The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-06-05
AUSTRALIAN ENGLISH WORDS.
Some Old Words Used with New and
Strange Meanings in the Antipodes.

Australian history is little more than fifty
years long, but the developments of Ian
guage have been SO rapid that it has been
than five hundred pages of Australian
words, phrases and usages which for the
most part are peculiar to the Antipodes and
entirely dlnerent from the English spoken
anywhere else.
The early settlers in Australia had very
strange experience, for they had to name an
entirely new flora and fauna. In Australia
the settlers found no oak tree but seeing a
tree that much resembled it, they called the
new tree by the old name From resemh-
lance and also from associations. old words
are used to describe new things; for in
stance, Jackass is braying bird a marsh
and lobster robin, cherry magpie and many
other names are applied to animals and
plants other than those that bear the names
IN other EngliSh-speaking countries
There is a class of words in which with
o 4T apparent rhyme Or reason the name of
tn, instrument is transferred to the object
deed whereby the property is rented. but the
properly itself so obtained, and dam is
water so kept back. BY similar process
push" has become a gathering of persons
instead OF the usual action of crowd, just
as crush describes closely packed as
sembly. The Australians talk of a push
a an sIo ot h house, when we should say
S glass al If no sn;rit NobRer in australia is
dow on the mob" that finishes the fight
or else a confederate of thimble rigs or a.
sWiIIuliIB attorney, 'Nut also is an inter-
esting word 1t means "a long, lank, lam
tern-Jawed. whiskerless colonial youth, gem
orally nineteen years of age" Now. nut in
English is associated with profit C1rose in
the hrst edition of his classical dictionary
dated 1875, defines lit was nuts for them
as 1T was very agreeable to them" Nut
also is slang for the head. "'Duffer'' in Aus
ualia is cattle thief An old dictionary
refers the word to the German ''durfen T"
and defines it a hawker of sham ieWeIrv
then sham, and finally fool. Crosse ex-
plains buffers persons who ply about
town; pretending to deal in smuggied goods.
thereby deceiving country people
Old Man is a curious Australian phrase
AS name IL means a full-grown male kan
CARGO. but IL is also employed as an adiec-
tive in the sense of big, and an ''old man
allotment means larger plot of land A
"brumby is wild horse, and the only a g
ISOLATION which can in any way connect the
word with the new meaning is that some
years ago "brumby' was known in GER
tain parts of England as a cab plying at a
reduced rate and drawn by one horse. ''Kit1
in Australia is from the Maori kete. and
means basket, and has nothing to do win
the English kit or outfit. Gin is a woman
and is sometimes written gun" but Is NOT
related TO the Greek gune 1t is not su9
gested that gin is used eithsr from as
socatica with Sairy Camp, or because
gin" IS good English for a snare: bur the
use of the word is traced from an aboriainaI
source. The dictionary under the title ~
"Austral English" has been complied ~
Professor Morris. of Melbourne Universitvy
and is full Of interesting matter.