Wowser
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the fictional dog known as Wowser, see Cubitus
- Wowsers! is also a signature expression used by the cartoon character Inspector Gadget.
Wowser is a slang expression, most commonly heard in Australian and New Zealand English. It originated in Australia, at first carrying a similar meaning to 'lout', i.e. an annoying or disruptive person. However, around the beginning of the 20th century it shifted to its present meaning: one whose overdeveloped sense of morality drives them to deprive others of their pleasures. At this time, the term was particularly applied to members of temperance groups such as the antipodean branches of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union.
John Norton (January 25, 1858 - April 9, 1916), editor of Truth, claimed to have invented the word in 1899 [1] and the term was frequently used by artist and author Norman Lindsay, who fought many celebrated battles with "Wowsers" over the sexual content in his art and writing.
The Australian writer C.J. Dennis defined it thus: 'Wowser: an ineffably pious person who mistakes this world for a penitentiary and himself for a warder'.
In recent years, the term has been most often applied to morality-oriented politicians Fred and Elaine Nile and Brian Harradine.[citation needed]
Americans are likely to associate the word with H. L. Mencken:
- "In the same way the Archidamian War is more interesting than the fiscal cares of the Four Hundred, and the craft of Pericles takes precedence of his abilities as tax-collector and wowser." American Mercury "The Greeks"
'Wowser' is also the word given to describe a puritanical fanatic [US english]
The etymology of the word has not been fully discovered. Norton claimed it stood for "We Only Want Social Evils Remedied"[2] but this is almost certainly a backronym.
