Page 5 - eMuse Vol.9 No.08

Rooti gong: British army Long circular arrangement. (US = Ructions: Growling; argument. Rum ration: (also called tot)
Service & Good Conduct “traffic circle”) was a daily amount of rum
Medal. From the belief that given to sailors on British
they were so easily obtained Rouseabout: A handy man on Royal Navy ships. It was
a station, in a hotel etc. aka
that they were brought in “Blue-tongue”. abolished in 1970 after con-
with the bread ration, or cerns that regular intakes of
could be earned by eat- Rouser: A rouseabout. alcohol would lead to un-
ing army rations for the re- steady hands when working
quired number of years. Roust (or Rouse): To upbraid machinery.
with many words.
Rorty: Boisterous; rowdy. Rudder Originally it was given to
Rosella: A sheep that has lost Rudder: A board or plate of sailors neat when the beer
ran out (water was not safe
wool especially from disease wood or metal hinged verti-
and showing patches of bare cally at the stern of the boat to drink as it became rancid
very quickly at sea and it was
skin. or ship as a means of steering. often taken from polluted
Rosella: (Colloquial) A shearer Rum Colony: New South Wales rivers, such as the Thames)
who is stripped to the waist (refer to “Rum Rebellion”, The amount issued varied
while he is working (From and, “Rum Corps”). over the life of the tradition.
Rose Hill in early settlement
New South Wales.) Rum Do: Odd, strange, or sur- from 1850 to 1970 it was
prising occurrence, situa- one-eighth of an imperial
tion, or turn of events, es- pint (71 ml).
A rowel at the end of a spur pecially one that might be Other navies had their ver-
considered somewhat dis-
Rowel: A small wheel with reputable or distasteful. sions of rum rations too:
radiating points, forming In the United States Navy,
the extremity of a horse- Contrary to expectations, the daily ration was one-half
man’s spur . A star shaped this expression is not linked US pint (240 ml) of distilled
Crimson rosella spike placed on a spur, syn- to the infamous Rum Trade spirits until 1842, when
Rosella: Any of a number of onymous in heraldry with a of early colonial New South it was reduced to one gill
Wales.
pierced mollet. See “Mul-
brilliantly coloured parrots let” and “Estoil.” Alternate (120 ml). It was abolished in
of the genus Platycercus, as spelling “Rowel”. It would seem the word 1862.
the eastern rosella, p. exi- “rum” originates in 16th cen- The Royal Australian Navy
mus, a common bird of east- tury England when it meant never issued the rum ration,
ern Australia. “very good”, and was well- their sailors were entitled to
represented in British slang the rum ration when they
of the time: a “rum buffer” were on Royal Navy ships
was a “good dog”, a “rum until 1921.
chant” was a “good song”,
Rowlock and there were “rum clouts the last navy to issue the
Rowlock: A device on or at- “(handkerchiefs), “rum kicks” rum ration regularly, the
tached by a rigger to a boat’s (breeches) and even rum Royal New Zealand Navy,
gunwale in or on which the doxies (ladies of ill-repute). abolished the practice on 28
oat rests and swings, aka February 1990.
oarlock. Around 1800 the word did a
complete flip in sense from Runaway Gun: A weapon that
Quokka ‘Roy: Fitzroy, a suburb of Mel- positive to negative and keeps firing unit it runs out
Rotto: Short for “Rottnest Is- bourne, its football team. started to mean something of ammunition even when
land”. Early Dutch explorers RPG: (Military) Rocket Pro- that was odd, strange or pe- the finger is taken off the
thought the many quokkas pelled Grenade. culiar. trigger.
they saw there were rats. When the molasses based, Disclaimer: In this series intol-
So they called it Rat-nest RSL: Returned Servicemen’s alcoholic drink took on the erable and racist speak may
Island or in their language League. name is unclear. turn up from time to time.
“Rottnest”. RSM: (Military) Regimental Such words are not nec-
Rotto: Short for Rottweiler. Sergeant Major. Rum jar: Mortar bomb, from essarily the editor’s view.
the shape. The rum ration
They are presented merely
Rough House: A fight or dis- RSPCA: Royal Society for the was issued to the troops in as facts which sometimes
turbance. So-called from the Prevention of Cruelty to Ani- earthenware jars, stamped show biased attitudes from
type of public house where mals. with the initials S.R.D. (Sup- another era.
this type of behaviour could Rubbish Man: One who re- ply Reserve Depot - not We should look at our histo-
arise after drinking. moves the rubbish. See also Service Rum Diluted as fre- ry as it actually was without
quently stated), although
Roundabout: A road junction ‘Garbo”. soldiers argued that this sanitising it to suit our own
at which the flow of traffic Rubbity Dub: (also rub-a- actually stood for “Seldom sensibilities. This will hope-
is facilitated by moving in dub-dub) Rhyming slang for Reaches Destination” or fully show up racism and
one direction only round a “pub”. “Soon Runs Dry”. other evils to be the abomi-
nation they really are.
August 2020 eMuse 5