Homeschooler Savvy: The Great Australian Adjective and Adverb

April 15, 2008

The Great Australian Adjective and Adverb - Bloody

I thought I would run the Cuss-o-meter on the blog before this post. This is the pleasant initial result. I am wondering if the word bloody is regarded as a cuss word...

The Blog-O-Cuss Meter - Do you cuss a lot in your blog or website?

So now to the real reason for the article: the great Australian adjective and adverb: "bloody". I was quite surprised on my recent return to Australia to see how frequently this word is now used in advertising in Australia.

Traditionally it is used as follows: if you want to add emphasis to something you put the word bloody infront of it ie. "Where's the bloody cat gone now?"

The photo below is modified for the cultural differences in how the word bloody is pronouced - Asians often have problems pronouncing the letter l in words, sometimes substituting r instead. This is the reason behind this add. In fact I bought a phone from them for use while I was in Australia, but the bloody thing hardly ever got a signal if I was in the country. It was, in my opinion, a bloody ripoff.

Of course, out in the country, there are often signs on property (farm) gates which say "shut the bloody gate"...it can get frustrating when the livestock get out....

And this will get your attention as you walk past the pub....

This is an advertising campaign they ran in the United Kingdom for a while, the tag line: "So, where the bloody hell are you?".

To be used as an adjective, it must describe something, as in: "You're bloody awesome mate." which means: "I think you are amazing in a good way, my friend".

Can I give an example as an adverb? "You're bloody right I can!", which means "I certainly can."

Just for an extra laugh....here's another couple of Australian adds using Australian vernacular.