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Try this site SR

Posted by Lotg on October 15, 2004

In Reply to: Wasn't this railway terms originally? posted by Word Camel on October 15, 2004

: : : : : : : : I dont really know what u r askinhg is it the negative point of view you take or r u simply looking to see others views if it is the later I can tell you I belive that as a country and a civilian I feel we do not mistreat them. it is almost like an initiative to put it in lamens terms. I at least do not mean to hurt someone when I say such thing of course on the other ahnd I wont say it in there face and they say if you cant say it to them dont say it at all so I guess it is harsh but with good intintions. people use it worng but it isnt all our fault.

: : : : : : : You sure do type like a blond.

: : : : : : As a blonde myself, I tend to agree XYZ. In fact I must be really blonde, cos I don't even understand the question. About all I can offer is that 'boomers' in my country are kangaroos.

: : : : : Sorry SR, I clicked on the last entry of the thread and your original question had disappeared and been replaced by Blondedude's contribution. That's why I didn't understand the original question. But I rechecked your original entry and now that I do, here are some Aussie offerings: sundowner, drifter.

: : : : : ...and not just Aussie terms: vagabond, gadling, jarkman, tramp, runagate, roamer, wanderer, bum, nomad, rambler, drazel/drossel, javel, landloper/landlouper,lorel, palliard, twire-pipe (a vagabond musician).

: : : : : ...and if I get really carried away - other words for gypsy include... caird, diddicoy, zingaro/zingari, tzigane, gitano/gitana, bazigar, czigany.

: : : : : Ummm... OK, I DID get carried away.

: : : : I can add pikey, from a person who travelled the turnpikes, and chav, from the Romany chavi a child.

: : : My research suggested that "pikey" meaning 'itinerant' comes from "pike-man" - the pike-bearing foot-soldiers. they did not carry the long staves most of the time as they simply fitted their head to a staff when employed as soldiers. in between engagements, the pike-men were itinerant, looking for work, whether as mercenaries, labourers, 'muscle' or otherwise. these grizzled footsoldiers would often make a nuisance of themselves and so itinerants with a pre-disposition to petty crime were called 'pikeys'. there is a misconception that it relates to gypsies, but my research which has a sound historical background, suggests otherwise.

: : : however, as the use of the word 'pikey' to describe gypsies was considered racist abuse by the courts, I have to accept that it has come to be used as abuse of travellers generally, but that does not change the meaning.

: : : I didn't know that "chav" came from the Roma word for child. thanks for that suggestion. it now just means a particularly unsophisticated life-style - typified by that shown by Aldershot and other North Hampshire/Surrey-border benefit claimants. there is a website dedicated to mocking it called "chavscum".

: : : Although Essex is generally considered the home of chav, North Hampshire has a claim too.

: : Bless you, Goddess, for such a detailed list. As a favour, is there any way that you can provide the origin of such wonderful terms as palliard and twire-pipe etc. Here we have terms for tourists depending on the season; fudgies, trunk-slammers, ditch lizards etc. I'm sure other areas have similar colloquialisms. Do we need a different thread, perhaps, to compile listing of terms?

:
: I just posted about Chavs above. Found a different origin but there doesn't seem to be proof one way or the other.

Actually SR palliard was one I knew, but twire-pipe and about half of those others came up on a site I often find useful. The link is provided below. It's a reverse dictionary and can come in handy for just such times as when you need alternative terms. Just type your word(s) in the blank field at the top, hit Enter and Bob's your uncle (well he's not mine, but seems to be everyone else's - hehe).

I must thank you for asking the question. I love it when people ask questions like that and I can dig around and find all that new stuff. Plus you never know when trunk-slammer and ditch lizard will come in handy.

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