ANZAC SLANG.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 6, 7 January 1916, Page 7

ANZAC SLANG.

HOW THEY EXPRESS IT. The Australians are not very rich in slang, so far as I have heard, but the following conversations I caught the other day might prove mystifying to the uninitiated (writes a transport officer): — "Hullo, chum! I've just heard some bonza news." "What, another furfier" "No, dinkum oil this time; the boys have imshied the Turks on the right and got 50 prisonere, who cay they hare had mafeesh tucker for two days."

. Half of it is Egyptian Arabic, picked up in Cairo, like the Gippy children's reiterated "Give it bakeheeeh," which the men are very fond of using.

Bonza corresponds with our "ripping" or "tophole." A furSe is a rumour, and dinkutn means "genuine," and dinkum oil means "authenticated news." Imehi is Gippy for "clear out" or "get away," and mafeesh, which is borrowed from the same tongue, means "nothing." Tuckef, of course, the same meaning as our "grub."

When an Australian wishes to acquire something he "shakes it," whereas the British Tommy either "makes it" or "scrounges it, ,, in the same way ac on a larger scale Governments "annex", things. Tommy's slang is largely derived from Hindustani, and includes such words as "chipperow" for "shut up," "put eo.ae jildi into it," meanjng "hurry up," and "let's have a dekko, ,, when he wants to have a look at something.

Pozzy is jam—oherb, beer—rooty, bread—dough, money—jippo, gravy— muckim, butter—char, tea. "Swinging the . lead" is pretending or deceiving, while "chucking his weight about" is eelf-explanatory and denotes an aggressive or bullying manner. When an article is "spare" it means that it is not wanted, or, more usually, if a, man saye he "found it lying about Spare," it is a euphemistic way pf saying that the owner did not happen to be looking after it at the moment.