An example of the world

I tried to thank him for saving my life. He sid he would have done the same for anybody, even a great useless, clumsy, play-futtoed, muttoed-headed galah of an Italian.

Nino Culotta, Gone Fishing – 1962

An Explanation

The origin of the ‘galah’ is straightforward enough – a borrowing from the Yuwaararraay language spoken near Lightning Ridge in New South Wales. What is interesting is the personality that we have given this bird. Why the Galah should seem to be more stupid than other birds is hard to say. The connection between Galahs and stupidity seems to have asserted itself in the early 1900s and may arise from the observation that, like Cockatoos, Galahs like to chatter on. This notion occurs again in the name given to the period on the outback radio network given over to private conversation. It was called the ‘Galah Session.’

The Dinkum Dictionary: The originals of Australian words by Susan Butler