Shearing terms

Press, Issue 32535, 19 February 1971, Page 15

Shearing terms

Shearing has a language of its own like any specialised activity, and includes many colourful terms, some now coming into general use. With the development of shearing as a spectator sport, a knowledge of these distinctive words is a help for followers of the sport who may otherwise find themselves at a loss. The jobs within the work have special names a “gun” being a top class shearer and a "ringer” is the fastest shearer in the gang. He occupies the No. 1 position in the shearing shed until someone faster appears. A "broomie” is the sweeper on the shearing board and a “fleece-o” is a person who picks up fleeces from the board. A “tar-boy” is the first-aid hand who in earlier days administered Stockholm tar to the wounds on badly shorn sheep. A "chinaman” is the unshorn lock on the sheep’s rump, resembling a pigtail, while a “cobbler” is a sheep which proves hard to shear because of a matted fleece. "Socks” are the wool between the knee and the foot In some sheds and competitions the instruction “leave the socks on” means not to shear this wool which usually contains hair. A shearing stroke using either blades or a machine handpiece is called a “blow,” while a “long-blow” is the strokes, usually five, needed along the sheep’s back as it lies on the board. The blow is the finest in shearing but trouble can be struck with a “kicker,” a sheep that struggles and kicks during shearing. The “second cut” is the blow made to remove wool that has been left too long in shearing or short wool that has been shorn in a "second cut.” A “run” is the period of shearing between breaks for “smoko” or meals, and “cut out” is the term to indicate that shearing is finished the end of a flock or line of sheep. \ “Snowed in” is the condition of the table or board when the shearers are working too fast for the- shed hands to keep up, and “wool-away” is the shearer’s call for the “fleece-o” to clear wool from the board.

“Moccasins” are the shearer’s home-made footwear, usually made of sacking or felt, and “bow-yangs” are the laces tied round the trouser leg below the knees. A “sweat rag” is the cloth used by shearers for wiping perspiration away while shearing. If any visitors are around, especially, women, “slxty-nine” is an expression that is often heard. It is the shearer’s warning that bad language is out of order, for the time being anyway.