Fair dinkum: Aussie phrase sparks in-flight dispute
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Fair dinkum: Aussie phrase sparks in-flight dispute
By Jim Tharpe
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 08/09/07
An Australian tourist upset over her airborne snack says the slang term "fair dinkum" landed her in a fair amount of hot water this week on a flight from Atlanta to Pittsburgh.
Sophie Reynolds, 41, said the problem began about halfway through her Delta Connection flight on SkyWest Airlines when she rejected a snack of crackers and asked the flight attendant for pretzels.
"She said they didn't have any, and I said, 'fair dinkum,' out of frustration," Reynolds said in a telephone interview. The term is frequently used in Australia to express everything — depending on inflection — from amazement to the belief that something is honest and true.
"Say you're telling me a story, and I think it's amazing, I'd say 'fair dinkum,' " said Reynolds, who lives in Queanbeyan, about three hours from Sydney. "If you're telling me a story, and I think you're full of it, I'd say fair dinkum, too."
Reynolds said that after the mid-air misunderstanding another flight attendant requested her passport and copied down her name and other information. Three uniformed officers greeted Reynolds when she exited the flight in Pittsburgh.
"They said, 'You swore at the hostess and there are federal rules against that,' " Reynolds said. "And I said, 'I did not swear at the hostess, I just said 'fair dinkum.' "
A SkyWest official said Thursday the airline is still investigating the incident, and noted "there are two sides to every story."
"Our initial reports indicate it was more than a misunderstanding of the language," said SkyWest spokeswoman Marissa Snow. "We witnessed aggressive behavior throughout the flight."
Snow said the Utah-based airline, which flies under contract to Delta Air Lines, is still trying to contact Reynolds. She said no charges were filed as a result of the incident and Reynolds was allowed to go on her way after a chat with police.
"The safety and comfort our of passengers and crew is our first priority," Snow said. "When other passengers or crew members feel uncomfortable it's our standard procedure to contact law enforcement just as a precaution."
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 08/09/07
An Australian tourist upset over her airborne snack says the slang term "fair dinkum" landed her in a fair amount of hot water this week on a flight from Atlanta to Pittsburgh.
Sophie Reynolds, 41, said the problem began about halfway through her Delta Connection flight on SkyWest Airlines when she rejected a snack of crackers and asked the flight attendant for pretzels.
"She said they didn't have any, and I said, 'fair dinkum,' out of frustration," Reynolds said in a telephone interview. The term is frequently used in Australia to express everything — depending on inflection — from amazement to the belief that something is honest and true.
"Say you're telling me a story, and I think it's amazing, I'd say 'fair dinkum,' " said Reynolds, who lives in Queanbeyan, about three hours from Sydney. "If you're telling me a story, and I think you're full of it, I'd say fair dinkum, too."
Reynolds said that after the mid-air misunderstanding another flight attendant requested her passport and copied down her name and other information. Three uniformed officers greeted Reynolds when she exited the flight in Pittsburgh.
"They said, 'You swore at the hostess and there are federal rules against that,' " Reynolds said. "And I said, 'I did not swear at the hostess, I just said 'fair dinkum.' "
A SkyWest official said Thursday the airline is still investigating the incident, and noted "there are two sides to every story."
"Our initial reports indicate it was more than a misunderstanding of the language," said SkyWest spokeswoman Marissa Snow. "We witnessed aggressive behavior throughout the flight."
Snow said the Utah-based airline, which flies under contract to Delta Air Lines, is still trying to contact Reynolds. She said no charges were filed as a result of the incident and Reynolds was allowed to go on her way after a chat with police.
"The safety and comfort our of passengers and crew is our first priority," Snow said. "When other passengers or crew members feel uncomfortable it's our standard procedure to contact law enforcement just as a precaution."
Evertonian
I once asked for a white coffee on a United flight...didn't I get the evil look...lucky I wasn't wearing my white sheet & pointy hat!
As a Yank, this "incident" illustrates perfectly why we enjoy the reputation we have. WTF?? Americans have become such wusses that being uncomfortable is a hanging offence. OTOH, we got guns!!
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GF,
Wot he said.
The general view amongst America's fellow-travellers is that when the Seppos (ie. you lot) are about and their safetys are off,
DUCK!
Wonder what the f/a would've made of it if the pax had come out with "Fair dinkum... Sounds like I get the rough end of the pineapple again. Just don't come the raw prawn with me, love, or spin me a yarn, or I'll knock ya block off!" (or "... I'll rip ya bloody arms off" if Ms Reynolds was an Aunty Jack fan
)
Chadzat,
Isn't the expression, "a face like a smacked ar5e"?
Or more elegantly (and one of my grandfather's favourites), "Looks like a bulldog that's had nettles rammed up its chuff"...
Wot he said.
The general view amongst America's fellow-travellers is that when the Seppos (ie. you lot) are about and their safetys are off,
DUCK!
Wonder what the f/a would've made of it if the pax had come out with "Fair dinkum... Sounds like I get the rough end of the pineapple again. Just don't come the raw prawn with me, love, or spin me a yarn, or I'll knock ya block off!" (or "... I'll rip ya bloody arms off" if Ms Reynolds was an Aunty Jack fan
)Chadzat,
Isn't the expression, "a face like a smacked ar5e"?
Or more elegantly (and one of my grandfather's favourites), "Looks like a bulldog that's had nettles rammed up its chuff"...
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If you are as disgusted as I am about this you can email Delta (this was a Skywest Airlines Delta Connection flight) at this link
http://www.delta.com/emailus/servlet/EmailUs?cmd=go
I don't know the totality of the situation but it might help to clarify it a bit if they hear from a few Aussies about what Fair Dinkum means, and that it's not a curse word.
http://www.delta.com/emailus/servlet/EmailUs?cmd=go
I don't know the totality of the situation but it might help to clarify it a bit if they hear from a few Aussies about what Fair Dinkum means, and that it's not a curse word.
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Thanks Weasil.
As an Aussie myself, I'm a bit bemused by this, but in the F/A's defence, she's an F/A - not an expert in other languages and cultures (although she should be sensitive to them); as a result, for all she knew, "fair dinkum" might actually mean "go fcuk yourself" in Austrenglish. Personally, when it comes to Australianisms I've never actually used the phrase "fair dinkum" (and I'm nearly as old as Ms Reynolds) and I've never referred to anyone as my "cobber" and I don't know anyone who has.
Having observed some of my fellow nationals abroad at times (and run, at times... ) it would not surprise me if there is any truth in the comment that there was "aggressive behavior throughout the flight" by Ms Reynolds. That said, what might to an Aussie seem perfectly normal, might seem "aggressive" to some others.
For instance: Bill Woodfull to team-mates (re D. Jardine): "Which one of you bastards called this bastard a bastard?"
As an Aussie myself, I'm a bit bemused by this, but in the F/A's defence, she's an F/A - not an expert in other languages and cultures (although she should be sensitive to them); as a result, for all she knew, "fair dinkum" might actually mean "go fcuk yourself" in Austrenglish. Personally, when it comes to Australianisms I've never actually used the phrase "fair dinkum" (and I'm nearly as old as Ms Reynolds) and I've never referred to anyone as my "cobber" and I don't know anyone who has.
Having observed some of my fellow nationals abroad at times (and run, at times... ) it would not surprise me if there is any truth in the comment that there was "aggressive behavior throughout the flight" by Ms Reynolds. That said, what might to an Aussie seem perfectly normal, might seem "aggressive" to some others.
For instance: Bill Woodfull to team-mates (re D. Jardine): "Which one of you bastards called this bastard a bastard?"
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what Fair Dinkum means
Weasil,
from the aussie slang dictionary located at http://www.koalanet.com.au/australian-slang.html#D
Dinkum, fair dinkum : true, real, genuine ("I'm a dinkum Aussie"; "is he fair dinkum?")
personally I have used it here and there as another way of saying "are you/is it for real?"
It isn't usually used for swearing purposes
but could be perhaps construed that way depending upon the circumstances.
from the aussie slang dictionary located at http://www.koalanet.com.au/australian-slang.html#D
Dinkum, fair dinkum : true, real, genuine ("I'm a dinkum Aussie"; "is he fair dinkum?")
personally I have used it here and there as another way of saying "are you/is it for real?"
It isn't usually used for swearing purposes
but could be perhaps construed that way depending upon the circumstances.
Stone the flamin' crows! Stop the ride, I want to get off. Is this really where we're at these days when a complaint about in-flight "catering" gets you "meeted and greeted" by the boys in blue? Farkinell!
Mind you, this is the gosh darn U S of A so I'm not really surprised though it does show the lousy attitude of the F/A.
Spot on Taildragger67, me ol' china. Why would she assume the pax had sworn at her, just because there was a word used that she hadn't heard before. If you assume you make an a$$ out of you and you.
They are certainly one of a kind, our USAmerican ubervolks.
Mind you, this is the gosh darn U S of A so I'm not really surprised though it does show the lousy attitude of the F/A.
she's an F/A - not an expert in other languages and cultures (although she should be sensitive to them)
They are certainly one of a kind, our USAmerican ubervolks.