IT’S fair to say most Australians are well acquainted with a slang phrase or two. After all, you’re not fair dinkum if you can’t call your cobber a drongo after having a gutful.
But we’ve all met someone born with a gramophone needle in their mouth — dinky di members of society fluent in Aussie lingo who relish the descriptive power of a particularly evocative saying.
Murrawee farmer Owen Fox is renowned among his circle of friends and family for his quirky turn of phrase, crediting it to a childhood growing up in the relatively isolated town of Lalbert.
Born to a 50-year-old father and continually surrounded by older Australians, most who were born at the turn of the century, Mr Fox’s slang terminology formed from a very simple act: listening.
“As a kid I was taught to respect my elders and listen,” Mr Fox said.
“I suppose you pick up what you hear — you just pick them up in conversation.
“When you think about it, it is a language in its own right.”
Michael McGregor, another local man known for his colloquialisms, also learned his true blue vernacular from his father.
Mr McGregor says the Aussie lingo is slowly heading towards extinction as the younger generation consume more and more imported media and as a result, talk less and less in colloquialisms.
“It’s definitely dying off,” Mr McGregor said.
“It’s not used to express things the way it used to be.
“I’d like to see it come back… it’s quite witty and a great way to communicate.”
Mr Fox agreed that the Australian way of speaking is currently under threat, and that more should be done to preserve the unique turn of phrase possessed by many across the country.
“Possibly the influence of TV has mongrelised Australian language,” Mr Fox said.
“The Yank influence is watering down the Aussie lingo.
“[But] we’re unique and they can’t copy us, they have no hope.”
SOME OF THE BEST
Panlicker = dog
Hayburner = horse
Ground lice = sheep
Butt nuts = chicken eggs
Gammy = sick
Dust-up = fight
No trams and trains = no brains
Dry as a wooden god = very dry conditions
Blow milk out of your tea = windy
Cunning as a cartload of monkeys = smart
Sharp as a billiard ball = dumb
Farting against thunder = impossible
Pull up a stump = have a seat
Mad as a wheel = crazy
Bunging one on = faking it
Have a burl = give it a go
Grab the dog-and-bone = answer the telephone
Get down to tin-tacks = serious business
See you round the traps = see you later
For more on this story, pick up a copy of Friday’s Guardian (November 13).
