What interests me most about this article is not the car, which looks set to be a part of the Indian economic revolution, as the use of what I thought was an old-time Aussie expression the 'dekko':
Soon, though, what began as a strict action for violation of norms turned into a source of great amusement. Even before the Nano could pull up before the MC office, news of its arrival had spread like wild fire and employees left behind all work as they scrambled out of their chairs to get a dekko of the janta car.
And here's the same expression in the Brisbane Courier Mail.
But this online discussion says that 'dekko' is Hindi for 'look'.
Cut my legs off and call me shorty. You learn something new every day.
3 comments:
"Dekko" is from the impreative form of the Hindi verb "dekhna" (to look).
It came to Australia via British army slang, originally from soldiers stationed in India. The word occurs in Kipling's stories too.
Radagast,
Kipling! The source of many
Empirical things.
Do you know the word "shoofty/shufti"? meaning more or less "dekko" but I think Arabic in origin -- and following the same route into Australian English -- ie via soldiers' pidgin.
and Easter greetings!
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