"Fair Dinkum" - Aussie Woman Busted For Swearing???

[DeSwiss]

Fair dinkum - Aussie woman busted for swearing

Daily Telegraph
August 10, 2007 05:04pm

AN Australian woman was branded a criminal by airline officials after "swearing" on an American flight - with a classic, and utterly inoffensive, Aussie oath. "Fair dinkum," NSW woman Sophie Reynolds muttered when told by a air hostess that there were no pretzels for her to snack on. The next thing Reynolds knew, the flight crew had demanded her passport to note down her details, telling her that swearing at attendants was a crime.

The 41-year-old, who lives in Queanbeyan, near Canberra, was stunned to find three uniformed officers waiting for her when she left the flight in the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. "They said: 'You swore at the hostess and there are federal rules against that'," Reynolds told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "And I said: 'I did not swear at the hostess, I just said 'fair dinkum'." Reynolds was travelling on a Delta Connection flight on SkyWest Airlines.

A SkyWest official said the airline was still investigating the incident, telling the journal "there are two sides to every story". "Our initial reports indicate it was more than a misunderstanding of the language," SkyWest spokeswoman Marissa Snow told the journal. "We witnessed aggressive behaviour throughout the flight."

Snow said the Utah-based airline, which flies under contract to Delta Air Lines, was still trying to contact Reynolds. She said no charges had been filed as a result of the incident and Reynolds had been allowed to go on her way after talking to police.

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22222071-5001021,00.html

*** - "Fair dinkum!?!," means "Oh Really!?!" "Is that right!?!" "You're kidding me, right!?!" That's it. That's what it means. You poor, dumb, misguided Austraphobe. Boy, what a yob. SkyWest may want to check this stew's (intentional) credentials to make sure she has a GED. Or that she at least has seen one Crocodile Dundee movie. If she didn't understand what the woman said, hell, why didn't she just ask!?!?! Couldn't she at least tell that she wasn't American???

Just like the words "G'day," "Strooth," "Rot Your Socks," "Yerks," "Aggro," "Yob," "Bonzer," "Stone The Crows," "Criminy," "Crikey"..... these are NORMAL words in Australia. Don't people read books anymore??? I'm sure this stew (intentional) is probably one of those people who want English to be the country's official language. And visitors must refrain from speaking their native tongues while in the U.S. That way, these kinds of problems won't happen. And also that way Americans won't have to think, and learn, and stuff about... you know, other people in the world. Because we're the only one's who're important.

Damn. What in the hell's wrong with these people???? Americans can be so damned provincial. Of course then again, SkyWest is from Utah.....

[gollygee]

1. Maybe she misheard her?

Perhaps anything that starts with the letter F is suspect.

I don't know. It sounds very odd and silly to me.

[DeSwiss]

3. I dont know of any swear words....

...that being with, or even have the word "fair" in it.

Sounds like just plain stupidity to me....

[GregD]

2. I've known a lot of Austrailians, and held a corporate

partnership with one. This is the first time I have ever had anyone say that "Fair dinkum" is swearing. It simply is not...

[DeSwiss]

8. The poor woman....

...would probably be in Gitmo now if she had said: "Crikey, Strewth!?!"

I can understand how someone whom, never having heard an unusual colloquialism uttered to them from someone of another country being: taken aback, startled, or even surprised.

But why assume it was an expletive? What sort of mindset must one have to assume that her response with this word, in these circumstances, (we're out of pretzels), would be one of anger to the point of verbal assault? And why must it end up with this woman being told she's violated a law and have her passport confiscated by the captain of the plane, just for using the language of her country?

I don't fly anymore. This is just one of the many reasons why.

[Missy Vixen]

4. My husband works for an Australian company

Nice to know that we all look even MORE stupid to other countries now.

If airlines insist on serving countries outside the US, perhaps they should have a bit of instruction in the local lingo, just to prevent themselves from being embarrassed by something like this again. In the meantime, the airline's representative may want to shut it until the police actually finds something to CHARGE the passenger with in this situation.

Julie

[DeSwiss]

9. I'm certain....

...that the people in the tourist industry are giving SkyWest a going over right about now.

It would seem that we have learned how to be the "Ugly American" in our own country, in foreign countries, and even while in flight.

[Missy Vixen]

13. The scary thing to me?

People like the FA and the airline spokesperson get off on being the "Ugly American". Several of the Australians here on work visas have befriended us. I found out fairly quickly that the best thing is to shut up and listen, because I'm going to learn something. We are not the only people in the world. It is valuable to me to hear the experiences and opinions of those who DON'T live in America, because there's a whole world out there we can discover if we're open to it.

I had to laugh. My husband's boss' thirteen-year-old daughter was visiting last month. She's adorable, and for the most part, a delight. She asked me what I thought about George W. Bush. I said, "I didn't vote for him." She said, "How could the Americans elect such a shit?" She was scolded a bit by her dad and his girlfriend; I said, "My thoughts exactly, sweetie."

Julie

[Oeditpus Rex]

5. WTF?

Paul Hogan said "fair dinkum" in teevee ads for the Australian Tourist Commission in the '80s, when Ocker Chic was all the rage.

:wtf:

[DeSwiss]

10. Considering its a Utah based airline....

...I imagine you could only watch Crocodile Dundee on the hotel televisions. Like the one's Mitt Romney used to run....

[Az]

6. They seem to be having problems with the aussie culture lately

First it was my friend getting stopped because they thought her didjeridu was a weapon and now this.

[DeSwiss]

11. Those things go back quite a ways.....

...don't they Az? Its good to see Homeland Security is still protecting us from these terra weapons. Like hair gel, toothpaste and baby formula. And now, ancient aboriginal musical instruments.

[Major Hogwash]

7. Crocodile Dundee was probably banned in Utah when it first came out.

So they have no idea about Aussie slang.

For instance, if a Utahan was called a wanker, he would probably just think it was someone who was confused thinking the fellow meant he lived in Wanker. Sort of like if someone lived in Yonkers, New York, they would just assume it was a town somewhere.

[DeSwiss]

12. What happens in Wanker....

...stays in Wanker.

[Raine]

14. I had a mini rose bush that was named a "Fair Dinkum"

didn't realize that when people asked about it I was swearing. :wow: :blush: :sarcasm: What a stupid thing! :mad:

Edit: spelling

[Mind_your_head]

15. Cun humbikum!!!!! All of you

throw the cuffs on me, *right f*cking now*!!!!!!

say what? <---- all of the above is :sarcasm: ......stupid people :grumble: :yoiks: :yoiks: :yoiks: (and do I really have to explain that?)

This is just stupid.....more stupid than usual for the US.

Losers :eyes: