The Wilmington daily Republican., 1895-09-30
AUSTRALIAN SLANG.
HOW LANGUAGE NAV BE ENRICHED
BY CIRCUMSTANCE.

BY CIRCUMSTANCE
Words Adapted From Foreign Languages
or Coined outright-Eventuaiiy . New
Dictionary May Ne Necessary For tho
Convenience Of Newcomers.
Every year and every month more and.
more Englishmen 20 out to Australia to
try to take advantage of the flowing tide
Of fortune, while of those who stay at
home an over increasing number interest
themselves pecunjarily In Australian ven-
tures and become insensibly acquainted In
consequence with an entirely novel group
of ideas and modes Of expression. At first
these new words and phrases are very con-
fusing TO the English mind. Many of them
indeed are literally taken from foreign
anguages-namely, those Of tho various
Australian aboriginal tribes or "bnck fell
lows, as they are called. Others are old
English slang, forgotten now In this ooun-
try, and others now English slang import
ed direct from Amorioa. There is some
excuse, therefore, for the temporary oon-
fusion Of tho newly arrived stranger, or
thew ohum, when he first hears this odd
jargon mingled with the queens English.
There are certain words which even
Engiishmen generally understand, words
which constantly rocur, but which, M It
Is unsafe to take anything for granted,
shall be explained and defined at the out
set. Such a word is "bush."n This means
nncleared ground, and especially the enor-
nous areas covered with open forests Of
eucalyptus, or "gum," as 1t is locally
termed. A "bushman" Is not a black
fellow in the sense In which the Dutch
used the word ut the Cape, but means n
man accustomed to traverse tho bush and
able to look after himself therein. To be
"bushed" is to be lost in the bush, fate
usually reserved for those who are not
bushmen and very commonly ending in
death. 1t may be said that bush Is n gem
eral word, including what the government
statistioian Of New South Wales torlms
"open, brush and scrub forests The
"brush" forests are found chiefly along the
coasts and consist largely of fern trees,
palms, cabbage trees, Morcton Bay figs,
etc. The 'scrub" forests are mostly stunt
cd pines, acacia and gum. Having dis
posed Of these three important words, we
may pass on to say that a a"squatter" is q
large landowner, and his holding Is called
a"station.'
The "squatocracy" corresponds to our
squirearchy. A station far removed from
centcrs of civilization Is called a "blaok
block" small farmer is "cookatoo" or
a"stringy bargcr;" ayoung inan working
on station for tho sake of learning how
to farm Is called q "jackeroo;" "select-
or is man who, under certain condi-
tions Is allowed to occupy a small portion
of the squatter's holding and farm 1t un-
til ho Is bought out by the squatter Suoh
solicitors used formerly to be able to flx on
tho most valuable parts of the holding
They were then said to have "pioked the
eyes out of 1t, and hence, from conneo-
tion OF this idea with q peacock's tail, to
have "peacooked" It, This Is still done
In some parts of Australia. Naturally
holders of stations often have their cattle
stolen, especially by these solicitors
Stealing stock from a station is called
"dufiing." To prevent this 1t is custom
ary to brand stock. At certain times
however, there are likely to be great mum.
bers Of unbranded young stock running
wild. These arc called "clearskins," " and
moro rarely, "cleanskins. A "crawler''
is a sheep left behind on the road. To
bail" cattle, as is well known, Is to So
cure them by means of bail; hence to
bail up" is to drive into corner, and
more generally, to render helpless The
CRY of bail up" signifies "hold your arms
above your head and keep them there till
further orders or I'll shoot YOU" Tho
Idea of tho position Ia that the person bail
cd up shall be rendered helpless and not
be able to reach his revolver.
So much thcn for stations and stock
We may now pass on TO the station hands,
Not many, as u rule, are permanently en-
gagged on ono plnce, A man of all work,
especially at shehring time, is called q
rouse about" The ordinary Australian
laborer who travels from station to sta
tlon, carrying his kit or "swag" on his
back, Is called u "swngman," or "swag-
ger" Whilo on the tramp through the
bush with this object In view, he is said to
be ION tho wallnby" (wallaby being "a
small form of kangaroo common In the
bush), or to be carrying bluey," and
general speaking, to "hnmp ones swag''
is to make start, to set out, or continue
on tramp or journey, etc. The man
who appears at stations at sunset, ostensi-
bly, in search of work, but really desirous
only Of nights lodging and some proyl-
sions, goes by the name Of IA "sundownor."
Such man, like all those who nro not flt
to be accommodated in tho squatter's
house as guests, is sent to sleep in an out
house built for tho purpose and commonly
called tho barracks Hence /. bur
racks" has come to mean a rough, or a
rowdy of any sort. This word is more
common in New Zealand than in Austria
lia, though the slang of both countries is
practically the same.
Tho swagman and the sundowner In
variably carry "pannikin" and "billy."
The former is an open pot, and the latter
is usually tin pot with u lid holding a
quart. Perhaps 1t would be more correct
to say that 1t is usually without a lid for
the lid is soon lost. In this the swaglnan
makes his everlasting drink-tea. Beer
and spirits are not very easy to be got in
many parts Of tho bush. But tea can be
easily carried, and every one drinks 1T in
Australia to excess. Billy tea Is rather
good. You boil water In tho billy over
your little fro in the bush, then throw in
handful Of tea and about half handful
of sugar, leave to boil for few seconds,
take 1t OFF and drink as soon as it is cool
enough. Needless to say, there is no milk
in it. The swagman' chief food is damp
er"-that is bread mndo by himself with
out yeast and baked on hot stone in tho
bush. To make damper woll is high art,
and thcro is not space horo TO explain how
to do 1t, When there is not time to make
damper he makes "beggars on tho coasi
or something which he calls by name
very similar. "Jobnnycaken is thin
fu,t..