different between duffer vs galah

English

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?d?f?/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?d?f?/
• Rhymes: -?f?(?)

Adjective

duffer

1. comparative form of duff: more duff

Noun

duffer (plural duffers)

1. (informal) An incompetent or clumsy person.
2. (sports) A player having little skill, especially a golfer who duffs.
3. (archaic) A pedlar or hawker, especially one selling cheap or substandard goods.
4. (archaic) Cheap or substandard goods sold by a duffer.
5. A cow that does not produce milk.
   • 1908, Proceedings of the Agricultural Society of Trinidad and Tobago, Volume 8, page 116,

     We have some good cows in this State, but, unfortunately, we have too many duffer cows that are not only being fed and milked at a loss hut are eating up a portion of the profit of the good cow which is being milked alongside them.

   • 1934, Victorian Department of Agriculture, Journal of Agriculture, Volume 32, page 293,

     The truth is that cattlemen love a typical cow for her beauty and symmetry of form ; but every herd-testing dairyman knows that an ugly animal may be a good producer, while many a beautiful cow is a duffer.

6. (Australia, dated) A cattle thief or thief of other livestock; one who alters the brands of cattle.
   • 2011, Clancy Tucker, Gunnedah Hero, unnumbered page,

     The cattle duffer?s escape would have been impeded by those young ones. Calves can be unruly unless you move them carefully in the company of their mothers.
7. A racing pigeon that does not perform well.
8. (entomology) Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genus Discophora.

Synonyms

• (incompetent person): see Thesaurus:unskilled person
• (livestock thief): see Thesaurus:rustler

Translations

Anagrams

• ruffed

English

Etymology

From Gamilaraay gilaa.

• (fool): From the bird. A connection with Malay gila (“mad”) has been suggested, but this explanation has not gained acceptance.

Pronunciation

Noun

galah (plural galahs)

1. A pink and grey species of cockatoo, Eolophus roseicapilla, native to Australia.
   • 1985, Peter Carey, Illywhacker, Faber and Faber 2003, p. 434:

     There were red-tailed cockatoos, casuarina cockatoos, a little corella and a galah.

   • 2005, David Lindenmayer, Mark A. Burgman, Practical Conservation Biology, page 175,

     The Galah has benefited from changes in the environment brought about by human activities (Rowley, 1990; Saunders and Ingram, 1995; Forshaw, 2002). The Galah?s diet is predominantly seeds, especially those from cereal crops and agricultural weeds.

2. (Australia, slang) A fool, an idiot.

   That galah nearly drove me off the road.

   • 1991, Patricia Shaw, River of the Sun, unnumbered page,

     ‘Don?t just stand there, you great galah, lend a hand here!’ Billy Kemp shoved Edmund towards the longboat. ‘Get it free. The lads are bringing up the casks.’

   • 1999, Bryce Courtenay, Solomon's Song, unnumbered page,

     ‘But, Sergeant, I reckon a man would look a proper galah falling about with an empty rifle, going click, click, click, “bang you?re dead” when he wasn?t doing rifle drill on parade, like when it?s not official, know what I mean?’ one of the infantrymen volunteers.

   • 2006, John Chalmers, The Professional Guest, page 13,

     ‘ […] Then you will strut around like a great galah tryin? to impress the sheilas about what a fuckin? big iron ore miner you are.’

Synonyms

• (fool): drongo

Derived terms

• galah session

Translations

See also

• cockatiel
• cockatoo
• corella

References

Malay

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?alah/
• Rhymes: -alah, -lah, -ah

Noun

galah (Jawi spelling ?????, plural galah-galah, informal 1st possessive galahku, impolite 2nd possessive galahmu, 3rd possessive galahnya)

1. pole, stake

Further reading

• “galah” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.