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Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris

I.


n.

a prejudice against, hostility to;a peculiarly Australian noun made out of the adverb.

1856. W. W. Dobie, `Recollections of a Visit to Port Philip,'p. 84:

«. . . the bushranger had been in search of another squatter,on whom `he said he had a down'. . .»

1884. J. W. Bull, `Early Life in South Australia,' p. 179:

«It was explained that Foley had a private `down' on them,as having stolen from him a favourite kangaroo dog.»

1889. Cassell's `Picturesque Australasia, vol. iv. p. 180:

«They [diggers] had a `dead down' on all made dishes.»

1893. Professor Gosman, `The Argus,' April 24, p. 7, col. 4:

«That old prejudice in the minds of many men to the effect thatthose who represented the churches or religious people had aregular down upon freedom of thought.»

1893. `The Age,' June 24, p. 5, col. 1:

«Mr. M. said it was notorious in the department that one of thecommissioners had had `a down' on him.»

1893. R. L. Stevenson, `Island Nights' Entertainments,' p. 46:

«`They have a down on you,' says Case. `Taboo a man becausethey have a down on him'' I cried. `I never heard the like.'»

II.

adv.

«To come, or be down,» is the phraseused in Australian Universities for to be «plucked,» or «ploughed,» or «spun,» i.e., to fail in an examination. It hasbeen in use for a few years, certainly not earlier than 1886.The metaphor is either taken from a fall from a horse, orperhaps from the prize-ring. The use has no connection withbeing «sent down,» or «going down,» at Oxford or Cambridge.

Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris

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