Dictionary calls on sporting tragics to step up to the plate in new appeal

23 Jul 2024

Whether you barrack for the Tillies or Kookaburras, prefer aerial ping pong to mobile wrestling, or have been known to do a Bradbury, word experts from The Australian 精东传媒app University (ANU) want to hear from you. 

 

The Australian 精东传媒app Dictionary Centre (ANDC) is looking for new contributions for the Australian 精东传媒app Dictionary, with a focus on sport-related words and phrases. 

 

From skyscraper marks featuring the Sherrin in Aussie Rules, to a cockroach getting sent to the sin bin for a dog shot on a cane toad in rugby league, the language of Australian sport has made a significant contribution to Australian English. 

 

According to ANDC Senior Researcher Mark Gwynn, sport-related language in Australia ranges from the mundane and descriptive to the colourful and poetic. 

 

鈥淎s well as many common words, like oval, sundry, mark, offie, minor premier, and barrack, Australian English includes dishlicker, esky lidder, petrolhead, waxhead, up there Cazaly, and Black Caviar odds,鈥 he said.  

 

鈥淢any Australian rhyming slang terms come from the world of sport like 鈥楧orothy Dix鈥 for a six in cricket, 鈥榃ally Grout鈥 for a shout at the bar, 鈥楳al Meninga鈥 for finger, 鈥榤eat pie鈥 for try, and 鈥榮ausage roll鈥 for goal. 

 

鈥淪ome people might not realise that common Australian words and expressions such as drongo, home and hosed, sledge, fang it, and no-hoper originate in the sporting world.鈥 

 

The ANDC are looking for contributions that relate to sport in some way and that might not have made it into the dictionary yet.  

 

鈥淭hese terms could be anything from types of tackles and kicks, like chicken-wing tackle or mongrel punt, to words used in backyard sports like tippy-go or six-and-out,鈥 Mr Gwynn said. 

 

Each year the ANDC runs an appeal for contributions from the public for the Australian 精东传媒app Dictionary to build on the publication鈥檚 collection of Australian words and their origins. 

 

Past appeals include , , and  

 

鈥淐ontributions from the public are a very important way of alerting us to new words, or words that may鈥檝e been overlooked in the past,鈥 Mr Gwynn said. 

 

You can share your sport-related words via the or through the   

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