old man

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

n.


a full-grown male Kangaroo.The aboriginal corruption is Wool-man.

1827. P. Cunningham, `Two Years in New South Wales,'vol. ii. p. 160:

«To your great relief, however, the `old man' turns out topossess the appendage of a tail, and is in fact no other thanone of our old acquaintances, the kangaroos.»

1830. R. Dawson, `Present State of Australia,' p. 141:

«If he (greyhound) has less ferocity when he comes up with an`old man,' so much the better. . . . The strongest and mostcourageous dog can seldom conquer a wool-man alone, and not onein fifty will face him fairly; the dog who has the temerity iscertain to be disabled, if not killed.»

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 33:

«Mr. Gilbert started a large kangaroo known by the familiarname of `old man.'»

1861. T. McCombie, `Australian Sketches,' p. 172:

«The settlers designate the old kangaroos as `old men' and`old women;' the full-grown animals are named `flyers,' and areswifter than the British hare.»

1864. W. Westgarth, `Colony of Victoria,' p. 451:

«The large kangaroo, the `old man,' as he is called, timorousof every unwonted sound that enters his large, erected ears,has been chased far from every busy seat of colonial industry.»

1873. J. B. Stephens, `Black Gin,' p. 39:

«Where the kangaroo gave hops,

The old man fleetest of the fleet.»

1893. `The Times,' [Reprint] `Letters from Queensland,' p. 66:

«The animals, like the timber, too, are strange. Kangaroo andwallaby are as fond of grass as the sheep, and after apelican's yawn there are few things funnier to witness thanthe career of an `old man' kangaroo, with his harem after him,when the approach of a buggy disturbs the family at theirafternoon meal. Away they go, the little ones canteringbriskly, he in a shaggy gallop, with his long tail stuck outfor a balance, and a perpetual see-saw maintained between itand his short front paws, while the hind legs act as a mightyspring under the whole construction. The side and the backview remind you of a big St. Bernard dog, the front view of arat. You begin an internal debate as to which he mostresembles, and in the middle of it you find that he is sittingup on his haunches, which gives him a secure height of fromfive to six feet, and is gravely considering you with the airof the old man he is named from.»

Old-Man, adj. large, or bigger than usual. Compare thenext two words.

1845. R. Howitt, `Australia,' p. 233:

«I stared at a man one day for saying that a certain allotmentof land was `an old-man allotment': he meant a large allotment,the old-man kangaroo being the largest kangaroo.»

1888. D. Macdonald, `Gum Boughs,' p. 7:

«Who that has ridden across the Old-Man Plain . . .»

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