Australian icons
May 3rd 2008 02:32
Australian slang can confuse and confound anyone born and educated in another country. It can be as simple as making sure that the word ‘root’ is used in context and most often as a noun as opposed to our national predilection to use root as a verb (i.e. “root you” or “get rooted!”).
The word ‘Drongo’ is a peculiar Australian slang term which is used most often to describe someone as an idiot, fool (or dickhead). It is an older equivalent to calling someone a loser.
Drongo was an Australian racehorse from the 1920’s. He had the misfortune to go through his entire racing career of thirty-seven starts without a single victory. But rather than being a very slow horse confined to provincial racetracks and minor races, Drongo raced at Flemington and Randwick and was placed second in a VRC Derby and St Leger, as well as a third in the AJC St Leger and fifth in the Sydney Cup. He showed promise. He teased. But he never won.
After the retirement of Drongo it appears that racegoers and the press began applying his name as a term for other such horses who were unlucky, or simply non-winners. In the nineteen forties it was applied to recruits in the Royal Australian Air Force. Over time it became more derisive. It now would imply someone totally stupid or inept, rather than someone who came so close to glory and success.
In 1977 the Victorian Racing Club instigated a Drongo Handicap. It was restricted to apprentice jockeys and to horses who had not won in the previous twelve months.
I have never used the term ‘drongo’ with any malice or venom. To me it has always been associated with competition at the highest level and many near victories. If unimpressed I simply defer to calling someone an idiot. Calling them a drongo would be too kind.
Is there any shame in competing at the highest level and being beaten by the best? I would think not. Drongo was definitely not a loser. He was a competitor.
In recent times in Olympic Games we have witnessed Eric Moussambani (nicknamed Eric The Eel) swim so poorly that we feared he might actually drown (so slowly was he moving forwards). And before him, Michael Edwards (nicknamed Eddie The Eagle) performed so ineptly in comparison with his other competitors in the ski jumping at the Calgary Winter Olympics, that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) subsequently brought in an ‘Eddie The Eagle Rule’ to ensure that all competitors are up to a reasonable standard.
Neither man a Drongo.
Another Australian icon:
(photograph of Ned Kelly 1880 in the Melbourne gaol is from The National Centre Of History Education)
The word ‘Drongo’ is a peculiar Australian slang term which is used most often to describe someone as an idiot, fool (or dickhead). It is an older equivalent to calling someone a loser.
Drongo was an Australian racehorse from the 1920’s. He had the misfortune to go through his entire racing career of thirty-seven starts without a single victory. But rather than being a very slow horse confined to provincial racetracks and minor races, Drongo raced at Flemington and Randwick and was placed second in a VRC Derby and St Leger, as well as a third in the AJC St Leger and fifth in the Sydney Cup. He showed promise. He teased. But he never won.
After the retirement of Drongo it appears that racegoers and the press began applying his name as a term for other such horses who were unlucky, or simply non-winners. In the nineteen forties it was applied to recruits in the Royal Australian Air Force. Over time it became more derisive. It now would imply someone totally stupid or inept, rather than someone who came so close to glory and success.
In 1977 the Victorian Racing Club instigated a Drongo Handicap. It was restricted to apprentice jockeys and to horses who had not won in the previous twelve months.
I have never used the term ‘drongo’ with any malice or venom. To me it has always been associated with competition at the highest level and many near victories. If unimpressed I simply defer to calling someone an idiot. Calling them a drongo would be too kind.
Is there any shame in competing at the highest level and being beaten by the best? I would think not. Drongo was definitely not a loser. He was a competitor.
In recent times in Olympic Games we have witnessed Eric Moussambani (nicknamed Eric The Eel) swim so poorly that we feared he might actually drown (so slowly was he moving forwards). And before him, Michael Edwards (nicknamed Eddie The Eagle) performed so ineptly in comparison with his other competitors in the ski jumping at the Calgary Winter Olympics, that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) subsequently brought in an ‘Eddie The Eagle Rule’ to ensure that all competitors are up to a reasonable standard.
Neither man a Drongo.
Another Australian icon:
(photograph of Ned Kelly 1880 in the Melbourne gaol is from The National Centre Of History Education)
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Comment by James Rickard
unlucky_ fishermen.com
Angling Fish
Comment by Leonard Marlborough
Racing Write
I'm not sure why sport and the intellectual, or creative, need be mutually exclusive. I love horse racing (apprentice jockey at fifteen) but I also love reading Salman Rushdie or Milan Kundera (and, of course, some Dick Francis). I could write exclusively about horse racing facts, but life is broader and more interesting than simply one passion. Why not have many? Don't get me started on cinema, politics or tennis...
Comment by RubySoho
Music Zone
Thought Zone
Gold: greatest guy in the world.
Silver: never heard of him.