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Sunday, 16 June 2013

A bit of a furphy.

When you move between countries - or even regions of a country - the slang or vernacular can change markedly.  I love the phrase that England and America are two countries separated by a common language!

One of the terms I encountered rather quickly in Australia was the "furphy" (or the furfie).  It would be used in conversation like this.  "Thats a bit of a furphy"  - it means a rumour, untruth or something improbable or irrelevant.

One theory about the origin of this phrase is that soldiers would gather around mobile water tanks on the battle field and swap rumours and gossip - and the manufacturer of the water tanks was J. Furphy and Sons of Shepparton, Victoria.  Its a good story.

And this is a real Furphy!




Have a look at the slogan above the tap. I'm not sure companies do this kind of thing any more!

I'm linking this to Macro Monday 2 and to I love Macro.


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23 comments:

  1. TexWisGirl16 June 2013 at 13:01

    well, thanks for that bit of slang! very cool! we use 'water cooler talk' as a slang for gossip here. i like 'furphy' though!

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  2. Arija16 June 2013 at 15:02

    You had me fairly giggling. Now I want one of those historical water tanks for my cattle trough, after all, we have an ancient Ferguson tractor and a Southern Cross windmill.

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  3. Carole M.16 June 2013 at 15:47

    interesting post Stewart, and I shared a similar one last year
    http://dragonfly47.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/its-furphy.html

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  4. Timur Wilde Photography16 June 2013 at 17:22

    Well, i love this black and White effect !!

    Nice captures !

    Greetings

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  5. Margaret Birding For Pleasure16 June 2013 at 17:33

    Hi Stewart Liked the black and white effect. Might have been slightly better if you had removed the dead plant in front of it! Never heard that saying when i have been to Australia. I wonder is it used locally or is it in general use? Looked what it said on the bottom of the tank. Hope you are having a great weekend. Margaret

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  6. Fun6016 June 2013 at 21:03

    i like the term 'furphy'. I am surprised it hasn't caught on over here. An interesting saying on the tank - would have been useful in the classroom.

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  7. AFTERMATH16 June 2013 at 22:04

    I, too enjoy the origins of words and phrases. This was great!

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  8. John @ Beans and I on the Loose16 June 2013 at 23:43

    I love this kind of stuff. How different words came to be, and phrases we use commonly without knowing where they really came from.
    Like your black & whites.

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  9. Andrea @ From The Sol17 June 2013 at 00:12

    My father made a hobby of learning the derivation of words ... and some of that has rubbed off on me. So this a a particularly interesting post for me ... it tweaked my interest and my funny bone. Furphy is just a fun word to say and it certainly has opportunity for use. I, also, wonder why it hasn't caught on over here. We are big on cute expressions. However, over here, we don't speak in words anymore ... we use abbreviations and or symbols for everything. I guess that is an offshoot of texting ...quicker, simpler, easier, Ha! Easier, that is, if you aren't an old poop who can't remember everything you see or hear. Now I miss half the message because I don't have a clue about what they are saying. But, that is a subject for another day. Back to Furphy and the wonderful advise on the bottom of the water barrel. Wouldn't it be a better world if everyone followed it ... Happy Father's Day Stewart. You certainly are deserving of a day in your celebration.

    Andrea @ From The Sol

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  10. Karen17 June 2013 at 04:22

    That's really cool Stewart!

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  11. eileeninmd17 June 2013 at 05:09

    Thanks for sharing and I like the phrase and meaning. Have a happy week ahead!

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  12. DIMI17 June 2013 at 07:03

    I realy enjoyed your post!!!Thats true!!!I saw Vic.in front of the 'water tank'!!!Thank you for sharing!!Have a lovely week Stewart!!
    Dimi..

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  13. Lea17 June 2013 at 13:33

    What an interesting word!
    Really like your photos, too!
    Have a wonderful week!
    Lea
    Lea's Menagerie

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  14. Unknown17 June 2013 at 15:04

    That's an interesting story. Have a great week!

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  15. Rollercoaster Mum17 June 2013 at 20:11

    What a great story! Love the quote on the tank too.

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  16. chai-and-chardonnay.blogspot.com17 June 2013 at 20:47

    That is a word I am going to adopt!

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  17. Anonymous18 June 2013 at 08:55

    Interesting bit of linguistic history. Interesting old tank, I'd venture to say one would be hard pressed to find something like that today.

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  18. Coloring Outside the Lines18 June 2013 at 20:08

    I like that word...I think I will use it. That's a very cool water tank...I want to find one!

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  19. Sallie (FullTime-Life)18 June 2013 at 22:47

    My grandmother was a great person for adages like that slogan...I think she may have had that exact one in her repertoire. Very old school, probably not on any of today's products.

    Love the word furphy. And after we stayed a while in London, we definitely understood the language difference!

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  20. TheChieftess19 June 2013 at 16:16

    I love furphy!!! What a great word!!! Maybe I can get California to adopt it!!! Check out my post for Wed...I think I'm going to use it!!!

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  21. Pat Tillett20 June 2013 at 10:18

    Craftsmanship in everything! That is how it used to be...
    Nice find and photo!

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  22. Linda22 June 2013 at 15:00

    Good word, Furphy!

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  23. Laura23 June 2013 at 01:17

    Excellent detail! I can't wait to see what you have to share with I Heart Macro this week! Sorry I'm slow getting around to visit, I've been out of town.

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