Fair Dinkum

[silentC]

How dare you come on here and use the word heck!

My grandfather never swore. If you ever heard him say 'heck', as in "what the heck do you kids think you're doing in there?", you knew you were in big, big trouble.

[silentC]

Well, I never! According to Wikipedia, heck is a minced oath for Hell. Well, I knew it meant hell but I always thought it was an alternate word, like Hades.

But even more interestingly:

The minced oath blank is an ironic reference to the dashes that were sometimes used to replace profanities in print. It goes back at least to 1854, when Cuthbert Bede wrote "I wouldn't give a blank for such a blank blank. I'm blank, if he doesn't look as if he'd swallowed a blank codfish."

The etymology of swearing is such an interesting subject.

[wheelinround]

I got into trouble once when I used the term "sheila" in front of a female director of a large seppo franchise. Even though we knew each other quite well professionally, she went pretty much spack.

When I could get a word in edgewise, I explained that "sheila" was not a derogatory term, providing one was describing a sheila as one, but had I called a bloke a sheila she may have had a point.

I lost a few brownie points that day and there was no one else in Connecticut to back me up! Fair dinkum, it fair ripped the fork out of my nighty.

P

Maybe she knew all to well that "Sheila" means "dead cow" heaven help if that was SWMBO's name

[bitingmidge]

Maybe she knew all to well that "Sheila" means "dead cow" heaven help if that was SWMBO's name

Now there's a turnup for the books!

Sheila is a common given name for a female, taken from the Gaelic name Síle/Sìle, which is believed to be a Gaelic form of Julia or Cecilia. Like "Cecil" or "Cecilia", the name means "Smart and Wise", from the latin caecus.
In Australian English, the term is a generic (sometimes mildly derogatory) term for any woman.

So where does this "dead cow" thing come in?

P

[Sebastiaan56]

The etymology of swearing is such an interesting subject.

I agree C, particularly the Saxon/Norman thing. Most of the really bad words are in the literature (eg Chaucer) prior to the invasion. The Norman words are just so removed, Im sure the French dont use them, its a scream really.

My favourite text on the subject is called Rogers Profanisaurus. Doesnt seem to be on the net as a pdf at the moment, I printed one out years ago,

Sebastiaan

[Gra]

My favourite text on the subject is called Rogers Profanisaurus.

Cliff ????

[silentC]

Rogers Profanisaurus

... and Fair Dinkum is not in there!

[wheelinround]

Now there's a turnup for the books!


So where does this "dead cow" thing come in?

P

Came out of a Dictionary actually and there is refference to it in one of Chip Raffetys movies.
A female I knew many years ago when she found out she changed it by dead poll after much fighting with her parents sheused to cop heaps at school.
Funny was a teacher who brought it up and pointed it out in the dictionary.

[silentC]

I think you'll find Sheila is an Irish name. Can only assume the generic Australian usage comes from the name!

[silentC]

From the Macquarie Dictionary:
sheila
// (say 'sheeluh)
noun Colloquial 1. a woman: *And give my love to your wife, 'cause I reckon she's a bonzer sheila. --RANDOLPH STOW, 1965.
2. a girlfriend. [probably from Sheila, Irish female given name]

[bitingmidge]

I think you'll find Sheila is an Irish name. Can only assume the generic Australian usage comes from the name!

I agree entirely MrC, wheelin' I think you've been given the bum's rush!

Must've been the name of an old house cow in Hinchinbrook, named after the bloke's mum.

Like the town of Banana in Central Queensland, about as far from Banana country as you can get, turns out to be named after a bullock that died in a gully near the town.

Maybe that's where banana's got their name?

Cheers,

P

[silentC]

When I was a kid in Thorpdale we had about 200 cows and each and every one had a name, written next to the tag number up on a board in the dairy. I'm sure there was a Sheila or two!

[ubeaut]

From: THE MACQUARIE DICTIONARY - Australia's National Dictionary

fair dinkum Colloquial - adjective 1. true; genuine; are you fair dinkum? -interjection 2. (an assertion of truth or genuineness): it's true mate, fair dinkum. -phrase 3. be fair dinkum, (sometimes followed by about) to be in earnest: I want people to understand that we're fair dunkum about making the structural changes in Tasmania -MERCURY 1990. Also, dinkum, fair dink.

Me and mine also use true dinks same thing differnt wwords. Dead set mate I wouldn't give ya a bum steer.

Said heck to my Houstonian daughter inlaw a couple of weeks ago and she was horrified, didn't mind bloody and some of the much worse stuff that comes out of me gob but heck really flawed her.

Good Southern Baptist girl married to a real Aussie bloke (my son) conditioned to swearing but heck youda thort I'd said HELL.

Hooroo - Neil

[silentC]

And don't forget dinky-di.

I'm fair dinkum, bloody oath I am!

[wheelinround]

I agree entirely MrC, wheelin' I think you've been given the bum's rush!

Must've been the name of an old house cow in Hinchinbrook, named after the bloke's mum.

Like the town of Banana in Central Queensland, about as far from Banana country as you can get, turns out to be named after a bullock that died in a gully near the town.

Maybe that's where banana's got their name?

Cheers,

P

Dictionary is always updated I stopped using the F word when I was younger when i was shown what it meant.

Not bum steer throughout the years I have showed many the piece and some were shocked some in fits of laughter as they were always calling their misses the old sheila come to think one wife heard it somewhere else and slunga fryin pan at her hubby mext time he said it.........Fair F&^^ Dinkum