Australian English: Pom!

[Tamara (Homes Down Under)]

[h=3]Bludger[/h]

Bludger, by David Pope 2002

 

A person who does not do a fair share of work and who exploits the work of others. The word comes from the British slang word bludger, shortened from bludgeoner, a prostitute's pimp, so named because he carried a bludgeon, presumably to ensure payment. In Australia, bludger came to be applied to anyone who did not pull his or her weight.

 

[h=3]Bung[/h]

Bung, by David Pope 2002

 

Broken, exhausted, out of action 'The TV's bung.' It comes from bang, meaning 'dead', which was first recorded in 1841 in the Yagara Aboriginal language of the Brisbane region. The word found its way into nineteenth-century Australian pidgin, where the phrase to go bung meant 'to die'. By the end of the nineteenth century, the present sense of the word had developed.

 

[h=3]Dag[/h]

Dag, by David Pope 2002

 

A person who is unkempt, unfashionable or lacking in social skills. The word dag also means a lump of matted wool and dung hanging from a sheep's rear. This sense probably led to the meaning 'unkempt', and then to the broader meanings 'unfashionable' and 'socially unacceptable'. It was first recorded in 1891.

 

[h=3]Economic rationalism[/h]

Economic rationalism, by David Pope 2003

 

An approach to economic management that allows market forces, such as supply and demand, to direct the economy. This approach typically adopts privatisation, deregulation, 'user pays' and low public spending. Most Australians are surprised to discover that this is an Australian term.

 

[h=3]Pom[/h]

Pom, by David Pope 2002

 

A British person. Also pommy. First recorded in 1912, the term was originally applied to an immigrant from Britain, and was formed by rhyming slang. A British immigrant was called a pommygrant, from the red fruit pomegranate, perhaps referring to the complexion of the new arrivals, which was then abbreviated to pommy and pom. Although some argue otherwise, it is not an acronym of prisoner of mother England.

 

[h=3]Snag[/h]

Snag, by David Pope 2002

[chrisda]

I wondered where the term whingeing Pom came from:biggrin: