fair dinkum

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Contents 1 English 1.1 Adjective 1.1.1 Quotations 1.1.2 Synonyms 1.2 Interjection

[edit] English

[edit] Adjective

fair dinkum (not comparable)

1. (Australian, slang) genuine, honest, fair and square

   Are you fair dinkum ?. - are you telling me the truth ? ; do you really mean that ?

[edit] Quotations

• 2002, John Dutch, April and Anderson [1]

  I mean, if they were out at a concert or something, or if they were involved in some other out-of-school social activity and some fair dinkum Aussie bloke, with a fair dinkum Aussie accent, and a fair dinkum Aussie hat, preferably chewing on a fair dinkum gum leaf, and holding a koala bear in one hand and a kangaroo in the other stood up and delivered those Lawson poems in full bore Strine, the girls would probably have loved him.

• 2004, Susie Ashworth et al., Lonely Planet Australia [2]

  When people think of Australia they commonly think of the outback; or koalas, kangaroos and ‘fair dinkum’ frontier types.

• 2008 Joe Hockey interviewed on 4 Corners [3]

  He appreciated the honesty, he appreciated the fact that I rang him and was prepared to be fair dinkum with him, and he heard what I said.

[edit] Synonyms

• genuine
• honest
• straight dinkum
• true
• the real thing

[edit] Interjection

fair dinkum

1. (Australian) Expressing surprise, wonder etc.
   • 2004, Jeffrey Archer, As the Crow Flies [4]

     She checked what he had produced against the diagram in her book, smiled and said, “Fair dinkum, you really do teach maths,” which took Daniel a little by surprise as he wasn’t sure what “fair dinkum” meant, but as it was accompanied by a smile he assumed it was some form of approval.