Thanks for a walk down memory lane. I love the way language morphs over time - words, expressions, accents - like windows into the culture of each generation.
Things were ‘ace’ as a mid north coast kid in the 70s.
My Sydney grandfather definitely had all the fair dinkum words - strewth, strike a light, Nancy boy or sissy boy and many others you mentioned.
"Fair dinkum" just reminded me of Billy Birmingham. The 12th Man was funny partly because Billy was able to accurately reproduce legacy Australian speech patterns while always being consistently satirical. I really loved the way he would channel Rabs Warren: "Oh! Crunching tackle! Deadset in the fair dinkum department!" People loved the voices, including me, but he was a very sharp writer. I once transcribed one of his records (The Final Dig?) and it is a masterclass of timing and very sharp plays on how how Australians of a certain age used the lingo.
like windows into the culture of each generation -- well said Melissa. And god, fair dinkum -- I had forgotten that! Ace is a lovely memory for me too.
Yeah good point. Like is lazy. Mind you, most of us would wince at reading our spoken words in print, we'd all feel so wandery and roundabout. When I was younger I used to have a dream that one day I would talk like people in the movies -- to the point and memorable, my fully formed authentic self present in every line. And I'd never say goodbye at the end of a phone call. I'd just hang up!
Stone the flamin' Crows, Bernard Bosanquet, this response takes the cake. So many great words in here -- thank you for your incredibly thorough and illuminating report. A few questions: do you reckon we ARE switching to sidewalk and trash? And does anyone -- apart from you -- still say sheilas? I wonder. My daughter insists blue and blueing lives on -- I hope it's not replaced by beef and beefing, but it probably will be. Good on you mate. Will incorporate some of these into a summary response post, coming soon. Jimmy
Actually, I think our cultural tariff barrier has been sufficiently robust to hold off sidewalk and trash - for now.
Re sheila: my mate Marshall also uses it, I reckon. There is also ‘three wheeler’ or ‘potato peeler’ if you prefer.
As I recall, there is a line in My Brother Jack when Jack writes a letter to Davy saying he has met a real Sheila (‘started a relationship’ in the modern vernacular): ‘’Fancy that, a sheila called Sheila!’’ I may be mistaken…
Re pissed, munted etc, I had occasion to use ‘parked a kerbside quiche’ last weekend when we had to step carefully on the footpath because some whacker hadn’t made it to the dunny in time to ‘drive the porcelain bus’.
I'd say that a missing part of this piece is the acknowledgement of class as a carrier of particular language. I speak differently having been to uni, than my siblings who didn't finish high school. Growing up outside of Geelong there were a lot words that I didn't realise were local and vernacular (or what vernacular meant), like capo (shirt for capitalists) to describe the private school kids we'd run into down the coast in summer, and povos to describe anyone worst off than us working class kids. Much like skegs (surfers) and scozzers (hoon drivers) were polar opposites in a town that was between industry (Ford) and the beach. I'm pretty sure Tim Winton has written about this too, because of course he has, but I couldn't find the article with a google search. Christ on a bike!
Definitely a missing part, Late Bloomer. As I said, it's a sketch. I think the class issue needs a lot more exploration, and would have played big in a class-ridden town like Geelong, maybe still does. Christ on a bike! Great stuff. Thanks for your helpful thoughts.
Challenging piece because it brought back so many memories of my childhood. and of an Australia that has mostly gone. Not entirely, no, but mostly. The Australia that in a sense Pauline Hanson wants us to return too. At the least the fairy tale vision of that Australia. Now you have left migrants out, their influence on the language. I wonder how large that influence has been? Not that much I think. I’m happy to be proven wrong. Two things: the bocker was common usage when I was a boy and I detest the way football commenters pronounce defence as deefence. Terrific piece.
Thanks Michael -- great message. I have left migrants out, as I acknowledged. It's interesting to think of what contribution they have made? And Indigenous people -- how widespread is deadly, for example? As I said, it's just a sketch, there is so much more to say.
People (well, men) in parts of regional Tasmania still use the word 'cock' as a term of affection. When non-Anglo immigrants arrived post-WWII from places like Yugoslavia, they adopted it and wogged it up. It became 'diiiique' (said with heavy Balkan accent). I find it hilarious as it means the same thing.
That's really interesting Natasha (and good to hear from you!). Are you saying that migrants from Yugoslavia would say 'diiique' to mean friend, as cock did? That's great. I've always been interested in the fact that among all the slang for friend (mate, cobber, buddy etc), the word 'pal' is almost never used in a friendly way.
Some did. Some didn’t. Some also used ‘cock’ but some didn’t. I'm interested in the way CALD migrants - especially ones who never were able to access formal education - spoke somehow in between their original and adopted languages. My father did that all his life even though his English comprehension and communication capacity became excellent, and he couldn’t really read English. He never used cock or dick. On pal, I’ve never heard anyone in Tasmania use it, ever.
Yes I agree -- that moving between an original and adopted language, or children moving without thinking between English (say) and the language of their parents, is really interesting. Pal should be retired from the language!
I've got to read They're A Weird Mob, Rose Marie. And I hear good things about Afferbeck Lauder too. So many books, so little time! Thanks for your message and sorry for my slow reply.
No sweat, those books you don't actually have to read as you could probably think through what the plotlines are. The film of ‘They're a Weird Mob’ is such a reminder of the past here in Australia. Light hearted cringeworthy. I haven't seen the film for a very long time so I don't know what the filters of modernity (pc) would do to my rememberance. Nothing like, some years later, ‘Wake in Fright’ for example.
Light-hearted and cringeworthy sounds right, Rose Marie. Wake in Fright on the other hand was a stunning film. Made a huge impression when I saw it as an eleven-year old.
Thanks Anne, and great to hear from you. There were indeed dictionaries of Strine. My kids -- aged 30 and 28 -- have no idea what the word Strine means.
Yesterday at work, I apologised to the people on the front desk for allowing too many students to put their bags in the cloak room: “Sorry, but it’s a bit of a brothel in there.” Three or four bemused faces looked up at me as though I was a turd in a lunchbox, or at least had farted in a lift.
Recently I went to see the full Ray Lawler trilogy and was in seventh heaven. Nancy actually uses ‘Up there Cazaly!’ at one point.
It would be disingenuous to pretend there is not a performative aspect to my use of Australian vernacular, but I do love it. The security guard at work refers to me as ‘the Australian’, and has even taken to reciprocating my daily ‘morning cobber’.
Pardon the stream of consciousness, but I am going to make notes as I read through your article. Anyway, it’s your fault. You asked for feedback, ya dickhead. (A mighty Australian put-down, with glorious consonants.)
Regarding Americanisms, we must protect ‘footpath’ from ‘sidewalk’, ‘rubbish’ from ‘trash’. I also use ‘blokes’ rather than ‘guys’, but classroom gender expectations have weakened my defences. ‘Guys’ is actually useful when speaking to a class made up of both ‘blokes’ and ‘shielas’ (and more), and is more personable than ‘Year 10s’.
Sorry, but I have used ‘bonzer’ (although I didn’t learn that in Camberwell), although more commonly ‘beaut’ (which I certainly did - from the old man). I also use ‘crikey’ and ‘fair dinkum’, which makes the security guard chuckle.
‘Sook’ is hanging in there thanks to the meme ‘Have a sook cunt’, which interestingly relies on American imagery (The Simpsons).
Never heard of ‘bocker’.
‘Daks’ is on life support thanks to ‘trakky daks’, but I agree it’s rarely used for standard ‘trousers’ (or ‘slacks’ if you’re from Warrnambool or in a 1970s male fashion ad in The Footy Record).
‘Rotter’ definitely sounds Pommy, although ‘row’ or ‘a bit of a row’ rings true.
‘Lorry’ is a wonderful word when said in an Australian accent, just as ‘Laurie’ is a great Australian name and Laurie Fowler was a great back pocket, as hard as a box of nails.
‘Turn it up’ demonstrates contemptuous scepticism more powerfully than a dozen other less charming versions. We could also fight for ‘bulldust’ in the face of the ‘I’m calling BS on that’ trend. If Dad were alive, he would advocate for ‘cobblers’, as in ‘what a load of cobblers’.
Yes, prefer ‘pissed’ to any number of American versions for being drunk, although I do have affection for the Kiwis’ ‘munted’. ‘Tired and emotional’ holds a special place, thanks to John Kerr.
Still regularly use ‘tucker’, although ‘grub’ is waning. It would be a shame if ‘Grub’s up!’ was lost.
Have not heard ‘Rats!’ in yonks. Made me chuckle. Probably been replaced by unimaginative cursing.
Surely staying ‘until stumps’ lives on? Good riddance to ‘it’s not cricket’, which has been exposed for its pompous hypocrisy, although it persists in the UK (see Carey-Bairstow and the “puce-faced MCC snobs”, as Gideon Haigh called them).
Agree that ‘ocker’ is just about dead and buried, with ‘hooligan’ and ‘larrikin’ also under threat.
I think Jim Pavlidis still uses ‘grouse’, which is a ripper, or even a humdinger. I will make a concerted effort to use it instead of ‘ace’, which I regularly employ (with exclamation mark, tragically) in text messages. Is ‘ace’ American, perhaps?
‘Go and jump in the lake’ has, like ‘Rats!’, probably been usurped by more vulgar expressions.
I plead guilty to ‘my bad’, but have not stooped to ‘Enjoy!’. Shame on you Jimmy.
I suspect your daughter’s ‘lit’ is not particularly lit any more, but what would we know? My favourite from that era was ‘salty’, which I reckon is worthy of Shakespeare.
‘Any obs?’ made me laugh. You needed to jut out your jaw when you said that.
I am glad kids are still using ‘having a blue’, although I can hardly believe it.
Re the slightly annoying ubiquity of ‘Great question!’, ‘Amazing!’, etc, an anecdote: I was working at a website where a young journo was doing a story on the skills we are in danger of losing (crochet, making junket, etc). I sent her a message with a couple of suggestions, including ‘the art of understatement’. “Awesome!” she replied.
Don’t get me started on ‘passed’. Mate, they’re dead, ‘brown bread’ or have ‘kicked the bucket’, and we’re all going there. People even talk about their fucking pets passing these days.
Yes, language has become kinder (see ‘spastic’), but it has regressed of late. You are wrong about ‘retard’, which has made a shameful comeback post-Trump (a president who saw fit to mock disability in a way we would not tolerate from a primary kid) and Musk’s ownership of X. It’s everywhere.
I had never thought about ‘public works’ v ‘infrastructure’ in that way. ‘Public works’ is now on my ‘to-do list’ (an Americanism, presumably?). Thank you.
Also an interesting point about ‘fair go’ being reduced to a slogan. Let’s reclaim it.
Agree with those influences you mention, particularly the sidelining of farm and country life. My mate from Corryong has ‘tea’, not ‘dinner’, as did we growing up in Camberwell. Perhaps that’s because Mum was from Dimboola.
Thanks for the article, Jimmy. It was a ripsnorter.
Onya,
Patrick
ps: Unlike many, I don’t recoil at ‘verse’ as a verb, even though it jars. As you say, language is always on the march. Much prefer it to the retreat on ‘literally’, which literally makes my blood boil!
Ripper of a piece, James! You’ve rolled up into one article half a lifetime of my deep internal struggle working with words with long stretches in Sydney, Canberra, New York, London and the Yorkshire Dales. Somewhere I reached a point where words were all smooshed up and I’m not sure how much sense I make any more.
But your article has inspired me with the idea of training an AI client on mid 20th century Aussie slang. Would give us something to yarn about!
Great to get this message Tim. Yes, you must be a word ratatouille by now. You've probably forgotten which word comes from where. The AI will sort you out. I look forward to that yarn.
I still occasionally throw out a "What is this? Bush week?" ... to the extent that I had to explain to my kids the origin of it, which they found hilarious. My seven-year-old used the phrase the other day.
OK, well, my understanding is that it is related to the Melbourne Show back in the day (which was apparently referred to by the nickname 'Bush Week') ...
For that event, lots of rural folk would descend on the city, and the view of the Melburnites was that the farmers were terrible at driving in city traffic, being used to regional or rural emptier roads. You can imagine such Melbourne weirdness as hook-turns would have been tricky for anybody from the bush.
So, the cry: "What is this? Bush week?" extends to any bad drivers, aligning them with the dodgy drivers in town for the show/aka bush week.
An excellent and thought-provoking piece, James. I’m especially glad that you made note of my least favourite imported Americanism, “She’s likely coming on Tuesday” — as opposed to “probably.” This new usage still sounds awful to my ear, but no doubt I’m showing my age there. Another point to consider in Aussie slang is regional variation. Growing up in Sydney in the 70s and 80s, I had the impression that “grouse” was a Melbourne word — I would hear Melburnians say it on shows like “Hey Hey It’s Saturday,” but never heard anyone use the word in everyday Sydney conversation. In my peer group the equivalent word was “unreal.” We also used the word “Westie” instead of “bogan” — I don’t know if “Westie” was a Sydney-only thing or if it was also used in other Aussie cities. When I lived in Canberra during the 1990s, I was amused to find that Canberrans had their own term for the Westie/bogan — they called them “booners.”
Unreal! What a miss from me David -- like forgetting to put chocolate in the chocolate cake. I agree, regional variations were probably big, and maybe still are. Interesting that you thought grouse was a Melbourne word. And yeah, I hate that use of likely too. What drongos!
I meant to add earlier , how good your substack is , great stuff! (Does that qualify!) I still say , when something is a mess- looks like a dog’s breakfast. Thanks!
Ah thanks very much Claudia, that's lovely. I actually responded to your last post but for some reason it disappeared, must try to discovery why. I agree that like is lazy and that a transcript of our speech would show that up, but if we all read such transcripts we'd all be wincing over the roundabout and repetitive way we speak. We certainly don't talk the way they do in the movies. For example, we all say goodbye on our phone calls, we don't just hang up!
Nobody seems to mind the insertion of the word ‘like’ in every sentence - it is getting worse and even interviewees on radio do it relentlessly. I’m like over it!
Yes, I just hope it goes out of fashion. When you think about it, is the speaker unable to find the right words to describe what they are trying to say, so they say 'like' meaning they can't find the right words so what they are about to say will have to do? Also , I wonder if they could read a transcript of their interview with all the 'likes' left in, would they realise how ghastly it is for the listener?
Thanks for a walk down memory lane. I love the way language morphs over time - words, expressions, accents - like windows into the culture of each generation.
Things were ‘ace’ as a mid north coast kid in the 70s.
My Sydney grandfather definitely had all the fair dinkum words - strewth, strike a light, Nancy boy or sissy boy and many others you mentioned.
"windows into the culture of each generation" -- well said Melissa. God, fair dinkum -- I had forgotten about that! And ace: what a lovely memory.
"Fair dinkum" just reminded me of Billy Birmingham. The 12th Man was funny partly because Billy was able to accurately reproduce legacy Australian speech patterns while always being consistently satirical. I really loved the way he would channel Rabs Warren: "Oh! Crunching tackle! Deadset in the fair dinkum department!" People loved the voices, including me, but he was a very sharp writer. I once transcribed one of his records (The Final Dig?) and it is a masterclass of timing and very sharp plays on how how Australians of a certain age used the lingo.
like windows into the culture of each generation -- well said Melissa. And god, fair dinkum -- I had forgotten that! Ace is a lovely memory for me too.
And Australians of a certain age might come to expect violence and sex at this event.
https://events.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au/event/34430371-a/sunshine-coast-blues-roots-festival
Very funny Paul!
Yeah good point. Like is lazy. Mind you, most of us would wince at reading our spoken words in print, we'd all feel so wandery and roundabout. When I was younger I used to have a dream that one day I would talk like people in the movies -- to the point and memorable, my fully formed authentic self present in every line. And I'd never say goodbye at the end of a phone call. I'd just hang up!
and back then those fast talkin people were in Films, not movies…
Stone the flamin' Crows, Bernard Bosanquet, this response takes the cake. So many great words in here -- thank you for your incredibly thorough and illuminating report. A few questions: do you reckon we ARE switching to sidewalk and trash? And does anyone -- apart from you -- still say sheilas? I wonder. My daughter insists blue and blueing lives on -- I hope it's not replaced by beef and beefing, but it probably will be. Good on you mate. Will incorporate some of these into a summary response post, coming soon. Jimmy
Actually, I think our cultural tariff barrier has been sufficiently robust to hold off sidewalk and trash - for now.
Re sheila: my mate Marshall also uses it, I reckon. There is also ‘three wheeler’ or ‘potato peeler’ if you prefer.
As I recall, there is a line in My Brother Jack when Jack writes a letter to Davy saying he has met a real Sheila (‘started a relationship’ in the modern vernacular): ‘’Fancy that, a sheila called Sheila!’’ I may be mistaken…
Re pissed, munted etc, I had occasion to use ‘parked a kerbside quiche’ last weekend when we had to step carefully on the footpath because some whacker hadn’t made it to the dunny in time to ‘drive the porcelain bus’.
I'd say that a missing part of this piece is the acknowledgement of class as a carrier of particular language. I speak differently having been to uni, than my siblings who didn't finish high school. Growing up outside of Geelong there were a lot words that I didn't realise were local and vernacular (or what vernacular meant), like capo (shirt for capitalists) to describe the private school kids we'd run into down the coast in summer, and povos to describe anyone worst off than us working class kids. Much like skegs (surfers) and scozzers (hoon drivers) were polar opposites in a town that was between industry (Ford) and the beach. I'm pretty sure Tim Winton has written about this too, because of course he has, but I couldn't find the article with a google search. Christ on a bike!
Definitely a missing part, Late Bloomer. As I said, it's a sketch. I think the class issue needs a lot more exploration, and would have played big in a class-ridden town like Geelong, maybe still does. Christ on a bike! Great stuff. Thanks for your helpful thoughts.
Philip Adam’s is a great one for the Aussie vernacular and the Koala stamp.
The koala stamp I don't know Kath, but it sounds like something Philip Adams would like.
Challenging piece because it brought back so many memories of my childhood. and of an Australia that has mostly gone. Not entirely, no, but mostly. The Australia that in a sense Pauline Hanson wants us to return too. At the least the fairy tale vision of that Australia. Now you have left migrants out, their influence on the language. I wonder how large that influence has been? Not that much I think. I’m happy to be proven wrong. Two things: the bocker was common usage when I was a boy and I detest the way football commenters pronounce defence as deefence. Terrific piece.
Thanks Michael -- great message. I have left migrants out, as I acknowledged. It's interesting to think of what contribution they have made? And Indigenous people -- how widespread is deadly, for example? As I said, it's just a sketch, there is so much more to say.
People (well, men) in parts of regional Tasmania still use the word 'cock' as a term of affection. When non-Anglo immigrants arrived post-WWII from places like Yugoslavia, they adopted it and wogged it up. It became 'diiiique' (said with heavy Balkan accent). I find it hilarious as it means the same thing.
That's really interesting Natasha (and good to hear from you!). Are you saying that migrants from Yugoslavia would say 'diiique' to mean friend, as cock did? That's great. I've always been interested in the fact that among all the slang for friend (mate, cobber, buddy etc), the word 'pal' is almost never used in a friendly way.
Some did. Some didn’t. Some also used ‘cock’ but some didn’t. I'm interested in the way CALD migrants - especially ones who never were able to access formal education - spoke somehow in between their original and adopted languages. My father did that all his life even though his English comprehension and communication capacity became excellent, and he couldn’t really read English. He never used cock or dick. On pal, I’ve never heard anyone in Tasmania use it, ever.
Yes I agree -- that moving between an original and adopted language, or children moving without thinking between English (say) and the language of their parents, is really interesting. Pal should be retired from the language!
lol. I still use it with a friend I’ve had since childhood. We greet each other with G’day cock
Their A Weird Mob by John O' Grady and Afferbeck Lauder spring to mind. Emma Chisit too.
I've got to read They're A Weird Mob, Rose Marie. And I hear good things about Afferbeck Lauder too. So many books, so little time! Thanks for your message and sorry for my slow reply.
No sweat, those books you don't actually have to read as you could probably think through what the plotlines are. The film of ‘They're a Weird Mob’ is such a reminder of the past here in Australia. Light hearted cringeworthy. I haven't seen the film for a very long time so I don't know what the filters of modernity (pc) would do to my rememberance. Nothing like, some years later, ‘Wake in Fright’ for example.
Light-hearted and cringeworthy sounds right, Rose Marie. Wake in Fright on the other hand was a stunning film. Made a huge impression when I saw it as an eleven-year old.
Yep, that's one you don't forget. Aptly titled. M classification!
Great piece James
My father used to refer to ‘the ‘drome’ now known as the airport.
‘You wouldn’t be dead for quids’
I used to alarm my coworkers in New York in the 80s by praising them with the term ‘your blood should be bottled’.
‘Knock a jam tart off a shelf’
There used to be dictionaries of Strine. Should be revived.
Thanks Anne, and great to hear from you. There were indeed dictionaries of Strine. My kids -- aged 30 and 28 -- have no idea what the word Strine means.
That was a mint article. Even mintox.
Thank you Fongywascool!
It was an ace article, James, ace. And from memory you're a fellow Cats supporter, so even more onya.
Dear Jimmy,
Corker of an article.
This stuff is close to my heart.
Yesterday at work, I apologised to the people on the front desk for allowing too many students to put their bags in the cloak room: “Sorry, but it’s a bit of a brothel in there.” Three or four bemused faces looked up at me as though I was a turd in a lunchbox, or at least had farted in a lift.
Recently I went to see the full Ray Lawler trilogy and was in seventh heaven. Nancy actually uses ‘Up there Cazaly!’ at one point.
It would be disingenuous to pretend there is not a performative aspect to my use of Australian vernacular, but I do love it. The security guard at work refers to me as ‘the Australian’, and has even taken to reciprocating my daily ‘morning cobber’.
Pardon the stream of consciousness, but I am going to make notes as I read through your article. Anyway, it’s your fault. You asked for feedback, ya dickhead. (A mighty Australian put-down, with glorious consonants.)
Regarding Americanisms, we must protect ‘footpath’ from ‘sidewalk’, ‘rubbish’ from ‘trash’. I also use ‘blokes’ rather than ‘guys’, but classroom gender expectations have weakened my defences. ‘Guys’ is actually useful when speaking to a class made up of both ‘blokes’ and ‘shielas’ (and more), and is more personable than ‘Year 10s’.
Sorry, but I have used ‘bonzer’ (although I didn’t learn that in Camberwell), although more commonly ‘beaut’ (which I certainly did - from the old man). I also use ‘crikey’ and ‘fair dinkum’, which makes the security guard chuckle.
‘Sook’ is hanging in there thanks to the meme ‘Have a sook cunt’, which interestingly relies on American imagery (The Simpsons).
Never heard of ‘bocker’.
‘Daks’ is on life support thanks to ‘trakky daks’, but I agree it’s rarely used for standard ‘trousers’ (or ‘slacks’ if you’re from Warrnambool or in a 1970s male fashion ad in The Footy Record).
‘Rotter’ definitely sounds Pommy, although ‘row’ or ‘a bit of a row’ rings true.
‘Lorry’ is a wonderful word when said in an Australian accent, just as ‘Laurie’ is a great Australian name and Laurie Fowler was a great back pocket, as hard as a box of nails.
‘Turn it up’ demonstrates contemptuous scepticism more powerfully than a dozen other less charming versions. We could also fight for ‘bulldust’ in the face of the ‘I’m calling BS on that’ trend. If Dad were alive, he would advocate for ‘cobblers’, as in ‘what a load of cobblers’.
Yes, prefer ‘pissed’ to any number of American versions for being drunk, although I do have affection for the Kiwis’ ‘munted’. ‘Tired and emotional’ holds a special place, thanks to John Kerr.
Still regularly use ‘tucker’, although ‘grub’ is waning. It would be a shame if ‘Grub’s up!’ was lost.
Have not heard ‘Rats!’ in yonks. Made me chuckle. Probably been replaced by unimaginative cursing.
Surely staying ‘until stumps’ lives on? Good riddance to ‘it’s not cricket’, which has been exposed for its pompous hypocrisy, although it persists in the UK (see Carey-Bairstow and the “puce-faced MCC snobs”, as Gideon Haigh called them).
Agree that ‘ocker’ is just about dead and buried, with ‘hooligan’ and ‘larrikin’ also under threat.
I think Jim Pavlidis still uses ‘grouse’, which is a ripper, or even a humdinger. I will make a concerted effort to use it instead of ‘ace’, which I regularly employ (with exclamation mark, tragically) in text messages. Is ‘ace’ American, perhaps?
‘Go and jump in the lake’ has, like ‘Rats!’, probably been usurped by more vulgar expressions.
I plead guilty to ‘my bad’, but have not stooped to ‘Enjoy!’. Shame on you Jimmy.
I suspect your daughter’s ‘lit’ is not particularly lit any more, but what would we know? My favourite from that era was ‘salty’, which I reckon is worthy of Shakespeare.
‘Any obs?’ made me laugh. You needed to jut out your jaw when you said that.
I am glad kids are still using ‘having a blue’, although I can hardly believe it.
Re the slightly annoying ubiquity of ‘Great question!’, ‘Amazing!’, etc, an anecdote: I was working at a website where a young journo was doing a story on the skills we are in danger of losing (crochet, making junket, etc). I sent her a message with a couple of suggestions, including ‘the art of understatement’. “Awesome!” she replied.
Don’t get me started on ‘passed’. Mate, they’re dead, ‘brown bread’ or have ‘kicked the bucket’, and we’re all going there. People even talk about their fucking pets passing these days.
Yes, language has become kinder (see ‘spastic’), but it has regressed of late. You are wrong about ‘retard’, which has made a shameful comeback post-Trump (a president who saw fit to mock disability in a way we would not tolerate from a primary kid) and Musk’s ownership of X. It’s everywhere.
I had never thought about ‘public works’ v ‘infrastructure’ in that way. ‘Public works’ is now on my ‘to-do list’ (an Americanism, presumably?). Thank you.
Also an interesting point about ‘fair go’ being reduced to a slogan. Let’s reclaim it.
Agree with those influences you mention, particularly the sidelining of farm and country life. My mate from Corryong has ‘tea’, not ‘dinner’, as did we growing up in Camberwell. Perhaps that’s because Mum was from Dimboola.
Thanks for the article, Jimmy. It was a ripsnorter.
Onya,
Patrick
ps: Unlike many, I don’t recoil at ‘verse’ as a verb, even though it jars. As you say, language is always on the march. Much prefer it to the retreat on ‘literally’, which literally makes my blood boil!
Ripper of a piece, James! You’ve rolled up into one article half a lifetime of my deep internal struggle working with words with long stretches in Sydney, Canberra, New York, London and the Yorkshire Dales. Somewhere I reached a point where words were all smooshed up and I’m not sure how much sense I make any more.
But your article has inspired me with the idea of training an AI client on mid 20th century Aussie slang. Would give us something to yarn about!
Great to get this message Tim. Yes, you must be a word ratatouille by now. You've probably forgotten which word comes from where. The AI will sort you out. I look forward to that yarn.
I still occasionally throw out a "What is this? Bush week?" ... to the extent that I had to explain to my kids the origin of it, which they found hilarious. My seven-year-old used the phrase the other day.
Ha ha! But what is the origin of it Nick? Keen to know myself.
OK, well, my understanding is that it is related to the Melbourne Show back in the day (which was apparently referred to by the nickname 'Bush Week') ...
For that event, lots of rural folk would descend on the city, and the view of the Melburnites was that the farmers were terrible at driving in city traffic, being used to regional or rural emptier roads. You can imagine such Melbourne weirdness as hook-turns would have been tricky for anybody from the bush.
So, the cry: "What is this? Bush week?" extends to any bad drivers, aligning them with the dodgy drivers in town for the show/aka bush week.
Fascinating Nick -- I knew nothing of that!
An excellent and thought-provoking piece, James. I’m especially glad that you made note of my least favourite imported Americanism, “She’s likely coming on Tuesday” — as opposed to “probably.” This new usage still sounds awful to my ear, but no doubt I’m showing my age there. Another point to consider in Aussie slang is regional variation. Growing up in Sydney in the 70s and 80s, I had the impression that “grouse” was a Melbourne word — I would hear Melburnians say it on shows like “Hey Hey It’s Saturday,” but never heard anyone use the word in everyday Sydney conversation. In my peer group the equivalent word was “unreal.” We also used the word “Westie” instead of “bogan” — I don’t know if “Westie” was a Sydney-only thing or if it was also used in other Aussie cities. When I lived in Canberra during the 1990s, I was amused to find that Canberrans had their own term for the Westie/bogan — they called them “booners.”
Unreal! What a miss from me David -- like forgetting to put chocolate in the chocolate cake. I agree, regional variations were probably big, and maybe still are. Interesting that you thought grouse was a Melbourne word. And yeah, I hate that use of likely too. What drongos!
I also have a least favourite Americanism. My personal slogan is "I say toilet instead of bathroom because I'm not a septic tank!".
‘reaching out to’ instead of ‘contacting’ And ‘pivot’, all that pivoting, it’s exhausting! Not to mention the excessive use of exclamation marks!!
I meant to add earlier , how good your substack is , great stuff! (Does that qualify!) I still say , when something is a mess- looks like a dog’s breakfast. Thanks!
Ah thanks very much Claudia, that's lovely. I actually responded to your last post but for some reason it disappeared, must try to discovery why. I agree that like is lazy and that a transcript of our speech would show that up, but if we all read such transcripts we'd all be wincing over the roundabout and repetitive way we speak. We certainly don't talk the way they do in the movies. For example, we all say goodbye on our phone calls, we don't just hang up!
Indeed!
Nobody seems to mind the insertion of the word ‘like’ in every sentence - it is getting worse and even interviewees on radio do it relentlessly. I’m like over it!
Ha ha Claudia! I think you might be like trying to hold back the waves on that one.
Yes, I just hope it goes out of fashion. When you think about it, is the speaker unable to find the right words to describe what they are trying to say, so they say 'like' meaning they can't find the right words so what they are about to say will have to do? Also , I wonder if they could read a transcript of their interview with all the 'likes' left in, would they realise how ghastly it is for the listener?