Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHONWanna buy what every good king or queen needs, a decent Crown? Cost ya four bucks here. Okay, so I'm kiddin'. Let me explain, a Crownie is actually Aussie slang for a Crown lager.
This shot was taken at the Racecourse Hotel in Caulfield, just a stone's throw away from the racecourse that is home to the Caulfield Cup, which is the precursor to the world famous Melbourne Cup. We love adding the ``Y'' sound to our words here in Australia. Hence board shorts are ``boardies'', firefighter are ``fieries'' and sunglasses are ``sunnies''.
And the same rules apply to surnames. Thus, a Sutcliffe becomes ``Suttsy'' and a Payne becomes ``Payney''. Even Steve Bracks,who stunned the nation yesterday when he resigned as Premier of Victoria, is hailed as ``Bracksy''.
But just to confirm your suspicions that we're an oddball bunch Down Under, guess what we do with surnames that actually end with a ``Y''? We remove it! That's why Aussie Rules legend Kevin Sheedy, whose contract was not renewed this week by the Essendon Football Club after an incredible 27 years as coach of the Bombers, is not Sheedy, but ``Sheeds''.
Click here: Pentax K100D, Shutter speed 1/250, F9.5, ISO speed 200.
