Quiz Answers and Winners

Thanks so much to all who made the effort of responding to my language quiz.  I had great fun reading the answers, and was tempted to declare everyone a winner.  Then I remembered how much I dislike wrapping parcels and carting them to the post office, so I decided to choose only one.  After assigning each respondent a number, I had Sophie pick one.  The winner is . . . . Whitsend.  She, and her family if she chooses to share her prize, will be the recipients of a box of TimTams, which in my opinion must be consumed with a cup of coffee or a shot of espresso.  Even better is the TimTam slam, which involves nibbling off a corner at opposite ends of the cookie, and then using the TimTam as a sort of straw.  The end result is a heavenly combination of melted chocolate and coffee that should be tried by everyone at least once.

Following are the quiz answers.

1.  Did you hear the goss about Julia?  (over dinner)

All respondents got this one correct:  gossip.

2.  Is he a journo or a polly?  (on the school playground)

I think I inadvertantly threw everyone off on this question by including a location, which in this case had nothing to do with school levels.  I believe the discussion was about someone featured in the morning news. Journo is short for journalist, and polly for politician.  

3.  Give the icy poles to her lot instead of mine.  (at church)

Two guessed this one correctly:  popsicles and children

4.  I was absolutely wrapped when I found that out.  (also at church)

Two correct on this one as well:  excited, very happy, thrilled.  I have speculated as to where the expression comes from, but am still left puzzling a bit.  Is it the connection between a wrapped gift and emotions of happiness?

5.  The coffee at that cafe is ordinary.  (from Ross)

No correct responses to this one.  Ordinary is used here to mean less than average.  If the kids are fighting, and your spouse is grumpy, you might respond when questioned that things are rather ordinary in your household.  There is very little tolerance for ordinary food and coffee, so a cafe with consistently ordinary coffee is likely to struggle to stay afloat.

As an aside related to coffee, I had a delightful day on Thursday with my boys at Melbourne's science center.  They had a wonderful time exploring the many exhibits, and I ran into four different friends and acquaintances so had some chat time as well.  Best of all, however, was the perfect cappuccino I enjoyed at lunch in the cafeteria.  I love a city that provides good coffee everywhere parents are likely to be, and I was quite amused to discover later that there was a proper, fancy espresso machine in the play kitchen area for the under 8s.  James and a friend had great fun serving up lattes and cappuccinos to any adult willing to play along.

6.  We have aths heats on Wednesday.  (from Katie, who was rather put out when we asked to her to repeat herself).

Aths is short for athletics, which is the term used in Australia for track and field events.  I find it easier to just say this particular word in full rather than abbreviate it, but the kids especially seem to favor the abbreviated version.

7.  I need some new textas (pronounced texters of course) for school. (Cameron)

This is the term used for felt-tipped markers.  I still remember the bewilderment when Cameron came home with his first school supply list.  New to the whole idea of beginning-of-the-school-year lists in the first place, I was dismayed when I didn't recognize one third of the items on it.  This weekend I am shopping for Katie to go on camp next week, and I had to figure out what jex pads are (brillo pads).

8.  I ate all of my rockmelon today at fruit time. (James, reporting on the condition of his lunch box).

And yes, rockmelon is cantalope, something we have been savoring as this summer season draws to a close. 

A few other language items have cropped up since I posted the language quiz.  I have noticed my kids using variations of the adjective as combination lately.  As an example, we have a store called Sweet As close to us that sells chocolates and all sorts of lollies.  Cameron complained yesterday that his sisters came home grumpy as.   He can also be heard quite frequently to declare that he is hungry as.

A popular item of clothing for school children in Melbourne are pants called scotchies.  It has been explained to me that they are a fitted track pant worn first by boys attending Scotch College.  Such students are of course called Scotchies, and now so are the pants that they have made popular.

Comments

[Suzanne]

Christie,
I love hearing about the different words used down under. It must be difficult for you because it is not like you can even look in a dictionary to see the translation.

I was thinking, would the 'wrapped,' actually be rapt? Like filled with emotion or joy?

I don't know how you can understand everyone though! In the days that I visited, I could hardly figure out regular words that were spoken with the accents!

I hope Katie has fun on her camping trip and comes home bite-free.

[Christie]

Hi Suzanne, I'll pass your message on to Katie. She is not looking forward to camp this year. As for "wrapped," you might be right. I did ask a few people, who replied that it was spelled "wrapped," but I didn't really do any proper research.

[Suzanne]

Aww, I hope Katie has a better time this year.

Carina is doing a notebook on Australia this year and I wanted to let you know that your blog is going to be one of our main resources!! Since it includes many photos, it will be fun to see how many we can get that include cousins. I am glad you put links on some of your pages referring back to other pages on the same or similar topic - so we can iclude them as well.

Thanks so much for sharing all that you have learned and what you are up to. I love reading about it not only because we miss you, but we are becoming more informed about the other side of our world! I am frequently checking your blog to see what's new. Not sure how I missed the quiz :( But it was fun to read the comments.

[Christie]

You probably missed it because you have given up Facebook! I'll be sure to bring you a package or two of Tim Tams when we travel back in June, and for that matter, I'll be happy to bring a package to any one who posts a comment on any of my blog posts between now and then. And you were right about "rapt"---I did some more research this morning.

[Suzanne]

WOW!
You have no idea how happy you made me tonight! Always glad to have Tim Tams, but even more excited to hear/read you other commment! I have been trying to keep my opinions to myself as I get older, as it is not usually requested, but when I read your quiz, 'rapt' just popped in my mind. And, actualy, you did ask!
so thank you for that moment :) as I am sure you have experienced with a teen in the house - it is not often that you get to be acknowledged as right.
It is good chatting with you - even if it is miles away.
Miss you
I do frequently check to see if you blog. For awhile there my computer wouldn't let me post. It would just get stuck. So I stopped trying for a bit. However, I do read every single one eagerly, and at times a few days behind. :)

[Shanda Ives]

Very interesting!

[Cassandra]

Hello! I'm an Australian just returned from a long holiday to the USA and am very much enjoying reading your blog from start to finish. It's helping me think through some of the odd things I experienced and saw.

Obviously I'm a bit late to comment but wanted to weigh in on the rapt vs wrapped. I'm fairly confident that it is Rapt which is abrieviated from "in raptures (of delight)" but has been used for so long that most have forgotten the original sources.

Also I would explain Ordinary to mean unremarkable or not worth the time/money. Mostly used when someone asks about an experience you don't recommend.