Layabout

A layabout in Strine is someone who avoids work, except when striving hard to avoid doing anything useful. They work hard to avoid work. Layabouts are also referred to as idlers, good-for-nothings, and–most commonly–bludgers.

　ストライン（オーストラリア英語）で layabout は「働くのを避けてばかりいる怠け者」のことです。役に立つことをしないためには一生懸命になるくせに、仕事そのものは全力で避けるタイプ。日本語で言う「ぐうたら」「ろくでなし」「役立たず」、そして一番よく使われる呼び名が bludger（ブラッジャー）です。

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  • We Are Not Emus-ed

    Emus are huge, flightless birds endemic to Australia. They’re also featured on the country’s coat of arms, together with the kangaroo, with both creatures selected because they are physically incapable of taking a step backward, meaning they can only advance. Emus are one of Australia’s myriad glorious birds and trail only the ostrich as the world’s largest birds. They’re also capable of running up to 50 km/h! The link with dinosaurs also becomes pretty obvious just by looking at these creatures. Emus are also known to have controlled the late British comedian Rod Hull.

  • ウルルを登れなくなる

    　オーストラリアの象徴のひとつでもあるウルル（昔はエアーズロックと呼ばれている一枚岩）を岩登りが出来なくなる。 　ウルルは、オーストラリアの先住民にとって聖地であり、岩登りが観光活動の一つとなったことはウルルの所有権者であるアナング族にとって昔からの痛みでもあった。 　アナング族は、多くの観光客がウルルを尊敬しないで、聖地でありながら汚しているため、所有権が返還された1980年代から岩登りを禁止しようとしていた。 　今月、「ディズニーランドじゃないよ」と言いながら、アナング族がやっと岩登りを禁止することを宣言した。 　禁止命令が執行するのは2年後となる。 Why we are banning tourists from climbing Uluru ウルルの英語版ウィキペディア（日本語版のページが間違っている情報を掲載している） Uluru climbing ban: A history of disrespect atop the rock

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    豪キャブラリー： Footy

    オージー英語らしくフットボールは全国ではfootyとして省略されている。しかし、そのフットボールがどんなfootyかが問題だ。 　オーストラリアの国家競技が豪式フットボール（Australian Rules Football)であり、一応全国でリーグ戦を行いながらも特に東南部のビクトリア、南オーストラリア州、タスマニア島、中央北部のノーザンテリトリー州、西の西オーストラリア州でダントツに人気。

  • Kangaeroo Corner’s Critters!

    Courtesy of a great act of kindness, this post is the result of receiving a gifted camera. An old mate read my previous post and generously passed on a camera he had not been using. I took the camera out in the garden this morning and got to snap away. I was very pleased with the results. I’ll need to study more on how to use the Sony NEX-7, having been an almost exclusively Nikon user for the past 35 years. It’s glorious weather today, which helped with taking photos. I turned the camera on some of the critters in Kangaeroo Corner. I’ll take the camera with me on a…

  • Sun Shines As The Sun Goes Down On The Sundance Kid

    Today it’s taking me ages to get anything done, mainly because of inherent laziness, but also a tinge of sadness. Despite being geeted by yet another delightful sunrise, I also learned of the death of Robert Redford, one of my favorite actors whose roles included the younger of the titualar characters in the 1969 movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. I woke really early and prepared to get out, but stuck around watching YouTube too long. The upside was getting the sunrise in the form of a big red disc that I like to refer to as an Apocalypse Now! sunrise because of its resemblance to the image sun…

  • Dead Heart: Australia’s Desert Centre

    Australia has a heart. It is also, rather oddly, called dead. “The Dead Heart” is an old expression for the arid interior of Australia. The phrase became particularly influential after geologist John Walter Gregory used it as the title of his 1906 book The Dead Heart of Australia, following his expedition around Lake Eyre. The name reflects an older way of imagining Australia’s inland deserts as dry, empty and lifeless. Modern knowledge tells a much richer story: central Australia supports a remarkable range of plants, animals and human cultures. Even so, “the Dead Heart” remains part of Australian English and Australia’s historical vocabulary. Meaning 「Dead Heart」は、オーストラリア中央部の乾燥した内陸地域、特に砂漠地帯を指す古くからの表現です。この表現を広めた重要な人物が地質学者John Walter Gregoryで、1906年にThe Dead Heart…