Wowsers
Posted on May 12, 2009 by by Michael de Percy
I love the word ‘wowser’. It is an old Australian saying, once used to describe the people who wanted to ban drinking, Norman Lindsay’s work and other Australian favourites. I used it in my latest ABC Unleashed article.
I was a bit surprised that quite a few people hadn’t heard it before. C.J. Dennis once summed up the wowser as ‘an ineffably pious person who mistakes this world for a penitentiary and himself for a warder’. Given the push for teaching Australian history, it’s a wonder that the term and other Australian sayings seem to be disappearing from the (so-called) national lingo.
Are we moving away from our distinctly Australian sayings? ‘Fair go’ doesn’t cut it – it used to mean ‘give us a break, mate’ – hardly appropriate in its most recent context!
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11 Comments to “Wowsers”
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Hold on … “drinking” and “Norman Lindsay’s work” are both considered “Australian favourites”? That’s a bit of a worry …
Any further info on the etymology of the word? It always seemed odd to me, as “wow” is an expression of wonder. A person who uses the word “wow” (thereby being a “wowser”), would be giving approval, or expressing a positive reaction, not a negative one. I’d love to know how it came to be used in this way.
L
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wikipedia says”Wowser” was originally a slang expression, most commonly heard in Australian and New Zealand English. It originated in Australia, at first carrying a similar meaning to ‘lout’, i.e. an annoying or disruptive person, or even a prostitute.
the best one from wikipedia is this one – inventive sth australians….
South Australians claim the present meaning originated from a temperance slogan there, “We Only Want Social Evils Remedied.”
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“social evils” huh?
L
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Sounds like a back-ronym.
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I’ve sent the question in to World Wide Words, and am now waiting with bated breath for an answer
L
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I grew up in Far North Qld, so the slang is a bit older there eg ‘gammon’ for lies or BS, an old, old English saying. I was surprised that more people didn’t know the term ‘wowser’. I must be getting on a bit…
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Hmmm, I was wrong about gammon. I remembered it in English use from Black Beauty, but it appears in its Australian use as an English mock-up of a similar-sounding Aboriginal word meaning ‘fake’…
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I’m familiar with the word, I just would like to know where it came from.
L
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it is from the irish. the word struck a chord with me, after a discussion with my irish mate. used confirm from wikipedia…
Irish Travellers distinguish themselves from the settled communities of the countries in which they live by their own language and customs. The language is known as Shelta, and there are two dialects of this language, Gammon (or Gamin) and Cant. It has been dated back to the eighteenth century, but may be older than that.[8]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Traveller
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i was going to head up the post with oo! oo! I know this one.
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Sorry, Peter, I’m not following. How do you get from that to ‘wowser’?
L
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