Call for entries: additions to the Punch political dictionary

stephen says:

05:08am | 06/01/10

WHERE’S THAT COPY OF MARIE CLAIRE ?
Peter Costello’s exclamation after trying to stay awake during Tony Abbott’s maiden speech in Parliament.

pete says:

06:56am | 06/01/10

I think Kevin is still giving his maiden speech   hehehehehehehe

Splatcat says:

08:11am | 06/01/10

Kevin Rudd: The greatest spinner of all time, makes Warne look like an amateur. Also, the David Copperfield of politics, the king of smoke and mirrors deception. The man who promised everything, but delivers nothing.
The new boy who cried wolf. Has created more fairy tale crisis’s and declared war on them without actually doing anything except trying to alarm, and fear and scare munger.

julie says:

08:46am | 06/01/10

fair suck of the sav, what about ‘silver bullet’

Old Clive says:

08:51am | 06/01/10

You’ve got him Splatcat!. He’s the hero of the lower class because he gave them hope and he can’t deliver because he is also one of them suffering from illusions of granduer, I don’t like saying it , but his wife didn’t even want be known as Mrs Rudd and that was before he tried making a name foe himself instead of serving his constituents.

Meghan says:

08:55am | 06/01/10

Pleased to see that ‘head-nodder’ has made its way in.  The Chaser’s Craig Reucassel would be so happy.

Jamers Hunter says:

09:09am | 06/01/10

its all POOLATICS if you ask me and a lot from the CARBOCRANKS of course pauline hansons PLEASE EXPLAIN has already passed into daily usage. So politicians serve two purposes. They so butcher the language that like a million monkeys on a million typwriters, some come up with a worthwile word and they engender such lothing in the populace that we come up with new useful descriptors all the time. Of course the populace come up with lots more ‘cause we are not restricted by the dwindling supply of typewriters !

Ronnie says:

09:13am | 06/01/10

Where are the “working families”? These were the cornerstone of the last election campaign. Are they no longer working? Have they been decoupled and are families no more? Or are they shovel-ready to emerge in full programmatic specificity later this year?

pete says:

10:21am | 06/01/10

@ ronnie, you left out the tough but humane program this is all happening under

old clive, “lower class”? what century did you crawl out of, we are practicing equality now. In other words we are all in the same boat, in the same creek, without the same paddle, because we are the same people who keep electing the same non talents, from the same political party(s) who perform in the same self centered manner ad nauseum.  National interest is the greatest political oxymoron inented. it doesnt exist

Pollyspeak says:

10:26am | 06/01/10

A “Ruddbott,” (a purpose built political leader) a “KRuddism” (special language which only spin doctors can translate) ... a “Hairdryer tantrum” (like a domestic form of road rage)

Pollyspeak says:

10:42am | 06/01/10

oh, and ...

Digital Economy: commonly used term with no known meaning.

alternatively
Digital Economy: term used to justify $43billion spend on national broadband network which will be redundant when completed in 8 years.

Looking ahead says:

10:45am | 06/01/10

Word prediction for 2010:

“The AFR” - The Australian Financial Recovery (the financial crisis was “global” - but in an election year, the recovery will be local.)

Zeta says:

10:49am | 06/01/10

In the words of Paul Keating, if you’re not in Sydney, you’re camping, so here are some additions from the cess-pit that is NSW politics, which might be crooked, nasty, brutish and lethal, but in a year where the only decent line from the PM involved a sauce bottle, remains the only game in town:

‘Green Shoots of Recovery’ - According to the NSW Treasurer, green shoots of recovery are everywhere. Anything the Federal Reserve says is further evidence of Green shoots, any and all employment figures are indicative of these invisible green shoots too. Inevitably, anything the Opposition says is ‘taking the whipper snipper to the Green shoots of recovery’.

‘Wreckers > Builders’ - MT’s ‘Wreckers’ line was actually taken from the Nathan Rees play book, who was able to get through entire QT appearances by simply pointing at the Opposition and saying ‘Wreckers’ while pointing at his own team and saying ‘Builders’. Little did he know, by ‘Builders’ he meant the kind of builders who drop cinder blocks on your head when you walk under scafholds.

‘Greenfield Site’ - The appearance of the Federal Stimulus package meant any piece of land, any imaginary school hall, and any park where a Housing Department block will soon appear is actually a ‘greenfield site’. There is a direct correlation between the number of greenfield sites in a given suburb to how aggresively their green shoots of recovery are sprouting.

‘Obeyed’ - Both adjective and mispronounciation of Eddie Obeid’s surname. One who must be ‘obeyed’, also, when one is rolled ouf of the Premiership, you’ve just been ‘Obeyed’.

‘Rolled’ - 2009 was the year of getting rolled. More politicians were rolled, then rolled over on others, then rolled back to where they started in ‘09 since the DLP split. The ALP were rolling their Ministers, the Libs were rolling Young Libs in honey and leaving them out for the ants, the Nats were rolling around in the dirt looking for draught stories, but mostly, Premiers were rolling into the job and rolled out as quickly as they arrived.

‘McGurked’ - The next step up from being rolled. To be removed from office, or else out right killed by your enemies in such a way that you’re quickly forgotten and your assassins escape clean. You can also McGurk on your friends by taping them and sending the audio to ICAC.

Max Power says:

10:57am | 06/01/10

Ruddiculous: Term to describe pretty much any idea Rudd has and pretty much everything he says. The ETS is a ruddiculous policy.

Swandive:  Term used to describe what Australia has suffered since the ALP became the govt. The Australian budget has swandived into record debt.

Kevin 737: A continuance of Kevin Rudd’s love of slogans, and in reference to his love of excessive travelling at tax payers expense.

Chuck a kevin: A new way to describe a tantrum when you don’t get what you want. Examples, my staff never ordered my meals, so I chucked a kevin at the hostess. No one can find me a hair dryer in a war zone, so I chucked a Kevin.

Workchoices: Once the Liberal party’s industial relations policy. Now the catch cry used by the unions and the ALP when they are scared or want to distract the people from their failures and inadequacies.  Example; The opposition asked the govt to explain the ETS. Instead of explaining the flawed policy, they cry workchoices to deflect the attention from the ETS.

Dorothy says:

11:05am | 06/01/10

Here’s a few more buzzwords worth a mention:
-Ruddspeak (Sentences drowning in hyperbole to send people to sleep in the hope they forget he avoided answering the question. Abject avoidance of plain English)
-Ruddbot (Says whatever Kevin Rudd says, tows the party line)
-Nation Building (Infrastructure - new roads etc) There’s a sign in front of the Sydney Harbour Bridge that says ‘Nation Building’. I’m pretty sure the hanger was there before K-Rudd.
-Working Families (pre & post election term unashamedly bashed to death)
-GFC – (aka Global Financial Crisis - apparently Australia is the only country who abbreviated it.)
-Shit storm (Apparently a ‘slip up’ by Rudd to justify stimulus package, looked a bit like appealing to ‘working families’)
-Binge drinking/alcopops (those Flamin’ kids)

Sam says:

11:33am | 06/01/10

APM (Acting Prime Minister) - a new word for Deputy Prime Minister - used in countries where the Prime Minister is frequently called overseas on important global business.

Television address: an important international speech by the Prime Minister, delivered to an empty room but viewed by a large domestic television audience.

AdamC says:

11:43am | 06/01/10

@Max Power, I like those and will definitely try to start working them into my casual conversations. ‘Ruddiculous’ is great!

One that I noticed recently is the term ‘modern award’, which seems to be an award which has emerged from Julia Gillard’s awards modernisation process and is in common use in some workplaces. It is quite a clever use of wording as it serves to distract from the fact that a modern award is a contradiction in terms.

Kevin Rennie says:

12:17pm | 06/01/10

Good Faith Negotiations

Misplaced trust in opposition politicians. Faith is no longer a religious ideal it seems since the ETS farce. Rather we rely on hope. Hope that the sceptics are right: http://tr.im/Jyru

BULMKT says:

01:00pm | 06/01/10

RE Max Power @ 1157. Very funny
RE Dorothy @ 1205. Very good too.

Detailed programmatic specificity: -> Another word for Wanker
Here’s a new one for Rudd: FIFO:-> Fit In or F..k Off
Here’s a new one for Barnaby Joyce when he talks down at the Climate Alarmists: HUOA:-> Head Up Ones Ass
Here’s a new one for Tony Abbott: FISHDO: -> F..k It, Shit Happens, Drive On

BULMKT says:

01:45pm | 06/01/10

Ruddinator: Rapidly destroying everything Australian, ->Farming, Mining, Binge Drinking, Freedom of Speech, the CPRS job killer, Male Macho-ism (what real aussie bloke would use a hairdryer?), Internet censorship, policing and protecting our borders, Capitalism and Childrens Books.

Simmo says:

02:05pm | 06/01/10

Wasn’t “Economic Tornado” a phrase used by many a pollie last year to make the GFC sound nicer???

Simmo says:

02:35pm | 06/01/10

Would love it if one day when someone is ranting in question time if a member from the other side of the room stood up and said DILIGAF (“Do I Look Like I Give A F&%k” for those of you playing at home)

csallen says:

03:40pm | 06/01/10

12 years of economic neglect- the Liberal Party’s refusal to hand out $900 to every hard working Australian so they can put it straight back in to the ‘economy’

Bruce says:

10:46pm | 06/01/10

Dinosour: A term once used to describe unions. Term now used to describe anyone who does not think the way the government and unions thinks.

Grumbles says:

11:44pm | 06/01/10

csallen - greatest definition ever

gg says:

05:01am | 07/01/10

Mad Uncle
Ghost of Mark Latham

Anthony says:

10:29am | 07/01/10

Better Turnbull’s “wreckers” than Rudd’s “brekkers”...

Justin says:

01:03pm | 07/01/10

BOHICA - Bend over here it comes again
The CRPS

Kevin Rennie says:

01:58pm | 07/01/10

shockcrack or bumjock

That’s a shockjock from East Bumcrack
Extends to mainstream media bloggers aw well

Travis says:

12:21pm | 08/01/10

Hockeyed: when a candidate loses a formerly two-way a ballot as a result of an unexpected third player. Can also be referred to (from the US) as ‘Nadered’.

Sam says:

02:21pm | 08/01/10

“I am the Leader” - What Malcom Turnball kept saying just before he got rolled.

Sounded more like he was greeting aliens than authoratively asserting his leadership status.