The Deal:
Remember Douglas Adams' Meaning of Liff? Where he and John Lloyd took place names and gave them dictionary definitions?
Well I want you to do that with some of the places I've been to in the last fortnight (on tour with work). They are all actual places in regional Victoria. And the best two will win a free copy of Scatterheart.
An Example:
Yeungroon: (verb) The noise you make when you've eaten three vanilla slices in rapid succession. The girl went a funny greenish-yellow colour and let out a pained yeungroon.
Now it's your turn. I offer the following placenames for your consideration:
Manangatang
Patchewallock
Boinka
Boigbeat
Teddywally West
Bollangum
Minyip
Wycheproof
Nyah
Boomahnoomoonah
(submit your entries in the comments. competition will be open until... i don't know. a fortnight? we'll see. you can enter as many times as you like. apologies to anyone who lives in these towns, or speaks the language that they are named in, and is offended)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
God, I love the Meaning of Liff. We've played this game in my family for years. eg. the town of Breadalbane (ACT, I think) is defined as 'To inexpertly cut a slice of bread off a loaf so that it becomes thinner as it goes down and eventually diminished into nothingness.'
OK:
Manangatang (n.): the sideways chewing movement and pained expression associated with trying to unstick toffee from one's molars.
Nyah (adj.): descriptive of the facial expression adopted by cynical voters when listening to Australian politicians trying to justify their actions. (see also Boinka)
Boinka (n.): (see also Nyah) The types of actions Australian politicians are trying to justify.
Bollangum (vb.): the toothless smile displayed by very small children. The grandfather hugged the little girl, who bollangummed widely.
All right, this is more addictive than it looks.
Manangatang (n.)- the shrivelling of one's tongue as a direct result of consuming undiluted powered orange beverage mix.
Boigbeat (n.)- a designated location where male Avril Lavigne fans go to engage in casual liaisons.
Wycheproof (adj.)- resistant to the charms of New Age enthusiasts who insist on using pseudo-archaic spelling.
Nyah (coll.) - an expression of ambivalence, made popular through the emo music scene.
Irriwillipe (v): the act of trying to look inconspicuous and nonchalent under a suspicious gaze; particularly evident in the activity of cows.
I know Irrewillipe isn't on your list, but I thought you should know about it; I used to live in Irrewillipe East (although there was no actual marker for Irrewillipe itself, only the tiny cluster of farms to its east). And when you look at them, cows in Irrewillipe most definitely try to pretend they weren't following you down the driveway, or that they weren't gambolling wildly in the moments before a human turned in their direction. Seriously.
Don't give me a book. I'll buy it. But I want to play anyway.
Patchewallock (n): 1. An area of bare ground on a sporting field, esp. caused by drought-related water restrictions; 2. (coll) Any injury caused by falling onto a Patchewallock.
Minyip (n): A species of bunyip indigenous to northwest Victoria and northeastern South Australia, characterised by small relative size and a piercing, high-pitched mating call.
Manangatang (adj): descriptive of the sound of a person's voice after you have vagued out and stopped listening to them properly.
Boigbeat (n): musical style briefly popular in the 1980s, esp. in rural areas; fusion of rock (esp oz rock), punk and ska.
Manangatang (n.) - An extremely hairy man OR a somewhat hairless orangutan
Patchewallock (v.) - to clear an area of grass or otehr vegetation by hitting it several times with an elderly person's cane
Boinka (n) - A small squeaky hammer recently introduced into the experimental clown squadron of the Victorian police force
Boigbeat (n) - The clown police's designated patrol zone
Teddywally West - Teddy Robinson's bumbling but brilliant crimefighting cousin.
Bollangum (n) - Chewing gum made from a mixture of bee pollen and a bull's testicles.
Minyip (n) - A female bunyip, difficult to distinguish from her male counterpart, the Mickyip. However there are some differences: the Minyip has a spotty dress, long eyelashes and a tendency to simper.
Wycheproof (n) - Those purple and black stockings that prevent windburn when you're riding on your broomstick
Nyah (n) - The area in the school quadrangle reserved for the smelly girl
Boomahnoomoonah (n) - The sound you make when you're eating three biscuits at once and urgently want someone else to answer the phone.
Minyip: The sound a chihuahua makes when it has been run over by a mini.
Boomanoomoonah: An indigenous dance of Western Australia, danced during the new moon to invoke Her to shine again. If it is not danced then the world will plunge into terrible chaos. I think we can safely assume that it has not been danced for a VERY long time.
Post a Comment