Infinite Anthology
Gross motor — coordination as a whistle subject
audiation — daydreaming in tunes
papped — snapped by papparazzi
whipping side — right hand side of a convict or sheep
hepcat, hip (from Wolof hipi-kat, one who knows the score) — Spirit in which modernist art goes slumming
instant — (Australian) Nescafé
ranga — redhead
Creators of single words or phrases are by far the largest class of poets. Many ignore all other poetry.
Jail tats — totemic underskin writing done because illegal
lundy — a turned Ulster
rebuttal tapes — counter-propaganda filmed by warplanes
free traders — (19th & early 20th cent.) split bloomers worn under voluminous skirts
daylight — second placegetter when winner is very superior to field
window licker — a voyeur
fibro — resident of a poorer suburb
Single-word poets hope to be published and credited in the Great Book of Anon, the dictionary. The cleverest make their names serve this purpose: Maxim, Maxim’s, Churchillian.
Irishtown — a Soweto of old-time Catholic labour
bunny boiler — one who kills her offspring
dandruff acting — the stiffest kind of Thespian art
blackout — Aboriginal party or picnic, whites not invited
butternut — homespun cloth dyed with hickory juice
shart — a non-dry fart
Baptist Boilermaker — coffee and soda (an imagined Puritan cocktail)
Single-word poets recycle words in advance of need, or leave them exposed to the weather of real difference.
Wedge — cloth bunched in the groin; may cause Camel toe (q.v.)
wedge — to force the pace or direction
bushed — lost (Australian)
bushed — tired (American)
bushed — suffering camp fever (Canadian)
limo — limousin cattle
proud — castrated but still interested
Many quaint items are invented merely for show, but similar items may be the insignia of particular groups or classes.
Drummy — echoing, hollow-sounding (mining term)
rosebud — American Civil War wound
Shabos goy — Gentile who does small jobs for Orthodox Jews on Sabbath or other holy days
choke — to strap loose freight tightly together for transport
off book — (theatre) having one’s lines down pat
bugle driver — attachment on a drill to intensify its power in sinking screws
tipping elbow — (Aboriginal) sneaking glances at one’s watch
Madam: Archbishop Fisher (July-August 2024) does not resist the attacks on his church by the political, social or scientific atheists and those who insist on not being told what to do.
Aug 29 2024
6 mins
To claim Aborigines have the world's oldest continuous culture is to misunderstand the meaning of culture, which continuously changes over time and location. For a culture not to change over time would be a reproach and certainly not a cause for celebration, for it would indicate that there had been no capacity to adapt. Clearly this has not been the case
Aug 20 2024
23 mins
A friend and longtime supporter of Quadrant, Clive James sent us a poem in 2010, which we published in our December issue. Like the Taronga Park Aquarium he recalls in its 'mocked-up sandstone cave' it's not to be forgotten
Aug 16 2024
2 mins