Severing ties with the US can take more than a year and cost thousands of dollars. But Paul, Ella, Margot and thousands of others feel they have no choice
There’s a lot I didn’t know about the process. It’d be interesting to get the view of US members of this community.
well thats how rhyming slang tends to work, e.g. you would hear someone say “there was a barney” meaning there was a fight (that’s Barney Rubble = trouble); or to “have a butcher’s” meaning to have a look at something (Butcher’s hook = look).
Using the first part of the word or phrase is part of what makes it an in-group marker; those who know will understand, hence calling someone a seppo is just combining the cockney rhyming slang the ANZACs came across during the war with an Australian stylism. i would normally take that as friendly banter rather than derogatory.
Ned, I know about rhyming slang in general (I’ve been on this earth long enough :D) but the use of seppo IS derogatory and unfair. If (god forbid) ON won our next election and the Americans called Australians ‘losers’ for it would that be justified? I don’t think so. Right-wing narrative control in the US is very heavy and we are going in the same direction but the rest of our political landscape is not as lightweight as theirs is. Their voting system is different as you know and the economic situation a lot worse than here.
You’ll just have to take our word for it that it’s not a nasty term. Nobody who wants to insult you is going to use the word ‘seppo’. We have far more colourful words for that.
Not just ‘tank’, septic tank, therefore seppo. Not just tank and yank.
well thats how rhyming slang tends to work, e.g. you would hear someone say “there was a barney” meaning there was a fight (that’s Barney Rubble = trouble); or to “have a butcher’s” meaning to have a look at something (Butcher’s hook = look). Using the first part of the word or phrase is part of what makes it an in-group marker; those who know will understand, hence calling someone a seppo is just combining the cockney rhyming slang the ANZACs came across during the war with an Australian stylism. i would normally take that as friendly banter rather than derogatory.
Ned, I know about rhyming slang in general (I’ve been on this earth long enough :D) but the use of seppo IS derogatory and unfair. If (god forbid) ON won our next election and the Americans called Australians ‘losers’ for it would that be justified? I don’t think so. Right-wing narrative control in the US is very heavy and we are going in the same direction but the rest of our political landscape is not as lightweight as theirs is. Their voting system is different as you know and the economic situation a lot worse than here.
You’ll just have to take our word for it that it’s not a nasty term. Nobody who wants to insult you is going to use the word ‘seppo’. We have far more colourful words for that.
Nath, I know. I’ve been in Australia for over 6 decades but not everyone understands our larrikin humour or has seen the word ‘seppo’ before.
You’ve been here six decades and never heard the term ‘seppo’?
That’s … astonishing.
Astonishing it may be but it’s true. I well and truly know now what seppo means 😆