Subject:
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Re: Newbie with questions
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.loc.au
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Date:
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Fri, 23 Jun 2000 02:02:27 GMT
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Viewed:
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456 times
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"> OK, well, I thought there's some reason why you're compressing it (e.g.
> joking 'bout a TV anchor or something.) Never mind... :-)
We write it G'day because we pronounce it in that very contracted way, i.e.
Gidd-ay (or Gidd-hay).
A lot of people genuinely use it. I do when speaking/writing informally. I
think the Internet has actually slightly encouraged its use (even by people
who don't use it in everyday life), because it enables Australians to assert
our cultural identity on the Internet.
I suspect that "genuine use" of G'day probably relates to the social circles
you belong to (or grew up in). I certainly learned it as a child. Mind you,
I also inherited expressions like "whacko" and "bitzer" which don't seem to
have survived like "G'day" has.
For the benefit of our overseas readers ...
"whacko" is an expression of pleasure, as in "we're having a lamb roast?
Whacko!"
"bitzer" is a contraction of "bits of this and bits of that" and is used for
any kind of a mixed assortment of things. For example, "I have a bitzer dog"
meaning a mixed breed.
Actually, "bitzer" would be a good word to describe a Lego model which had
to be built with a random collection of colours in order to get enough
parts.
Kerry
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: Newbie with questions
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| (...) Well, I knew that much :-) (...) OK, well, I thought there's some reason why you're compressing it (e.g. joking 'bout a TV anchor or something.) Never mind... :-) -Shiri (24 years ago, 22-Jun-00, to lugnet.loc.au)
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