Great news for language fans: The Australian National Dictionary is now available online for free. It’s full of fascinating words from Down Under. Contrary to what you might think, for example, kangaroosters are pouchless and feather-free, and a pumpkin squatter isn’t a trendy thigh-reducing exercise. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Australian National Dictionary Online”
You’re listening to A Way with Words. I’m Grant Barrett.
And I’m Martha Barnette. And here’s a cool word for you.
Grant, what is a kangaroo-ster?
That’s something created on the island of Dr. Moreau.
Right? A cross between a kangaroo and a rooster?
Not quite. Not quite.
I don’t know. What is it?
It is a person from Australia. Isn’t that fabulous? I love it.
A kangaroo-ster.
Kangarooster. Yes, I found this word in the Australian National Dictionary, and this is such fantastic news for language lovers. It seems that Oxford University Press has been publishing this dictionary since 1908, and to celebrate this 100-year milestone, it has made the dictionary available for free online.
Oh, that’s fantastic. I have a hard copy of it, and it’s a historical dictionary, right? They provide some background on the history of the words.
Yeah, it’s just lovely, but it’s so much fun to have it on the Internet.
It’s my new Internet time waster.
You need another one?
I like to alternate.
You can go there, choose a letter, and start browsing through this incredibly colorful form of English.
Here’s another one for you, Grant.
What is a pumpkin squatter?
A pumpkin squatter?
Is this the guy who hogs the seconds at the buffet line?
I like it.
No, the guy who takes all the pie on the holiday.
I don’t know.
What is it?
And the whipped cream.
No, it’s a small farmer.
Oh.
I love it.
Okay, good.
I love it.
There’s like an internal coherency there, right?
It kind of makes sense.
Sure.
Online, I’ve been a subscriber to the Macquarie Dictionary, which is also an Australian dictionary, for years.
It’s not free.
It does cost, but it’s not expensive, and it’s comprehensive.
Wow.
Well, you can really spice up your language with Australianism, with strine.
Strine, yeah.
Tell you what, we’ll put a link to both these dictionaries on our website.
That’s waywordradio.org.
And in the meantime, if you’d like to talk about Australian English or American English or British English or dictionaries, writing, grammar, vocabulary, regional expressions, call us.
The number’s 1-877-929-9673.
That’s 1-877-WAYWORD.
Or send us an email to words@waywordradio.org.
