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Kangaroo: noun - a herbivorous marsupial mammal of
the family Macropodidae, from Australia, New Guinea, and nearby islands, having
small front limbs, powerful hind legs and long feet, which allow it to leap
great distances, using its long tail for balance; an Australian representing
the nation in sport; in Britain, a parliamentary closure by which some
amendments are selected for discussion and others excluded; also used in
combinations, such as 'Kangaroo Court', a derogatory term for bad justice.
The word, Kangaroo, is
derived from a Guugu Yimithirr word 'gangurru', which refers to grey kangaroos.
The story about how the kangaroo got its English name isn't true; it's an urban
myth. The story goes that "kangaroo" was an aboriginal word for
"I don't understand you." and Captain Cook, exploring the area and
coming upon the animal, asked a local what it was called. The local said
'gangurru ', and Cook is supposed to have wrongly assumed it was the name of
the creature.
In fact, the aboriginal
really was providing the name of the creature, as the linguist, John B.
Haviland, has subsequently shown in his research with the Guugu Yimithirr
people.
'No matter how they
constructed the fences around the vast ranch, there was nothing they could do
to exclude the kangaroos.'
'When it became public
knowledge that Gordon, a well-known eccentric, had been accused of molesting a
small child, the local macho men formed a kangaroo court and decided he must be
guilty, so they set fire to his house whilst he was sleeping there.'
11 Nov 2011 - Armistice
Day: at 11:11:11:11, in the UK, there will be two minute's silence to commemorate
the fallen of many conflicts. No doubt, some numerologist somewhere will make
more of this coincidence than it merits, and, in so doing, detract from the
main purpose of the event.
For a reading of the evocative and moving 'In Flanders Field' go to
For a reading of the evocative and moving 'In Flanders Field' go to
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