Your comments and questions:
Q: Colony is a word that seems to have rather negative connotations these days, but what is it's origins, and when is it being properly applied? John
A: 'Colony' came into English in the 1300s from a Middle French word (with a classical Latin word in the background) -- meaning: 'A human settlement or territory controlled by a foreign power.' Such settlement and control have often paid a benefit to both the settlers and the indigenous occupants of the colony. For the settlers the benefit is the opportunity to develop often virgin and undeveloped land, while for the indigenous inhabitants it has often meant an improvement in standard of living, technology, culture and so on. Although 'colonial' is used these days as a 'sneer word' the actual picture from history is much more complex and more of a two-way benefit -- that was once understood but has not been stripped from the meaning of the word.
Q: Have you done Human Resources versus Personnel? Why the change? Regards, Michael
A: "Personnel" primarily focused on employee record-keeping, payroll, and compliance with labour laws. "Human Resources" (we are told) emphasizes talent management, organizational development, and a proactive role in shaping the workforce to meet future business challenges.
But the label is unfortunate at best. The word "personnel" (coined in 1814) just means "people" while the expression "human resources" (a century later 1915) means "people as business assets."
Q: Here in W.A. our Premier reckons removing labels like ''baby boomer's" will help towards maintaining peace in the workplace. Can changing language achieve that???
Once again, Thanks. Kind Regards, Rosie
A: WA government is embarking on a campaign to stamp out ageism -- an admirable goal. But the notion that ageism is driven by the labels given to different generations strikes me as preposterous. And, even if it is, governments cannot prescribe language change. Language is the most democratic institution of earth, and whatever people decide they will say controls the language.
My column on "mate" provoked an intense debate -- both for an against. Below is a selection...
Q: We all use the word 'mate' but like most things, there is a time and place for everything. A teenage male addressing an 80 year old lady as 'mate' is disrespectful and unnecessary. Good morning madam sounds much better. And there is a Senator who calls everyone mate and along with general language used, it makes the Senator look a bogan. Surely nobody would address the King as 'mate", that would be worse than our recalcitrant premiers who declined invitations to meet him! Peter
A: I suspect there is an instinctive sense that in some circs one doesn't use 'mate' -- but it remains useful and has many, many applications. Your reference to the king makes the point -- Australia is not a class-conscious society, and we have an egalitarian attitude treating each other as equals.
Q: Hi Kel, the “language police” are at it again! I heard some broadcasters on 2GB talking about this, and they played Slim Dusty’s “I love to have a drink with Duncan......because Duncan’s my mate”, over and over again. Leave our Aussie/English alone, MATE! Cheers, Heather
A: The writer of "Duncan" Pat Alexander is an old mate of mine!
Q: Hi Kel, I beg to differ to your explanation of the word "Mate". I am unable to bring myself to use the word. I have always remembered the whole school I attended in the early nineteen-sixties (a GPS school in Sydney) being lectured by the headmaster during a whole-of-school assembly about the use of the word "mate". He was quite serious when he told the whole student body that we were not to use the term "mate" when addressing fellow students, or anyone else for that matter. His reasoning was that a mate is someone you slept with.
Ever since that lecture, I have been unable to use the term to (or in reference to) just anyone. The lecture from the headmaster just sticks in my mind and makes me feel a strange sort of guilt if I was to use the term!! Regards, Paul
A: I think your headmaster was simply wrong. He was reflecting a very English, class-ridden society. Australia is much less class conscious and much less snobby.
Q: On the subject of the word ‘Mate’, I agree with your sentiments but, as an English expat, I am probably not as ‘Aussie’ when it comes to using the word. I tend to agree with James Mac that it can be taken to be impolite in some situations (e.g. I don’t think I would have used it to address my CEO or Finance Director; being called Mate by a teenage shop assistant). Anyway, thanks Mate! David in Melbourne
A: A lot of my correspondents agree with you. I feel a bit more relaxed about the use of 'mate.'
Q: Mate is an informal word. Its use implies equality. If you wish to imply respect for a customer, you should not use "mate". Similarly, a private cannot address a general as "mate." Ian
A: I see your point -- but your military comparison shows the problem. The military is highly stratified -- Australian society is not.
Q: Kel, an important of Australian mateship is also the concept of equality and fair treatment.
Mateship and the right to a fair go are the cornerstone of Australian culture and there is no more powerful injunction in Australian culture than to say, ‘Fair go, mate’. Jim
A: Yes, I think it marks out the character of fellowship and community down under.
Q: Hi Kel, you asked the question, " "Are we in danger of losing the word ‘mate’?". Well, I think we are. But it's not a linguistic problem. In previous generations (especially the generations that freely used the term "mate") there was a genuine sense of community. People's lives were bonded together in community. This was especially true in rural and remote areas (where the term is still alive and flourishing), and in times of struggle (such as war). But today, this sense of community has been overthrown by individualism. I once lived in a unit complex in Gymea. People would leave their unit at 6.45 and walk to Gymea station without as much as an acknowledgement of each other. The day I moved in I decided to introduce myself to the person across the landing. The door opened as far as the chain allowed and I was greeted with the words "This is a security block. How did you get in?". Despite living in close proximity, there was no community. I think because of this change in culture, the word "mate" will soon appear in the dictionary as "archaic". I think we are in the process of losing our distinctive usage of the word "mate". But that doesn't concern me as much as the underlying reason. Jonathan
A: Very sad.
Q: Don't we all love and use that expression 'G'day Mate' when bumping into a friend or even passing a complete stranger. But, in a retail situation, if a staff member called me, a customer, MATE, I would not be amused, in the words of Queen Victoria. It is too familiar and inappropriate in that scenario. John
A: I hear what you say, but I would not be offended.
Q: Hello Kel, the use of Mate is not unprofessional. The customer is clearly up themselves.
It is a very handy greeting when one cannot quite place a name. The older I get, the more useful it is. Love your work! Cheers, John
A: I agree that it reflects the equality of all Aussies.
Q: Kel, I use 'mate' for my mates. I do consider it unprofessional and overly familiar in formal-work-customer service situations and have also pulled up shop assistants for using it. Not that I am a stickler for 'sir'. Haven't been called sir since I left the air force reserve ... decades ago.
Use of my name works. Cheers Bob
A: Perhaps I am wrong here -- but if 'mate' is dying out in retail situations, then perhaps Australian egalitarian culture is also dying? I don't expect shop assistants to address me in a subservient way -- but perhaps I am just an echo from the past?
Q: Dear Kel, mateship is I believe a particularly Aussie institution that goes along with the concept of a fair go. And together perfectly in the gentle but powerful admonition of "fair go mate" that one person says to another who's behaviour might be considered unreasonable either in respect of themselves or another. Growing up in a rural community, my dad was a soldier settler after WWII, we could choose our friends but not our neighbours. You had to get along with the guy next door and share a boundary fence if nothing else. Weary Dunlop captured the essence of what this means in practical terms by pointing out how Aussies in the Japanese POW camps had a much better survival rate than the British, who divided their cohort by rank and kept strict seniority despite dire circumstances. Miles
A: Yes, that's a good point -- and I agree that experiences in combat were part of what pushed our diggers (and us) into such an egalitarian culture.
Q: Sorry. We (in this household) do not agree with you. Mate is completely "unprofessional". There is a time and place where some types of people might like to use it, but in the situation which has prompted this narrative, it was/is completely inappropriate. Thank you, if you have read this. Kind regards, Gayle
A: I take your point. However, I suspect that one of the key shifts in culture from our British founders to Australian culture was the deliberate abandonment of formality and subservience. Where a British shop assistant might say 'sir' or 'madam' that has always been rare in Australia -- because of the egalitarian nature of Australian society.
Q: Hi Kel, is there a better or another way of saying non-binary? Can you please provide some examples of words meaning the same thing? Cheers, Steve
A: Since 1995 'non-binary' has been used to mean 'not identifying as male or female.' There is no other expression that conveys that meaning. And it is a nonsense expression -- since reality is binary. Every human being has 46 chromosome (23 pairs) -- and the 23rd pair biologically determines gender and is either XX or XY. Reality is binary. 'Non-binary' names something that does not exist.
Q: Hi, I have a question about the use of the word PRETTY. If it generally means attractive, why do we use it as an adjective with other words e.g. pretty bad, pretty ugly, pretty gross etc etc. Merylyn
A: 'Pretty' has been used as an intensifier meaning 'to a considerable extent; fairly, moderately; rather, quite. In later use also: very' (Oxford) since at least 1565. It came into Old English from a Germanic source with the original meaning of 'cunning, crafty. Subsequently: clever, skilful, able.' The Oxford says that from the 1400s 'it becomes frequent in various senses.' The whole point of a general intensifier is that it has no precise meaning, and 'pretty' seems to have been chosen because it was so imprecise.
Q: Please do something on the difference between ‘hone’ (sharpen) and ‘home’; as in ‘to home in on something’. So many journos get it wrong!! Peter
A: The error you're talking about turns up in the expression 'home in on' -- which is distorted into 'hone in on.' 'Home' meaning dwelling place is one of those ancient words that goes back to Old English. 'Hone' is a verb meaning 'to sharpen' (it is also very old, coming from an ancient Germanic word for a whetstone used to sharpen a blade). What is puzzling is that anyone could be confused by these to two words. They sound slightly similar but have such remote meanings that we are left scratching our heads when they are substituted. I often say that errors in language come from either a lazy mind or a lazy mouth. This one definitely comes from a lazy mind -- not bothering to engage the brain and think about what one is trying to say. Or do people imagine that while 'home in on' means identifying a target -- the precise 'dwelling place' you are aiming at -- 'hone in on' means 'sharpening' one's aim? In that case, the prepositions are all wrong -- and once again they are not engaging the brain.
Q: Hi Kel, I drove past one of those mobile signs yesterday, with the slogan: 'Stop kidding yourself. Don't drink and drive'. So, apart from maybe small children and baby goats, where did 'kid' come from? Rick
A: The verb 'to kid' meaning 'to hoax, to try to make you believe what is not true' is recorded from 1811 -- from the notion that hoaxing someone in that way was 'making a kid of them'--treating them as childish.
Q: Hi Kel, I seem to keep coming across the word “trope” and I realise I don’t really have a clue what it means. I think it’s maybe an artistic figure of speech but maybe not. Aileen
A: That is what it means: "a figure of speech; (an instance of) figurative or metaphorical language." (Oxford)
Q: Theatre. I understand that a theatre is a place where you attend a concert, performance, show, speaker etc. If that is the case, then why do we call the place where you undertake surgical treatment an operating theatre. John
A: The word goes back to an ancient Greek source meaning 'a place where a dramatic performance is viewed.' Then, by extended usage, it came to mean any similar building in which lectures and demonstrations are given (lecture theatre). In early surgical theatres there was seating provided (often raked seating above the surgical area) for medical students -- hence it was a kind of 'lecture theatre.' Later still, it was applied to any area (however broad) in which something dramatic (such as combat) was occurring -- hence a 'theatre of war.'
Q: Hi Kel, I wanted to ask about the word agreeance. While preparing my honours thesis my then supervisor instructed me not to use agreeance and to use agreement instead. However while watching Sky I have noticed agreeance is used quite regularly. I wanted to enquire if it is proper to use agreeance and if there is any difference in meaning between agreeance and agreement. Thanks, and best wishes, Dylan
A: I think the current use of 'agreeance' comes from a muddling (and mixing) of 'agreement' and 'compliance.' And I agree with your supervisor -- don't use it! Admittedly, back in the 1500s there was a Scottish word 'agreeance' (meaning agreement) but what is happening now is not the revival of an old Scottish word, but sheer ignorance of the correct use of the word 'agreement.'
Q: Re: "Inflection point" -- How I enjoy your clarifications of the English language! Just to add to your commentary on “inflection point” it is not accurate to say that the ‘inflection point’ is where the curve switches from doing down to going up (or the turn might be the other way—from going up to going down). If you think of throwing a ball into the air – for part of its journey it is travelling up and for part of its journey it is travelling down. However, there is no inflection point in its journey. It is always accelerating downwards, from travelling fast upwards initially through zero vertical speed to travelling fast downwards. An inflection point is where the acceleration (or comparable other mathematical function) itself changes from positive to negative, or vice versa, and Merriam Webster's use of the term concavity and convexity of the curve is on point. If you are driving a car and you apply the brakes you will be decelerating until such time as you put your foot back on the accelerator and start to speed up again. That transfer from the brake to the accelerator is an inflection point in the car’s motion. If you graphed the distance travelled against time the curve would exhibit concavity (braking or negative acceleration or deceleration) and convexity (accelerating or positive acceleration). David
A: David, you explain mathematics much better than I do. I had better stick to words!
Q: What is the difference between engine and motor? Cheers, .... Noel
A: The words are interchangeable in our modern world. But they have different histories. Both come from Latin -- 'engine' can be traced back to the notion of 'ingenuity' while 'motor' goes back to a source that meant 'moving.'
Q: Alan asks where 'yonks' comes from.
A: Unknown. One theory is that it comes from donkey's years; another is that it is an initialism from years, months, weeks.
Q: Your time spent with Peta Credlin each Wednesday is a must see in our house, we love you both! I would like to know the origin of the phrase “too much time on your hands” please. Janette
A: The origin of the idiom 'time on your hands' isn’t known; what scholars do know, though, is that this saying is an old one. The earliest printed example available is from Charles Lamb’s 1833 Last Essay of Elia: “It seemed to me that I had more time on my hands than I could ever manage.
Q: I'm not sure if you have done bigfooting - new to me but example the other day when Biden held his own press conference ( as rare as a Hindu in an abattoir) in an attempt to ""gazump" Kamala taking credit for settling port strike (in short-term at least). Brendan
A: This is a new one on me. It is found in the Cambridge Dictionary, with the meaning of getting more attention by taking control of a situation. But it is still missing from dictionaries.
Q: Dennis asks for the meaning "tourette's" -- employed disdainfully by Prime Minister Albanese (and then apologized for).
A: "Tourett's" means (Oxford definition): "the possessive of a neurological disorder characterized by tics, involuntary vocalization, and the compulsive utterance of obscenities." Named after the medical researcher Georges Gilles de la Tourette (1857–1904), a French neurologist.
Q: David says he was complimented by being told he looked 'schmick' -- and wants to know where this word comes from?
A: Means ‘smart, stylish, elegant’—it is an Australian coinage and surprisingly recently 1972—it looks Yiddish, but although it has borrowed its opening constant sound from Yiddish it seems to come from two English words—a combination of ‘smart’ and ‘slick.’
Q: Wavell wants to know about the 'stickler' -- the person who insists on accuracy and getting everything right.
A: When it first appeared in 1538 a ‘stickler’ was a referee or umpire at a sports match, ensuring the rules were adhered to. There is an old verb ‘to stickle’ meaning to intervene between combatants to settle a contest. In a modern parlance a ‘stickler’ is someone who insists on keeping to the rules and to accuracy. Rather like the ref or the umpire insisting that everyone sticks to the rules.
Q: Felix asks about this difference between 'may' and 'can'/
A: ‘May’ indicates permission, while ‘can’ indicates ability. ‘May I take the last piece of cake?’ is asking permission – while ‘Can I take the last people of cake?’ is asking if you have the ability to stuff one more piece of cake into your already bulging stomach.
Q: Hi Kel, origins of kowtow please? I've heard it used a bit, but don't really know what it means. Thanks. John
A: To 'kowtow' to someone is to show them obsequious respect. It comes from the Chinese for 'knock one's head" -- the name for the Chinese habit of bowing down and knocking one's head on the floor as a show of respect.
Q: Kel, 'conservative' has troubled me since I stumbled onto Sky a couple if years ago. I know of no Conservatives other than Corey Bernardi's short lived effort (out voted by the marijuana party). My impression at the moment is that it reflects an American template attempting to be imposed on an Australian demographic. It really doesn't resonate due to the simple fact that the Mayflower landed near Cape Cod and not Port Jackson. In the Anglo-Australian world a conservative conveys something of a fossil ... or a young fogey in the case of William Hague. Nigel Farage is now a Reformer which is a word with more life in it ... and the same can be said even of Reactionary. Mainstream/Regular ideas should be the go and it seems to me that "Conservative" is a word with very narrow appeal. Best Regards, Terence
A: 'Conservative' means 'A person who conserves or preserves something; (now usually) an adherent of traditional values, ideas, and institutions...' In Britain one of the two major political parties is called the 'Conservative Party.' And 'conservative' (without the upper case 'C') has been around since the late 1300s meaning 'that which preserves.' So, it's not an American word (or concept). The belief that we are the heirs to a culture from our forebears worth preserving and handing on to the next generation is a 'conservative' idea.
Q: Historians still point out that the Australian Aborigines are not autochthonous, and their geographical origins are not clear.
A: That lovely (if obscure) word 'autochthonous' comes from an ancient Greek source word meaning 'an Indigenous person; an earliest known inhabitant.'
Q: My question is the wording for extreme right, centre left etc., when and how did these terminologies come about? With much appreciation of your teaching and my regards. Annette
A: Using 'left' and 'right' politically goes back to pre-revolutionary France where supporters of the monarchy (that is, conservative members) sat to the right of the president of the chamber, while those who opposed the monarchy (revolutionaries) sat to his left.
Q: I have a question in relation to the word “Elite” and its usage. When did it first become in use and why? Nyrel
A: 'Elite' came into English from French in 1738 meaning 'the pick, the choice part of society.' It still means people with power that comes from their wealth, position or knowledge. The problem arises when people appoint themselves as 'the elite' based on the egotistical assumption that they know better than the rest of us.
Q: Hi Kel, can you explain why, in politics where we have left wing / right wing, and everything in between, that only those on the left are referred to as moderates, when there are moderates on both sides? This seems to be something that has only come into our usage recently. Your thoughts? John
A: It is, I suppose, a form of deception -- the electorate is conservative, so you have to disguise yourself as conservative to win votes.
Q: Hi Kel,
I am curious about the origin of the slang for our money. Can you help?
quid,
buck,
deena?
bob,
green back US$
there are words for the colours, some I have only started to hear recently.
Grey nurse (paper $100)
Pineapple ($50)
Brick (not sure if this was a #10 or $20)
Ian
A: I'll write a whole column on our money words.
Q: Hi Kel, origins of kerfuffle please? John
A: It stated as a Scottish regional expression -- first as just 'fuffle', then with a prefix as an intensifier -- 'curfuffle'. Always with the meaning of a state of disorder.
Q: Could you please explain the term “Greenwashing”. You may have explained the term before, but I cannot find it. Also, it’s great to see you more and more on Sky particularly “The Late Debate”. It’s good that Sky is giving us “Oldies” some representation. Kind Regards, Ian
A: 'Greenwashing' is (as you can see) a play on 'whitewashing'. It seems to have been coined in 1987 meaning " Misleading publicity or propaganda disseminated by an organization, etc., so as to present an environmentally responsible public image; a public image of environmental responsibility promulgated by or for an organization, etc., regarded as being unfounded or intentionally misleading."
Q: An expression which seems to bewilder most people is ‘rolled-gold’. As we both know it most certainly does not connote pure, 24 carat stuff. In fact one of my acquaintances was known as Rolled Gold Richo, mainly because he wasn’t the real deal by any stretch of the imagination. John
A: 'Rolled' gold' has been used since 1822 to mean "Gold in the form of a thin coating applied to the surface of a baser metal by rolling; b. adj. coated with this type of gold." If a watch was 'rolled gold' it was more valuable than the alternative -- brass.
Q: Hi Kel, I'm interested in new uses of words and I think to "scrape" is one of those. When discussing teaching AI, the term "scrapes" is used to describe using people's social media posts to "teach" the AI. I would be very interested to know if this is this indeed a new usage of the word scrapes. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this one. Best wishes, Sue
A: This is a new one for me -- I'll do some research.
Q: Increasingly we hear the phrase "called for" being used by politicians, most particularly and regularly, "the left." "We called for that." "I have been calling for this," etc etc. As if this "calling" is of any consequence. I am calling for me to win lotto next week! Good luck with that! This unrealistic "calling" for unachievable, even frivolous objectives is tantimount to a cry in the wilderness. No one is listening and I think only God knows who they are calling to most of the time. It's a bit like these protestors out waving their flags in the street. Even if anyone was listening there is basically nothing that anyone in this country can do to change anything to do with what they are protesting about. Another "cry in the wilderness." Robert
A: It seems the more extreme people are, the more futile their language becomes.
Q: Dear Kel, I am annoyed by the ubiquitous use of the phrase, “Exactly Right”.
Almost everyone seems to use it when agreeing with something that has been said.
Why not just say “right”. Or, even better, “correct”. Jackie
A: This fits into the same category as people saying 'absolutely' instead of just 'yes.' Truth is such a rare commodity in the world today people feel they have to use more emphatic language.
Q: American versions in Australian English: as a boy growing up in a "railway" household (my dad was a station master) I've noticed increasingly, the trend for reporters to refer to the "train station", (the American version of the Australian, and English, "railway station").... And the classic of all time "LAB - ra- tory", instead of the English... " La-borr-atree" the elimination of an entire syllable. Alan
A: There are others. There is a trend to change 'railway' into 'railroad' and 'goods train' into 'freight train' -- little bits of Aussie railway language seem to be dying.
Q: Discussion with a fellow director, background in property development and sales, who I challenged about his use of words about a property our company was looking at renting. "We need to inspect the premise and ascertain if it is suitable for our purpose". I called him out on his claim that a "premise" is a single property and a "premises" is multiple properties. I provided him with the following, which he claimed was rubbish. He claims a "premise" is a single property and a "premises" is multiple properties. Interested in your thoughts as to how such a presumption happens, as well as how to best respectfully explain why the two words differ in their meaning. Andrew.
A: This is from the Cambridge Dictionary -- 'premises' means: 'the land and building owned by someone' -- the singular for, 'premise' means 'and idea or theory on which a statement or action is based.'
Q: Hi Kel, "alternate" and "alternative"! Am I correct in thinking people use alternate incorrectly when they should be using alternative? I always look forward to seeing you on Credlin every Wednesday night! Regards, Sarah
A: Yes, these are often muddled: 'alternate' means switching backwards forwards between A and B, while 'alternative' says the choice is between A and B (it's either one or the other).
Q: My daughter and I were discussing the origin of "dixie" -- being the word for a rectangular personal eating dish in the Army, and probably sold widely in the old Disposal stores to amateur campers. Mal
A: It comes from the days of the British Raj -- when Britain ruled India a lot of Indian words came into English, and "dixie" is one of them -- a corruption of a Hindi word. Originally it meant an iron kettle or pot, used by soldiers for making tea or stew.
Q: Hi Kel, my son just had to do a mandatory "psychosocial safety" training module at his work. I personally hate the term psychosocial but am interested on your thoughts on it, its meaning and its origins. As a person with a severe mental illness, I find it an insulting term and prefer plain language about mental health issues. Am I wrong? Susan
A: 'Psychosocial' was coined in 1890 with the meaning of 'relating to the interrelation of social factors and individual thought and behaviour'. Personally, it sounds like empty psychobabble to me since everything we do and think involves an interaction between the society around us and what is going on in our heads. We don't need a $25 dollar word to say that.
Q: Primordial is an interesting word but one I don’t see used much. Adam
A: 'Primordial' means (literally) 'from the beginning of time. It comes from a Latin source word meaning 'from the beginning' or from the 'original point.' Perhaps it is far too learned a word for today's Gen Z to cope with?
Q: Michael asks if there is any such word as 'peccable' -- since we can be 'impeccable' is it also possible to be 'peccable'?
A: Yes, there is such a word, and it once was possible to be 'peccable.' It's recorded in English from 1604 (from a French source word) and it originally meant 'capable of sinning. So, when it first appeared only applied to saints -- and meant 'not capable of sinning'. Nowadays it usually just means 'well dressed.' A word that has come down in the world somewhat.
Q: I would be interested in hearing about ‘spot on’!! Jill
A: It means (as you know) exactly. It's recorded from the 1920s. It goes back to the day when on the face of clocks there was a spot marking each minute -- a number at each five-minute point (or, sometimes, at each 15-minute point), and spots (or dots) in between. So 'spot on' originally meant 'exactly on time' and then just 'exactly.'
Q: Kel, After the AFL grand final on the weekend I’m wondering if you have an interesting story of the origins of ‘swansong’. Colin
A: It's recorded from the 1500s with the meaning of a final or farewell performance. It comes from a much older superstition that a swan that about to die sang a 'swansong.' The idea that swans sing before they die goes back to ancient Greece (recorded by Plato, Aristotle and others).
Q: Can you please tell me the meaning of the word Pow Wow? Rosie
A: These days 'pow wow' means a meeting, a conference. It's had that meaning since at least 1812. Earlier (in the 1600s) it meant a Native American gathering and ceremony. The word seems to come from a Massachusetts tribal word for a shaman or medicine man. The name of the tribe is the Narragansett people.
Q: I’d like an explanation of subjective and objective and when you think it’s best to use one or the other, please. Regards, Tony
A: Good suggestion. I'm a bit snowed under with work at the moment, but as soon as I can I'll write up this topic.
Q: Please comment on ‘begs the question’ - regularly misused by journalists, especially sports commentators. So frustrating that we so quickly adopt American misuses. Peter
A: This misuse is not American -- it is universal. I keep appealing to people to NEVER use 'begs the question' because EVERYONE uses it incorrectly. It does not mean 'avoids the question' or 'raises the question.' It is the name of a logical fallacy in which the conclusion is assumed in the premises. It is a claim in which the truth of what is being asserted is assumed, not demonstrated. But they persist in doing it.
Q: Felix asks for the difference between ‘may’ and ‘can.’
A: May' expresses permission, while 'can' expresses ability. 'May I do so-and-so' is asking permission to do it. 'Can I do so-and-so' is asking if you think I have the ability to do it.
Q: Tim writes: ‘Help me out, please. I hear the phrases “hand in hand” and "hand in glove"— I have always thought there was a difference in meaning between them, but many seem to use the phrases as if they were interchangeable. Is there a difference and what is it?
A: 'Hand in glove' has been used since 1737 to mean 'intimately connected' or 'closely associated' or 'in collusion' -- sometimes with the implication of a covert collusion, as in 'whose hand is in this glove?" Since 1382 (so much older) 'hand in hand' also means a close association or cooperation, but it implies a friendship or a 'side by side' collaboration, what is missing is any suggestion of a surreptitious or clandestine collaboration. It is a subtle distinction.
Q: Matt says he has been trying to explain the word ‘wowser’ to his teenage daughter. He said her small car was a ‘petrol wowser’—and he wants to know (1) the origin of the word, and (2) when it became a broader, more figurative expression?
A: (1) Wowser is an Australian word that means “puritanical” – usually in the most negative sense. John Norton, editor of the Sydney Truth newspaper in the late 19thand early 20th centuries claimed to have coined the word, but The Australian National Dictionary says it goes back to an English dialect word “wow” – meaning “to howl or whine like a dog”. In other words, it is the doggy expression “bow wow” shortened to “wow” and then extended to become wowser. When John Norton claimed ownership of the word he pretended to have coined it from the acronym “We Only Want Social Evils Remedied”. But this was a piece of inventive fiction on Norton’s part. Originally a wowser was anyone who made a noise about anything, but by the early 20th century it had come to be restricted to those who noisily complained about lewdness, crudeness and the general disappearance of common courtesy and civility from Australian society. (2) ‘Wowser’ has always contained the idea of imposing limits or restrictions. But it’s use as a figurative expression to anyone or anything that restricts of limits is (I think) very recent. Probably only in the last 10 or 15 years.
Q: Phil writes: ‘There is a term that confuses me somewhat— ‘Progressive Left”. Modern dictionaries seem to describe progressive as favoring change or reform, or something similar, but I see the word progress in it, which means to me a positive change or reform. In fact, my 1901 edition of Webster’s International states it as 1. Moving forward, moving onward or advancing and 2. improving. Can we drop the label ‘progressive left”?’
Q: Harvey asks for an explanation of ‘smoke and mirrors’…
A: It’s much more recent than I would have thought—1975—and it’s a reference to the illusions created by stage magicians. You think David Copperfield made the tiger disappear from the cage, but there was a puff of smoke, and the tiger was probably not really there to begin with—all done with smoke and mirrors. It’s now applied to politics—where politicians are accused of deception and dissimulation, of trying to create an illusion that fools us—they do with smoke and mirrors. There’s a shorter earlier form of the same expression ‘They do it with mirrors’—used by Agatha Christie as name of a mystery novel in 1952.
Q: Hi Kel, Communications Legislation Amendment Misinformation-CLAM- shows exactly what this Orwellian legislation is all about. Regards, John
A: A well devised acronym, John. And for the many, many people who have been in touch opposing the government's attack on free speech -- please accept this as my personal thanks -- there are so many, it's impossible to thank you all individually.
Q: Good afternoon, Ms Credlin. Thank you for your show and for your sharp political analysis, in particular that part you share with Kel Richards every Wednesday, with words matter.
I have one query regarding the order of the words used in the title of ""First Nations People" when describing our indigenous people. This may sound pedantic, but surely, the correct way of describing the indigenous people in the context in which they are generally referred to should be the "Nations First people". I say this because Australia wasn't the First Nation in the world though the Indigenous people may have been the first people to occupy the continent. I know this may sound nit picking, but it just doesn't sound right to me. Of course, one could argue that Australia didn't have a recognised name or status as a nation prior to colonisation I suppose, but that would open up another can of worms I guess from a legal point of view.
I know you must have better things to do with your time, especially with an election coming up, but if you or Kel could give me some sort of response I would appreciate it. Thanks again for your excellent programme and perhaps you can adopt the Catch Phrase of "Give Albo the Elbow" Kind regards, Ted
A: The term 'First Nations' was coined by Indian chiefs in Ontario, Canada, in 1980. It seems to have been adopted by Aboriginal activists in Australia around 1995. It is what I call an 'aggrandisement' expression -- trying to make stone age tribal life in Australia before 1788 sound far grander than it ever was. The Oxford English Dictionary notes: "Usage of this term is often associated with an acknowledgement of Indigenous sovereignty and recognition of Indigenous rights (esp. land rights) in post-colonial contexts" -- making it a highly political term. Using the expression 'First Nations' amounts to endorsing a particular political ideology.
Q: Quite often I hear news reporters sing the word "agreeance". When the word "agreement" seems to be the appropriate word which should be used. If nothing else, it makes their sentence very jarring. Is there a difference between "agreeance" and "agreement". Could you help clarify? Jonathan
A: Although both agreement and agreeance are acceptable to use, agreeance is older and more obscure, and agreement is much more accepted in the contemporary English language. The Oxford says: Now regarded as nonstandard.
Q: Hi Kel & Peta, ever since Kamala Harris has been the Democrat nominee for US President, we have been hearing the term "Word Salad" -- So, my query is, has this term only arrived on the scene with Kamala's run for President or has it been around for considerably longer? When was it first used? Thanks, Paul
A: It goes back to the early 20th century -- and began in psychiatry as a way to describe the babble of words pouring out of mental patients
Q: Hi Kel, what is the background and history behind the word 'SHINDIG' as in "We have all been invited to a shindig at the local dance hall tonight." Darryl
A: It's American (1859) meaning a country dance. It may include the jocular notion that energetic dancing can result in a 'dig upon the shins.'
Q: I had a thought today on "assume" versus "presume". Regards, Mike
A: The dictionaries often say that "assume" means "presume" and "presume" means "assume". So, go figure!
Q: I ‘would of’ thought it was obvious that ‘of’ is wrong in that expression. But I see it all the time. And English is my second language. Please help to eradicate this ugly and offensive error from common usage. Cheers, Andrew
A: You are exactly right. People hear the constant abbreviation "would've" -- they somehow forget it's short for '"would have" and write this monstrous "would of" as a bit of butchery of the English language!
Q: Where does "OK" come from? Suzanne
A: It's a long story. I'll write a whole column to answer the question.
Q: Kel, "Walkabout" was also the title of an Australian magazine that featured Australian culture, scenery, science and photography. I remember it from my childhood and youth; and nobody was worried about its name then. Regards, Bill
A: Thanks Bill, I had forgotten about the magazine. There was (if memory serves) also a very early TV series called 'Walkabout' (a travel series) made for the ABC by Charles Chauvel. And there was a 1971 movie called 'Walkabout' -- directed by Nicholas Roeg and starring Jenny Agutter.