WHAT'S IN A NAME, MATE?

A Sideways Glance at the Hidden Meaning of Aussie Place Names

There are many place names around the world that cry out to tell you their true meaning. Well, perhaps not their ridgey didge true meaning, but who has ever looked at the name Footscray and not felt that it probably also exists as an entry in a medical dictionary? Or Patchewollock, or Humpty Doo? Exactly.

This work attempts to do for (or to) Australian place names what Douglas Adams and John Lloyd did for Britain and the rest of the world, in The Meaning of Liff and The Deeper Meaning of Liff.

Words by Duncan Waldron, illustrations by Matt Davis.

Creative Commons License
This work is licenced under a Creative Commons Licence.

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See Why am I doing this? for something approaching a motive.

Monday, June 30, 2008

Dabyminga - Durong

Dabyminga n
The process by which a toddler leaves fingermarks upon a window or mirror.

Dandenong v
To saunter casually around town hoping to learn secrets or snippets of tasty gossip, which may be then spread without further ado.

Danglemah Loop n
Any circumstance in which a juvenile male is found, in a private state of undress, holding a measuring instrument of some sort.

Darawank n
The sort of person who studies the plans for nuclear devices on the internet, with no clear intention to build any such weapon. Such a person will spend at least 3% of their life engaged in forwarding humorous emails to ‘friends’, without adding any personal greeting whatsoever.

Dickygundi n
An abdominal strain caused by trying to avoid creating a Bethungra (qv).

Dingo Pocket n
The tiny pocket in a pair of jeans, big enough to take a single coin, but too small for the coin to be subsequently extracted without removing knuckle skin.

Dooboobetic n, adj
A sufferer of Dooboobetes, a debilitating condition in which odd rhythms occur in the victim’s nervous system, triggering erratic movement of the arms and hands, and/or strange involuntary noises from the mouth. Many victims find rehabilitation in avant-garde jazz bands.

Drumanure n
Prepackaged natural organic fertiliser, provided in quantities suitable for the hobby farmer.

Dungog n

The mental state of anyone who carries out a very difficult task with unexpected ease, and doesn’t quite believe it. Often happens during a dry run, and never again afterwards.

Dunkernucking v
Mistaking "you must not" for "you may, if you wish, and as often as you like".

Durong v
What a person does, when they choose to be unaware of the meaning of the word ‘no’. Related to Dunkernucking.

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