different between nong vs galah

English

Etymology

Probably shortened from ning-nong.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /n??/

Noun

nong (plural nongs)

1. (slang, Australia, New Zealand) An idiot.
   • 1983, Robert Drewe, The Bodysurfers, Penguin 2009, p. 126:

     ‘In there, you nong,’ Max said, pointing out a pink-brick home with a 1950s skillion roof.

   • 2008, Michael Panckridge, Hat Trick! Toby Jones, Books 1-3, 2010, unnumbered page,

     ‘You guys are such nongs! Why would you want to face up to Shoaib Akhtar when you could win a World Cup against the young blond Aussie star at the home of cricket?’

   • 2010, John Dale (editor), Best on Ground: Great Writers on the Greatest Game, unnumbered page,

     […] and spend every second Saturday defiant and one-eyed among the opposition nongs at the Barkly Street end.

Mandarin

Romanization

nong

1. Nonstandard spelling of nóng.
2. Nonstandard spelling of n?ng.
3. Nonstandard spelling of nòng.

Usage notes

• English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

• (Hà N?i) IPA^(key): [naw??m??]
• (Hu?) IPA^(key): [naw??m??]
• (H? Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [naw??m??]

Etymology 1

Compare Proto-Bahnaric *-?o?? (“winnowing basket”) and Proto-Katuic *k?o? (“winnowing basket”).

Noun

(classifier cái) nong • (????)

1. winnowing basket

Etymology 2

Verb

nong • (????)

1. to make bigger or larger

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.