Austral English Part 234

"There are plenty of creeks in this country that have only so far been scratched--a hole sunk here and there and abandoned.

No luck, no perseverance; and so the place has been set down as a duffer, or, as the old diggers' more expressive term had it, a `shicer.'"

(2) Slang. By transference from (1). A man who does not pay his debts of honour.

1896. Modern:

"Don't take his bet, he's a regular shicer."

Shingle-splitting, vb. n. obsolete Tasmanian slang.

1830. `Hobart Town Almanack,' p. 89:

"When a man gets behindhand with his creditors in Hobart Town, and rusticates in the country in order to avoid the unseasonable calls of the Sheriff's little gentleman, that delights to stand at a corner where four streets meet, so as the better to watch the motions of his prey, he is said to be shingle-splitting."

Shirallee, n. slang term for a swag or bundle of blankets.

Shout, v. to stand treat. (1) Of drink. (2) By transference, of other things. The successful digger used to call passers-by to drink at his expense. The origin may also be from noisy bar-rooms, or crowded bar-parlours, where the man who was to pay for the liquor or refreshment called or shouted for the waiter or barman. When many men drink together the waiter of course looks for payment from the man who first calls or shouts out for him to give him the order. Or is "pay the shout" a variant of "pay the shot," or tavern reckoning? In its first sense the word has reached the United States, and is freely employed there.

1859. H. Kingsley, `Geoffrey Hamlyn,' p. 335:

"And so I shouted for him and he shouted for me."

1861. T. McCombie, `Australian Sketches,' p. 80:

"Gentlemen required a great deal of attendance, did not `shout'

(the slang term for ordering grog) every quarter of an hour, and therefore spent comparatively nothing."

1867. A. L. Gordon, `Sea-Spray' (Credat Judaeus), p. 139:

"You may shout some cheroots, if you like; no champagne For this child.'

1882. A. J. Boyd, `Old Colonials,' p. 268:

"This `shouting,' as `treating' is termed in the colonies, is the curse of the Northern goldfields. If you buy a horse you must shout, the vendor must shout, and the bystanders who have been shouted to [more usual, for] must shout in their turn."

1885. D. Sladen, `In Cornwall, etc.,' p. 156 [Title, `The Sigh of the Shouter']:

"Give me the wealth I have squandered in `shouting.'"

1887. J. F. Hogan, `The Irish in Australia, p. 149:.

"Drinking is quite a common practice, and what is familiarly known as `shouting' was at one time almost universal, though of late years this peculiarly dangerous evil has been considerably diminished in extent. To `shout' in a public-house means to insist on everybody present, friends and strangers alike, drinking at the shouter's expense, and as no member of the party will allow himself to be outdone in this reckless sort of hospitality, each one `shouts' in succession, with the result that before long they are all overcome by intoxication."

1891. W. Tilley, `Wild West of Tasmania,' p. 30:

"Some heavy drinking is indulged in through the `shouting'

system, which is the rule."

1893. E. W. Hornung, `Tiny Luttrell,' vol. ii. c. xv.

p. 98:

"To insist on `shouting' Ruth a penny chair overlooking the ornamental water in St. James's Park."

(p.99): "You shall not be late, because I'll shout a hansom too."

Shout, n. a free drink.

1864. H. Simcox, `Outward Bound,' p. 81:

"The arms are left and off they go, And many a shout they're treated to."

1874. Garnet Walch, Head over Heels,' p. 83:

"I ... gave the boys round a spread an' a shout."

1880. G. Sutherland, `Tales of Goldfields,' p. 78:

"Two lucky diggers laid a wager which of them should treat the assembled company with the largest shout.'"

Shoveller, n. the English name for the duck Spatula clypeata, Linn., a species also present in Australia. The other Australian species is Spatula rhynchotis, Lath., also called Blue-wing.

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. vii. pl. 12:

"Spatula Rhynchotis, Australian Shoveller."

Shovel-nose, n. a New South Wales species of Ray-fish, Rhinobatus bougainvillei, Cuv.; called also the Blind Shark, and Sand Shark. In the Northern Hemisphere, the name is given to three different sharks and a sturgeon.

Shrike, n. a bird-name, generally used in Australia in composition. See Crow-Shrike, Cuckoo-Shrike, Shrike-Robin, Shrike-Thrush, and Shrike-Tit.

Shrike-Robin, n. a genus of Australasian Shrikes, Eopsaltria (q.v.). The species are--

Grey-breasted Shrike-Robin-- Eopsaltria gularis, Quoy and Gaim.

Large-headed S.-R.-- E. capito, Gould.

Little S.-R.-- E. nana, Mull.

White-breasted S.-R.-- E. georgiana, Quoy and Gaim.

Yellow-breasted S.-R.-- E. australis, Lath.

1895. W. O. Legge, `Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science' (Brisbane), p. 447:

"As regards portions of Gould's English nomenclatures, such as his general term `Robin' for the genera Petroica, Paecilodryas, Eopsaltria, it was found that by retaining the term `Robin' for the best known member of the group (Petroica), and applying a qualifying noun to the allied genera, such titles as Tree-robin, Scrub-robin, and Shrike-robin were easily evolved."

Shrike-Thrush, n. a genus of Australasian Shrikes, Collyriocincla (q.v.). The species are--

Bower's Shrike-Thrush-- Collyriocincla boweri, Ramsay.