W.H. Downing's Digger Dialects

Book excerpt: Digger Dialects is a unique record of one of Australian English's most creative and crowded hours. The words and phrases used by Australian personnel in World War I were noted in 1919 by W.H.Downing and are presented here with editorial comments and additions. Words which have new meanings or wider applications are frozen as they were in 1919; words which meant something at that time mean little now and need to be explained. The editors of this volume describe how the phrase going into cold storage meant to be killed in the winter of 1916; how kangaroo feathers was a jocular name for the emu plumes worn by members of the Australian Light Horse Brigade. The book is enhanced by 100 illustrations, drawn from field or troopship magazines, which aim to provide something of the spirit and flavour of the times.