“WOWSERS.”

Otago Witness, Issue 3830, 9 August 1927, Page 15

“WOWSERS.”

ORIGIN OF THE TERM. SYDNEY, June 22. Philologists in Sydney have been discussing the origin and precise meaning of the peculiarly Australian word “Wow er. ’ which, according to one leading authority has now been adopted in America, and is sure to find a place before long in the dictionaries, because of its expressiveness “What exactly is a wowser is a problem which no one seems to be able to solve. Some say that it sums up the base hypocrite. such as the man who holds a Bible in one hand, and in his other hand, behind his back, a “cooked” balance sheet. Others say that it applies more “-n the bumptious individual of smug respectability. The word has stuck, whatever its precise meaning. One well-known Anglican clergyman said rather epigramatically that it meant: “We only want social evils removed.” The first letter in each of these words, it will- be observed, spells “Wowser.” The origin of the word is also somewhat obscured. John Norton, one of the most conspicuous figures in Australian journalism in. his day ’s credited by some as being the originator of the word, but others assert equally emphatically that, in first using it, he was merely stealing another journalist’s “thunder.” The story goes that among the early settlers in Australia was a body of Puritans called “vowzhers,” after the founder of their sect, and that some of them, on getting into hot water, were brought before the court. “Are they members of a religious sect?” inquired the magistrate. “Yes, your Worship,” saiu the police sergeant, “they’re wowsers.” This is one version of the origin of the word, and it is not improbable that it is the correct one. The question which determines whether a word shall live or die an early death is the place that it fills in common usage. The word “Wowser” undoubtedly fills a place in the language in Australia, and must inevitably, according to the City Librarian (Mr Bertie) finds a place on the philological map.