty self evident, even Blind Freddy could see this. But as a verb it approximates "over-eat" (Don't guts yourself on lollies before dinner!), and as an adjective it suggests the same sort of banana (thing) as ticker. If someone says you have lots of guts, and seems to be giving a compliment rather than having a go at your beer-belly, he/she mean they consider you brave. A courageous act is "Gutsy".
Blind Freddy - Who he was is lost in the wearied pages of time, but it seems he was of bloody poor eye-sight. Something that is bloody obvious, be it a physical manifestation or a conclusion, consequence or so on is within his realm of perception. It gives us the admonition "Even Blind Freddy could have seen that!". And if he could have seen it you should have been able to also...the fact that you didn't proves ipso facto that you are a bloody idiot.
Lollies - Candies for those of you from the North Americas.
A Barry (Crocker) - Negative adjectival comment on the seriously poor nature of something. Etymologically Australia shares a lot of linguistic ground with "Cockney rhyming slang", as a fair few of these buggers were shipped over by the Poms in the eary days (1788-1840) as convicts. Hence "A Barry Crocker (or just "A Barry")" is "A shocker". A very poor performance in-bloody-deed. Barry himself was a silver haired crooner of the honey-tongued sort, typically attired in a "a bag of fruit" (a suit) or a snazzy penguin suit (Tux). Now if you'd ever seen or heard this character in full swing, you'd agree that even Blind Freddy could see why his name became the moniker of choice for a very dodgey event.
Snazzy - Showy or stylish banana. Snazzy is an adjective, pretty neutral in intent, though it could be positive if said with admirational tones.
In full swing - an adverbial phrase indicating something is/was/will be in progress at the time, and at it's height of livelines and energy. "The party was in full swing when we arrived".
piss - Like our Pommy cousins we use this in a startling array of different ways. To be pissed is to be as full as a boot (drunk). To be pissed off is to be upset, angry, irked or annoyed severely. To be on the piss is to be drinking alcoholic bevvies in full swing. No bloody doubt you'll end up pissed out of your brain (head, tree). To take the piss (out of) is to be flippant, frivolous or make fun of someone/something...don't get pissed off if someone is taking the piss out of you, tis but a jest and all in good fun. To piss in someones pocket is to treat them like an idiot in trying to con them with untruths or otherwise beguiling words. If you do this to someone, they'll prob'ly tell you to piss off, and go away. Of course to piss oneself when not literally meant could either indicate a very high degree of fear (such as typically encountered when taking a 100 foot whipper on a poorly placed Rurp above a cactus plantation), or a great state of amusement (such as is typically felt by belayer witnesing above mentioned drama). Finally if something is piss-weak it is not bloody god enough, not by half. A piss weak excuse will not avert your copping a hefty punishment, and a piss weak effort will ensure failure. Now, if you are on the piss with some mates, don't forget your maners. If it's your:
shout it is your turn to buy the beers. You can shout someone more than beer of course. I've seen people shout each other a lift to the crag, a meal, a belay, a few dollars/rupees/baht/won/quid/et-bloody-cetera. If someone shouts you something you are morally obliged to return the favour. If you don't you'll be known as:
A bludger - This person "bludges" stuff from others and doesn't reciprocate. He/She is selfish, greedy often lazy and deserving of your scorn. If you want something you can self-depreciatingly ask "Can I bludge a...mate?" That's OK, Aussies like self-depreciating humour and everyone will know you're not an insecure macho wanker, you're just being modest.
Wanker -? Oh that is one swear word that slipped in unnoticed, sorry. It describes a person whose actons or attitude leave a lot, a bloody lot, to be deired. It doesn't hopwever necessarily indicate a tendency to indulge in auto-eroticism, from which this adjective is derived. Prob'ly it's just Catholic guilt over sensuality of all bloody sorts that linked the two together.
It's (just) not cricket - Why in bloody hell would anyone play baseball when cricket exists? :eek8: I just can't figure that one out. But anyways maybe it is a boring esoteric game that a mere 60% of the world is passionate about. What? Oh yeah...it's not cricket is an interjection/ exclamation that means something is unfair, improper in a moral kinda way or very unsportsman-like. Cricket being the most gentlemanly manner bound game. It is intimately bound up with that most British of British notions, of "fair-play" even in love and war. The whole mountaineering debates on guideles ascents in the 1890's-1920's and of the later furors on oxygen use, chalk and even bolting are clear extension of this morality, even Blind Freddy can see this.
Strewth! (see Crikey!) What other words do you clowns need to know in order to get on in the world? I guess you miht need to know that Hero dust is chalk, and that thrutching is a rather inelegant means of ascending a route whereby the body is wiggled, scraped and hauled like a stunned mullet in a vaguely upwards direction. Bumblies (those dear souls new to the climbing game, like myself) are wont to employ this maneuvre, but one shouldn't have a go at them for it, we all stated in the same boat (some of us are still to disembark!:o )
Now kiddies I think that this ought suffice for lesson 1 in your linguistic development. Study hard and don't be scared to have a go yourself, should we run into each other at the meet and greet etc. Best wishes and regards,
I remain thy humble servant.