Austral English Part 145
"The soft, bright-foliaged ribbonwood (lace-bark, Plagianthus) contrasts with the dusky hue of the dark-leaved f.a.gus."
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1881. F. McCoy, `Prodomus of the Natural History of Victoria,'
Dec. 4:
"Although the present Lace Lizard is generally arboreal, climbing the forest trees with ease, and running well on the ground, it can swim nearly as well as a Crocodile."
(q.v.). (Grk.
lagows, a hare, and 'orchestaes, a dancer.) They live on plains, and make a "form" in the herbage like the hare, which they resemble.
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(Grk. lagows, a hare, and strophos, a band or zone.) Its colour is a greyish-brown, with black and white bands, its distinguishing characteristic. It is sometimes called the Banded-Kangaroo, and is found at Dirk Hartog's Island, and on one or two islands in Shark's Bay, and in West Australia. For its interesting habits see R. Lyddeker's `Marsupialia.'
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(1) To knock down a cheque or a sum of money in a spree.
There is an old English verb, of Scandinavian origin, and properly spelt lamm, which means to thrash, beat.
1873. J. B. Stephens, `Black Gin,' p. 51:
"It is the Bushman come to town-- Come to spend his cheque in town, Come to do his lambing down."
1890. `The Argus,' June 7, p. 4, col. 2:
"The lambing down of cheques."
1890. Ibid. Aug. 9, p. 4, col. 5:
"The old woman thought that we were on gold, and would lamb down at the finish in her shanty."
(2) To make a man get rid of his money to you; to clean him out."
1873. Marcus Clarke, `Holiday Peak, etc.,' p. 21:
"The result was always the same--a shilling a n.o.bbler. True, that Trowbridge's did not `lamb down' so well as the Three Posts, but then the Three Posts put fig tobacco in its brandy casks, and Trowbridge's did not do that."
1880. Garnet Walch, `Victoria in 1880,' p.30:
"The operation--combining equal parts of hocussing, overcharging, and direct robbery--and facetiously christened by bush landlords `lambing down.'"
1890. `The Argus,' Aug. 16, p. 4, col. 7:
"One used to serve drinks in the bar, the other kept the billiard-table. Between them they lambed down more shearers and drovers than all the rest on the river."
, of the same family as the "Lampreys" of the Northern Hemisphere.
. The fishes of this name present in Australasia are--
In Queensland, Epigonichthys cultellus, Peters, family Amplingae; in Victoria and New South Wales, species of Heteropleuron.
(q.v.).
.
See Gra.s.s.
. a local term.
See quotation.
1875. Wood and Lapham, `Waiting for the Mail,' p. 21:
"I may explain that a `Ballarat Lantern' is formed by knocking off the bottom of a bottle, and putting a candle in the neck."
. common English bird name.
The Australian species are--
Brown Song Lark-- Cincloramphus cruralis, Vig. and Hors.
Bush L.-- Mirafra horsfieldii, Gould.
Field L.-- Calamanthus campestris, Gould.
Ground L.-- Anthus australis, Vig. and Hors. (Australian Pipit), A. novae-zelandae, Gray (New Zealand Pipit).
Lesser Bush L.-- Mirafra secunda, Sharpe.
Little Field L.-- Cathonicola sagittata, Lath.
Magpie L.-- Grallina picata, Lath.; see Magpie-Lark.
Rufous Song L.-- Cincloramphus rufescens, Vig. and Hors.
Striated Field L.-- Calamanthus fuliginosus, Vig. and Hors.
See Ground-Lark, Sand-Lark, Pipit, and Magpie-Lark.
. The word has various shades of meaning between a playful youngster and a blackguardly rough.
Little streetboys are often in a kindly way called little larrikins. (See quotations, 1870 and 1885.) Archibald Forbes described the larrikin as "a cross between the Street Arab and the Hoodlum, with a dash of the Rough thrown in to improve the mixture." (`Century.) The most exalted position yet reached in literature by this word is in Sir Richard Burton's `Translation of the Arabian Nights' (1886-7), vol. i. p. 4, Story of the Larrikin and the Cook; vol. iv. p. 281, Tale of First Larrikin. The previous translator, Jonathan Scott, had rendered the Arabic word, Sharper.
There are three views as to the origin of the word, viz.--
(1) That it is a phonetic spelling of the broad Irish p.r.o.nunciation, with a trilled r of the word larking. The story goes that a certain Sergeant Dalton, about the year 1869, charged a youthful prisoner at the Melbourne Police Court with being "a-larrr-akin' about the streets." The Police Magistrate, Mr. Sturt, did not quite catch the word--"A what, Sergeant?"--"A larrikin', your Worchup." The police court reporter used the word the next day in the paper, and it stuck. (See quotation, `Argus,' 1896.)
This story is believed by 99 persons out of 100; unfortunately it lacks confirmation; for the record of the incident cannot be discovered, after long search in files by many people. Mr.