Austral English Part 61

1854. `Bendigo Advertiser,' quoted in `Melbourne Morning Herald,' May 29:

"A Londoner reading of the crossing of a creek would naturally imagine the scene to be in the immediate neighbourhood of the coast, instead of being perhaps some hundreds of miles in the interior, and would dream of salt water, perriwinkles and sea-weed, when he should be thinking of slimy mud-holes, black snakes and gigantic gum-trees."

1861. Mrs. Meredith, `Over the Straits,' c. iv. p. 134:

"The little rivulet, called, with that singular pertinacity for error which I have so often noticed here, `the creek.'"

1865. Lady Barker, `Station Life in, New Zealand,' p. 29:

"The creek, just like a Scotch burn, hurrying and tumbling down the hillside to join the broader stream in the valley."

1870. P. Wentworth, `Amos Thorne,' i. p. 11:

"A thirsty creek-bed marked a line of green."

1872. C. H. Eden, `My Wife and I in Queensland,' p. 39:

"In the rivers, whether large watercourses, and dignified by the name of `river,' or small tributaries called by the less sounding appellation `creeks."

1887. Ca.s.sell's `Picturesque Australasia,' vol. i. p. 41:

"Generally where the English language is spoken a creek means a small inlet of the sea, but in Australia a creek is literally what it is etymologically, a crack in the ground. In dry weather there is very little water; perhaps in the height of summer the stream altogether ceases to run, and the creek becomes a string of waterholes; but when the heavens are opened, and the rain falls, it reappears a river."

Creeklet, n. diminutive of Creek.

1884. T. Bracken, `Lays of Maori,' p. 91:

"One small creeklet day by day murmurs."

Creeper, n. The name (sc. Tree-creeper) is given to several New Zealand birds of the genus Certhiparus, N.O. Pa.s.seres. The Maori names are Pipipi, Toitoi, and Mohona.

1888. W. L. Buller, `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 51:

"Certhiparus Novae Zelandiae, Finsch. New Zealand Creeper." [A full description.]

Cronk, adj. Derived from the German krank--sick or ill.

(1) A racing term used of a horse which is out of order and not "fit" for the contest; hence transferred to a horse whose owner is shamming its illness and making it "run crooked" for the purpose of cheating its backers.

(2) Used more generally as slang, but not recognized in Barere and Leland's `Slang Dictionary.'

1893. `The Herald' (Melbourne), July 4, p. 2, col. 7:

"He said he would dispose of the cloth at a moderate figure because it was `cronk.' The word `cronk,' Mr. Finlayson explained, meant `not honestly come by.'"

Crow, n. common English bird-name. The Australian species is--White-eyed, Corvus coronoides V. and H. In New Zealand (Maori name, Kokako) the name is used for the Blue-wattled Crow, Glaucopis wilsoni and for the (N. island) Orange-wattled, G. cinerea, Gmel.

(S. island).

Crow-shrike, n. Australian amalgamation of two common English bird-names. The Crow-shrikes are of three genera, Strepera, Gymnorrhima, and Cracticus. The varieties of the genus Strepera are--

Black Crow-shrike-- Strepera fuliginosa, Gould.

Black-winged C.-- S. melanoptera, Gould.

Grey C.-- S. cuneicaudata, Vieill.

Hill C.-- S. arguta, Gould.

Leaden C.-- S. plumbea, Gould.

Pied C.-- S. graculina, White.

Birds of the genus Gymnorrhina are called Magpies (q.v.). Those of the genus Cracticus are called Butcher-birds (q.v.).

Crush, n. a part of a stockyard. See quotations.

1872. C. H. Eden, `My Wife and I in Queensland,' p. 69:

"A crush, which is an elongated funnel, becoming so narrow at the end that a beast is wedged in and unable to move."

1891. Rolf Boldrewood, `A Sydney-side Saxon,' p. 87:

"There were some small yards, and a `crush,' as they call it, for branding cattle."

Cuckoo, n. common English bird-name.

The Australian birds to which it is applied are--

Black-eared Cuckoo-- Mesocalius osculans, Gould.

Bronze C.-- Chalcoccyx plagosus, Lath.

Brush C.-- Cacomantis insperatus.

[Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. iv. pl.87.]

Chestnut-breasted C.-- C. castanei-ventris, Gould.

Fantailed C.-- C. flabelliformis, Lath.

Little-bronze C.-- Chalcoccyx malaya.n.u.s, Raffles.

Narrow-billed bronze C.-- C. basalis, Hors.

Oriental C.-- Cuculus intermedius, Vahl.

Pallid C.-- Cacomantis pallidus and C. canorus, Linn.

Square-tailed C.-- C. variolosus, Hors.

Whistling-bronze C.-- Chalcoccyx lucidus, Gmel.