Fair dinkum 'swearing'

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Police grill Aussie over fair dinkum 'swearing'
Friday Aug 10 18:00 AEST
By ninemsn staff

A combination of a pretzel shortage and some misunderstood slang almost left an Australian woman up the creek without a paddle on a US flight.

Sophie Reynolds, from Queanbeyan NSW, muttered :"fair dinkum" to show her frustration that her flight had ran out of the salted snacks ?- and duly found herself under police investigation.

The flight attendant on food service believed Mrs Reynolds had sworn at her ?- which is a crime ?- and the plane's cabin crew demand the Australian's passport details.

Still in a state of disbelief, 41-year-old Mrs Reynolds was welcomed at Pennsylvania airport by three uniformed officers, who informed her that a report had been made.

"They said: 'You swore at the hostess and there are federal rules against that'," Reynolds told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

"And I said: 'I did not swear at the hostess, I just said 'fair dinkum'."

"Our initial reports indicate it was more than a misunderstanding of the language," SkyWest spokeswoman Marissa Snow told the Journal-Constitution.

"We witnessed aggressive behavior throughout the flight."

Ends.

Shocked

Fair suck of the sav! I'd say Sophie's language was quite restrained. I wonder what the 'aggressive behavior' was. Maybe she also used words like 'crikey' and 'stone the flamin crows'.

Here's one theory about fair dinkum -

http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-fai3.htm

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I wonder if the stew was a person of color - the word "dink" is a racist insult in the USA I believe, and it could have been a case of mishearing. I wonder if anyone remembers the fuss in Florida about the word "niggardly", which means "parsimonious", because it sounds a bit like the "N-word".

The trouble is, there a lot of good words that sound a bit like bad words, so such an attitude could lead to nobody daring to say anything.

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Strewth! Thats poor sheila. Runnin' outa tucker is enough to make you wanna shoot through!

fair dinkum!

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"Dink" a slur in the U.S.? I don't think so. "Chink," maybe. (Slur for Chinese person.)

Only use of "dink" I can think of is the acronym -- "Double Income No Kids." It's pretty neutral, hardly a slur, and certainly not based on skin color.

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sozobe wrote:

"Dink" a slur in the U.S.? I don't think so. "Chink," maybe. (Slur for Chinese person.)

Only use of "dink" I can think of is the acronym -- "Double Income No Kids." It's pretty neutral, hardly a slur, and certainly not based on skin color.

It depends on where you are from I guess. From the Urban Dictionary:

Quote:

1. dink

Dual Income No Kids

2. dink

Local slang in Vermont. A stupid person, a jerk, an a-hole. A general putdown of one's abilities.
You are such a dink.

3. DINK

Acronym for Dual Income No Kids

That says the 2nd definition is local to VT but I've heard it used to mean the same thing elsewhere (mostly in New England but in TX and OK as well...)

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Sounds like they can't spell 'dork' in some states...

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Even then it's not a racist insult, though, which is what contrex was saying:

contrex wrote:

the word "dink" is a racist insult in the USA I believe,

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This busiiness about swearing to a flight attendant may shed some light on a recent mother-attendant problem in the US in which the mother was put off the plane.
Maybe she swore. Or, of course, maybe she didn't.

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ossobuco wrote:

Sounds like they can't spell 'dork' in some states...

heh!

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I didn't know "dink" is a regional thing. We use it in my family-- grandma must've brought it with her from the east coast. And I've never heard of it having a racist connotation.

Anyway, what a weird story... (note to self: start saying "fair dinkum"-- very cool!)

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busliness - someone else can't spell!

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cyphercat wrote:

I didn't know "dink" is a regional thing. We use it in my family-- grandma must've brought it with her from the east coast. And I've never heard of it having a racist connotation.

I've read it in lots of books about Vietnam etc. According to Wikipedia, "Dink" can be:

"A derogatory racial slur referring to peoples of asian decent, Mainly used by U.S soldiers during the vietnam war to refer to North Vietnamese soldiers. Examples in popular culture, see- Platoon (1986) movie."

Some people might hear "slope" or "g**k" when they think they hear "dink".

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cyphercat wrote:

(note to self: start saying "fair dinkum"-- very cool!)

G'donya, cc!

Just remember, it is tantamount to making an oath when you say these words. If you describe something as being absolutely true it is fair dinkum (much the same as 'the real McCoy') and it has various shades of meaning according to the tone of voice used when saying it; e.g, 'fair dinkum, that is the worst joke I've ever heard.' would indicated that it IS the worst. To call someone 'fair dinkum' means they are honest, loyal and dependable.

When uttered softly in an almost awesome tone with an interrogatory inflexion the meaning is 'are you sure?' or 'can it be for real?' (An example of this would be if some incredibly handsome, rich hunk knocked on your door and begged you to drop everything and run off with him.)

When said in an exasperated manner, of course, it takes on the opposite meaning 'You must be joking!' or 'This is totally unbelievable' (A good example of this would be when you order a drink on a plane and, on asking for pretzels you are told 'Sorry, we're all outta pretzels.')

Here endeth the lesson. :wink:

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All right! I got a real, authentic lesson in how to use the phrase properly-- now I really will say it Very Happy

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It's not 'dink'. It's 'dinkum'.

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Years and years ago I answered a knock on my door and found an indignant 12 year old who wanted to tell me that my five-year-old was swearing.

I asked for particulars and learned that my son was chanting, "Buck teeth, mackintosh and minotaur."

Unfamiliar words are obviously hostile and dangerous to the vulnerable listener.

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Its illegal to swear on a plane?

How bout
"gemme another fu***in martini babe"

I have to tell you, Im not clear on these rules at all. When I drank , I ecame the passenger from hell. Ive spent many a year hunting down and apologizing to flight attendants. Those who havent sworn out restraining orders have been quite receptive to my apologies.

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I dont understand Italian
If an Italian person calls me a dickhed in italian should I be offended?

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dadpad wrote:

I dont understand Italian
If an Italian person calls me a dickhed in italian should I be offended?

If he means it, sure! Testa di cazzo is what to listen out for.

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Just asked Mr. Tea if he heard the word "dink" in Vietnam.

His words... "Yeah, that's what some of the boys called the vietnamese. Only other time I heard it was from those yankee boys from New England. That's what they called their dicks."

When he asked me why I asked, I told him about this thread....

His words...."Jesus Christ, that was 40 years ago! I've heard a couple old vets say that, but not as a rule. No one says that anymore. Now while you're up, can you get me some more coffee?"

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Fair dinkum 'swearing'

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