a common nominative of address to anylittle boy. In Australia, the word is not infrequentlypronounced as in the quotation. The form of the word came fromAmerica.
1896. A. B. Paterson, `Man from Snowy River,' p. 10:
«But maybe you're only a Johnnie,
And don't know a horse from a hoe?
Weel, weel, don't get angry, my Sonny,
But, really, a young `un should know.»