# Aussie slang and Men at Work **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 18, 2011, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-slang-and-men-at-work/585967 "2011-06-18T20:22:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![samjones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@samjones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samjones)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-slang-and-men-at-work/585967/81 "2011-06-20T21:50:37Z")
> [@Huerta88](#): > > Not hard on me, I just arrived at the party, but rude to people who are right when you’re wrong. > > Before I just give up, can you give us a direct answer to whether you have looked at the link to **Colin Hay’s own website** , and what (in view of the lyrics posted there, which directly contradict your “point”) theory you have for how the **song’s own writer and vocalist** doesn’t know what he wrote or sang or intended? It’s unthinkable to me that Colin Hay would have taken any part in posting that copyrighted material on that website. Nobody has produced any quote from the writer about what he intended when he wrote that or whether the piece was transcribed correctly or whether he was trying to make a pun or what. The David Dale quote clearly wasn’t really intended to be taken seriously, but that’s what happened. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-slang-and-men-at-work/585967/82 "2011-06-20T22:09:21Z")
It’s unthinkable that he has anything to do with material posted on _his own website_, which at the bottom of the main page is marked as copyright owned by Colin Hay? What are you talking about? And what exactly is it about the David Dale reference that makes it so clear that it “wasn’t really intended to be taken seriously”? ---
**Author:** ![samjones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@samjones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samjones)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-slang-and-men-at-work/585967/83 "2011-06-20T22:15:24Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > It’s unthinkable that he has anything to do with material posted on _his own website_, which at the bottom of the main page is marked as copyright owned by Colin Hay? What are you talking about? I simply doubt that Colin Hay is his own webmaster maintaining that site > [@Acsenray](#): > > And what exactly is it about the David Dale reference that makes it so clear that it “wasn’t really intended to be taken seriously”? You should try reading my posts in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-slang-and-men-at-work/585967/84 "2011-06-20T22:20:35Z")
> [@samjones](#): > > I simply doubt that Colin Hay is his own webmaster maintaining that site And so what? Citigroup’s website probably isn’t maintained by Vikram Pandit, but I’d consider the information it offers about the correct spelling of its name to constitute presumptively correct evidence. > [@](#): > > You should try reading my posts in this thread. I have. You have said nothing that even vaguely establishes any reason to believe that it wasn’t meant to be taken seriously. ---
**Author:** ![BigNik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/73ab20/32.png) [@BigNik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigNik)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-slang-and-men-at-work/585967/85 "2011-06-20T23:21:56Z")
[QUOTE=Acsenray] And what exactly is it about the David Dale reference that makes it so clear that it “wasn’t really intended to be taken seriously”? [/QUOTE] > [@samjones](#): > > You should try reading my posts in this thread. I think that was what caused the question to be posed. For the record, **samjones** , you weren’t nabbed for being “too hard” on anyone. You were warned for “consistently rude and dismissive with people who disagree with you”, despite the fact that - and let’s face it here - evidence is not in your favour. Take that as an indication that the line of argument that you’re pursuing with a degree of righteousness may not be as convincing as you might think that it is. At the moment you’re sounding like someone retorting “is not” to people who are showing you a fairly hefty stack of evidence, including experiential, anecdotal and from a source that could be reasonably be presumed to be authoritative. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-slang-and-men-at-work/585967/86 "2011-06-20T23:39:54Z")
I came in here for an [argument](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQFKtI6gn9Y). This is just contradiction! ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-slang-and-men-at-work/585967/87 "2011-06-20T23:45:29Z")
> [@samjones](#): > > No - not at all. I’m just not being allowed to argue my point any more because some moderator thought I was being too hard on you. > > I have tons more to say on the topic… I said you need to stop being rude. Now you’ve just about convinced me that you shouldn’t be involved in this thread anymore. Your attitude seems more and more inappropriate since you’re not really arguing your side now - you’re making unreasonable demands on the other side. They’ve supported their case pretty well; you haven’t. You’re welcome to your interpretation of the song, but you need to either change your attitude or find a different thread to post in. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-slang-and-men-at-work/585967/88 "2011-06-20T23:51:15Z")
[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:63, topic:585967”] It looks like ( **samjones** notwithstanding) all of my questions have been answered authoritatively except for “glow.” Is there general consensus that it doesn’t have anything to do with sweating and it was just inserted to fit the rhyme and rhythm? [/QUOTE] I would assume that it has everything to do with sweating. The “horses sweat, women glow” cliche was a well known one to me now and then. Australia is a hot place and of course women here sweat but it is commonly considered bad manners to say so, and referring to them as “glowing” instead is common joke in my experience. I am not much younger than the band members so it would not be at all surprising if they knew the same cliche. It fits perfectly with the theme of the song. Further, I can’t see any other basis for the line. > [@samjones](#): > > It’s unthinkable to me that Colin Hay would have taken any part in posting that copyrighted material on that website. On the way over, could your credibility look down between its skis and see the dorsal fin? I hope it enjoyed the ride, but I don’t imagine it will ever be seen again. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-slang-and-men-at-work/585967/89 "2011-06-21T00:23:12Z")
> [@samjones](#): > > It’s unthinkable to me that Colin Hay would have taken any part in posting that copyrighted material on that website. AHAHAHA! Comedy fucking gold. ---
**Author:** ![samjones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@samjones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samjones)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-slang-and-men-at-work/585967/90 "2011-06-21T01:30:09Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I said you need to stop being rude. Now you’ve just about convinced me that you shouldn’t be involved in this thread anymore. Your attitude seems more and more inappropriate since you’re not really arguing your side now - you’re making unreasonable demands on the other side. They’ve supported their case pretty well; you haven’t. You’re welcome to your interpretation of the song, but you need to either change your attitude or find a different thread to post in. I’m not being allowed to argue my side for fear that I might be subjected to the wrath of some molderator. My points: (Simply read the thread and you will see them right there) 1. There is zero pause between “trail” and “head” in the song nor is there any linguistic change of tone that would leave one to believe that he intends the 2 to be different words 2. Hay has never commented on what his intended meaning was (I’ll give you, there is a comma space in the copyrighted song). 3. David Dale’s interpretation wasn’t intended to be taken seriously and nobody has provided any other cite that would lead one to believe the veracity of any claim that “head full of zombie” was a reference to any drug, let alone a specific potent variety of marijuana that was mixed with PCP. 4. Nothing in the video directly asserts any interpretation that “head full of zombie” was supposed to be a reference to this super-weed … having said that, MaW would not be shy about making drug references. Therefore I would offer up a tamer and more likely scenario. Australian’s don’t really use the word “trail” much to mean “path” so “Hippy Trail” sounded peculiar to Hay - he also knew about “trailhead” which also sounded peculiar so he simply put them together. He, or perhaps someone else, ultimately separated them with a comma space for what reason we will never know. Zombie was left singular to rhyme with Kombie. Read the thread - it’s all there. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-slang-and-men-at-work/585967/91 "2011-06-21T01:42:09Z")
> [@samjones](#): > > 1. There is zero pause between “trail” and “head” in the song nor is there any linguistic change of tone that would leave one to believe that he intends the 2 to be different words Yet on another recording of the work by Hay himself – which is featured on the very same official Colin Hay website and, indeed, on the very same page as the lyrics – there is not only a pause or a linguistic change of tone, it is sung as a completely separate phrase. Did you listen to it? > [@](#): > > 1. Hay has never commented on what his intended meaning was (I’ll give you, there is a comma space in the copyrighted song). Which, along with the alternative recording by Colin Hay, is better than anything else anyone has said in this thread, including you. > [@](#): > > 1. David Dale’s interpretation wasn’t intended to be taken seriously You have offered absolutely no evidence that would lead one to believe that it wasn’t intended to be taken seriously. > [@](#): > > Therefore I would offer up a tamer and more likely scenario. Australian’s don’t really use the word “trail” much to mean “path” so “Hippy Trail” sounded peculiar to Hay - he also knew about “trailhead” which also sounded peculiar so he simply put them together. He, or perhaps someone else, ultimately separated them with a comma space for what reason we will never know. > > Zombie was left singular to rhyme with Kombie. > > Read the thread - it’s all there. I have read the thread and it’s pretty damn “clear” that every word of your own evidence is nothing but conjecture and that the two best pieces of evidence – the transcribed lyrics and the alternative recording on Colin Hay’s official website weigh against your argument. I suppose I must be part of the “entitlement generation,” but I think the evidence is much more solid for the spoiled brats. (What generation are you anyway? If I’m the “entitlement generation” you must have been born in the 1920s.) ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-slang-and-men-at-work/585967/92 "2011-06-21T02:18:51Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Now you’ve just about convinced me that you shouldn’t be involved in this thread anymore. Your attitude seems more and more inappropriate To be fair, he had been restrained until people started probing him. It’s not fair to ask him not to engage and then have people insist he defend himself. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-slang-and-men-at-work/585967/93 "2011-06-21T02:24:37Z")
> [@samjones](#): > > Therefore I would offer up a tamer and more likely scenario. Australian’s don’t really use the word “trail” much to mean “path” so “Hippy Trail” sounded peculiar to Hay - he also knew about “trailhead” which also sounded peculiar so he simply put them together. He, or perhaps someone else, ultimately separated them with a comma space for what reason we will never know. We do use the word trail but not as a synonym for path, much. We do refer to a snail trail, a wine trail, a trail of crumbs, a trail of wreckage, the backpacker trail, and, oh, a “hippie trail”. But then that’s already been mentioned, so I’m sure there is no need to tell you again, right? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-slang-and-men-at-work/585967/94 "2011-06-21T02:39:28Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > To be fair, he had been restrained until people started probing him. It’s not fair to ask him not to engage and then have people insist he defend himself. There’s a difference between defending your position and being rude, dismissive, or jerkish. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-slang-and-men-at-work/585967/95 "2011-06-21T03:22:10Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > There’s a difference between defending your position and being rude, dismissive, or jerkish. There is but this isn’t the case here. My claim is that those elements were restrained after the warning. And looking back, I maintain that. Let’s explore. #65 mod warning #75&76 very restrained responses #78,81,83 after being called out and probed, he carefully answers specific points without being obnoxious #87 Marley calls him out, dispute no misbehavior since the warning at #65 #90 another restrained specific response to a point or query Look, I think samjones is crazy not to see what is obvious to me and most others. But although he may have been obstinate, after his warning he has made an obvious attempt to be restrained and direct in his responses. His only current crime is believing “the wrong thing”. At worst he took a tiny swing at the mods, which is tantamount to rolling your eyes at a cop who gives you a ticket. BFD. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-slang-and-men-at-work/585967/96 "2011-06-21T03:39:45Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > At worst he took a tiny swing at the mods, which is tantamount to rolling your eyes at a cop who gives you a ticket. BFD. . I disagree with this interpretation. He said that he was being prevented from making his full argument because he was being singled out by the mods. It’s what got him another mod note and I don’t consider it a harmless swipe at the mods. It was an underhanded argument tactic – you’re wrong but I can’t tell you why because I’m being hamstrung. ---
**Author:** ![Bewildebeest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@Bewildebeest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bewildebeest)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-slang-and-men-at-work/585967/97 "2011-06-21T03:40:08Z")
[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:63, topic:585967”] It looks like ( **samjones** notwithstanding) all of my questions have been answered authoritatively except for “glow.” Is there general consensus that it doesn’t have anything to do with sweating and it was just inserted to fit the rhyme and rhythm? [/QUOTE] According to my neighbor, glow means fart. That’s where the thunder comes from. My neighbor says only men fart, women glow. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-slang-and-men-at-work/585967/98 "2011-06-21T04:10:52Z")
I’ve been avoiding putting on the mod hat in my own thread, but… [moderating] If you wish to discuss **Marley** ’s moderating, start a thread in ATMB where it belongs. Moderator actions are not to be debated or challenged in this thread. Thank you. [/moderating] ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-slang-and-men-at-work/585967/99 "2011-06-21T04:11:07Z")
I’ve been avoiding putting on the mod hat in my own thread, but… [moderating] If you wish to discuss **Marley** ’s moderating, start a thread in ATMB where it belongs. Moderator actions are not to be debated or challenged in this thread. Thank you. [/moderating] ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-slang-and-men-at-work/585967/100 "2011-06-21T04:19:06Z")
[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:99, topic:585967”] Moderator actions are not to be debated or challenged in this thread. [/QUOTE] Sorry I was responding to a complaint post I didn’t realize was an official follow up mod “action” post. Anyone wishing to debate the finer points, send me a link. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-slang-and-men-at-work/585967.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-slang-and-men-at-work/585967.md?page=6)