identity, old

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

n.


phrase denoting a person wellknown in a place. a term invented in Dunedin, New Zealand, in1862, in a popular topical song, by Mr. R. Thatcher, animprovisator. In the song the «Old Identity,» the formerresident of Dunedin, was distinguished from the «New Iniquity,» as the people were termed who came from Australia.

1879. W. J. Barry, `Up and Down,' p. 197:

«The old identities were beginning to be alive to thesituation.»

1894. `Sydney Morning Herald,' Oct.:

«It is permissible to wonder about the origin of the phrase `anold identity.' Surely no man, however old, can be an identity?An entity he is, or a nonentity; an individual, a centenarian,or an oldest inhabitant; but identity is a condition ofsameness, of being identical with something. One can establishone's identity with that of some one who is being sought orsued, but once established it escapes us.»

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