Talk:Larrikinism

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According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term larrikinism as: the habits and practices of larrikins, first cited in 1870 in the Australian (Richomond, Vict.) 10 Sept. 3/3 (Morris) in the statement "a slight attempt at 'larrikinism' was manifested".

In the same source, the etymology of larrikin is noted as "uncertain" but the editors make a guess that the term has its origins in English dialect, citing the Supplement English Dialect Dictionary, editor J. Wright, 1898 - 1905, where the term is reported based on contacts with informants in Warwickshire and Worcestershire as referring to "a mischievous or frolicsome youth".

The citation discredits the idea that the term arose from a Irish mispronounciation of larking as "a figment." See p. 667 Volume VIII The Oxford English Dictionary. Claredon Press, Oxford, England. 2000.

See also discussion in the Ozwords Site at http://www.anu.edu.au/andc/ozwords/June_98/. --Nancyterry 15:13, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

I'm aware of a reference to "larrikins" dating from 1879. Is this late-19th century? jguk 8 July 2005 17:40 (UTC)

Yes. See 'Rocks Push' link for the 'larrikin' gang working the Rocks from 1870s-1890s.

[edit] POV watch

It appears that the commends in this article

Apart from the etymology and evolution sections, this article smacks of point-of-view. Who decided that this list of people fit the criteria of a larrikin -- no references -- and none to be found I'll bet, certainly none to define larrikin in such clear terms as it is defined here. Suggest erasing the entire section I've flagged as POV. — Donama 04:51, 18 July 2006 (UTC)

I am sure suitable sources will be found, give it a couple of weeks :). Grumpyyoungman01 13:28, 18 July 2006 (UTC)

And uh, why is Steve Irwin listed as (disuputed)? Who's disputing it? Because one columnist said it, and everyone else got mad at her - that puts it in the list with a disputed tag? Adam Marx Squared 05:45, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

I think this article offers an interesting discussion on the subject, but is this really the place for it? My own perceptions of the subject would be quite different. I would be very interested in any "authority" for calling Kerry Packer a larrikin. MrsPlum 08:51, 5 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Larrikin

There's a mention of Ireland on the article page and its pronounciation. Just to point out that the word "ladhraicín or laidhricín is pronounced just like "larrikin". It means "little finger" or "pinky" in Irish. Dunno how relevant that is but anyways ... - Alison^✍ 23:00, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

I see a lot of evidence for Larrikin being of Cornish origin: http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/40850.html - Lord Manley http://lipas.uwasa.fi/hut/english/courses/ENG.169.html http://66.249.93.104/search?q=cache:iXIIJakVKz8J:www.heronair.com.au/newsletter/newsletter.pdf+larrikin+cornish+-%22larrikin+love%22&hl=en&gl=uk&ct=clnk&cd=9 http://www.pprune.org/forums/archive/index.php/t-85618.html http://ca.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060627134009AAgkgy1 http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/archive/index.php/t-171578.html

[edit] Dave Hughes and Steve Irwin

Dave Hughes is definately not a larrikin, he is a comedian and I find him funny. But larrikin has to be a bit more, something daring like what the Chaser group do every week. I have nothing against Steve Irwin and he may be a larrikin, I am not sure. But it is far from obvious that he is a larrikin. It would be good, but probably a hard task for someone to come up with evidence such as an illustration or anecdote of his alleged larrikinism. An asertion from somebody other than a relevant academic that he is a larrikin is not sufficient. John Howard and probably many others have called him a larrikin in recent days but politicians say that all the time about popular people. Grumpyyoungman01 12:26, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

If enough people say something does it make it true? Oh dear me wikipedia, we are slowly catching on to how futile it is to approximate the truth.

- Ip address logged.