Fair Dinkum

My friend, Joel, challenged me to look at some phrases from around the world for my daily phrases this week. I thought it might be interesting to look at nationally specific phrases. The phrase fair dinkum is one that has always fascinated me. Fair dinkum is an Australian phrase that means unquestionably good or genuine. It is used to say that something is great, wonderful, or excellent. In Australia the phrase may conjure up images of hard-working farmhands or anyone who embodies national values.

Example: It was a close game, but they won fair dinkum.
Example 2: Those soldiers in World War 1 were the real, fair-dinkum Australians.

Fair dinkum has its roots in British English where it meant fair play or fair work. It is kind of like saying you did well. It was brought to Australia during the gold rush years (beginning in 1851). More than 500,000 people from all over the world came to New South Wales in search of gold. They were mostly British, but there were also many Americans, Germans, Polish, and Chinese prospectors.

While there is a strong consensus that fair dinkum arose in Australia during this time, the exact way that it entered Australian vernacular is debated. Let’s take a look at some origin stories.

Corruption of “Fair Drinking”

The gold miners who did not stay up late drinking and gambling had an advantage the next day when they searched for gold. They were not hindered by a hangover. This advantage was considered unfair, so everyone was encouraged to drink together. The practice was called fair drinking. Foreigners mispronounced it as fair dinkum. Australians adopted the phrase jokingly, but the joke was lost through the generations and the original meaning was lost.

Chinese for “Real Gold

Among the gold-digging immigrants were Chinese workers. When the Chinese workers found gold, they would shout, “din gum” which translates to “genuine gold”, “real gold”, or “true gold”. The Australians trading with the Chinese nationals adopted the phrase with a Western accent and added “fair”. Over time, the phrase took on its current meaning.

A British Loanword

Fair dinkum may have originated in an English dialect and brought over to Australia. Joseph Wright reported it being used in the 19^th century in Derbyshire and Lincolnshire to mean a fair share of work. If this is the case, it was probably brought to Australia by one of the man British gold miners with its meaning already in place.

Latin for “Truly said”

Another suggestion is that fair dinkum is a corruption of the Latin phrase, “Vere Dictum” meaning “truly said”. As a legal expression, it may have been heard by convicts who mispronounced it as fair dinkum.

Conclusion

While the true origin of fair dinkum has been lost, it has been used in Australia since 1888. Rolf Boldrewood wrote in Robbery Under Arms (1888), “It took us an hour’s hard dinkum to get near the peak.” Which of the etymologies do you like? Which one is the most plausible?