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A Straight Dope Classic from Cecil's storehouse of human knowledge
04-Jan-1985
Dear Cecil:
An Australian friend claims that the expression "kangaroo court" was in fact an
American invention of the mid-nineteenth century. What's the straight dope? By the way,
how do kangaroos court? --Hurst H., Arlington, Virginia
Dear Hurst:
Sorry, amigo, but it's ixnay on your last request. Cecil has been informed that if he
favors this newspaper with one more essay on lust among the animals his next job will be
busting suds at the Dairy Queen. So it's Bourgeois Proprieties 1, the Public's Right to
Know 0.
I can offer only the usual speculative mishmash on the origin of "kangaroo
court," meaning any extralegal judicial assemblage, such as those established by
prison inmates or vigilante committees. There's some argument over whether the term is of
American or Australian origin. It appears to have come into common usage around the time
of the California gold rush in 1849, when some say miners established kangaroo courts to
deal with claim jumpers (get it?). Others argue that the term is a sly metaphorical
comment on the frequent leaps of legal logic seen at such conclaves.
Those arguing for the expression's Down Under origins say it sprang up in the Australian
outback, where the homesteaders periodically used to convene "hopper's court."
This usage derived from the supposed fact that when kangaroos see a man for the first time
they typically stop dead and eyeball him for five minutes, then suddenly turn and scoot.
The practice of staring idiotically into space for long periods followed by a rash and
inexplicable jump to conclusions was thought to closely resemble the behavior of a jury or
judicial panel, hence kangaroo court. Trouble is, no published instances of this usage in
Australia have ever been adduced. Finally, we should note that kangaroo in English slang
at one time meant anything unusual or eccentric, which would obviously lend itself to the
application at hand. Take your pick.
You-didn't-ask-but-I'm-telling-you-anyway department: A charming legend has been making
the rounds for many years that the word "kangaroo" derives from an aboriginal
expression meaning "I don't understand you." Seems the English explorer Captain
James Cook was browsing around Australia one day with his naturalist buddy Sir Joseph
Banks, when he happened to espy a funny-looking critter with a pouch. Inquiring of a
nearby local as to the name of the animal, he received the reply "kangaroo,"
which was intended to signify "say what?" Cook somewhat stupidly construed this
as the name of the beast, and we have continued to suffer for his ignorance down to the
present day.
Cute, but is it true? I dunno--the actual aboriginal words for the marsupial in question
sound nothing like "kangaroo," which seems to have sprung into existence just
about the time of Cook's explorations. However, slangmeister Eric Partridge declares that
kangaroo is in fact of aboriginal origin and means "jumping quadruped." Someday
we definitely have to get this straightened out.
WE GET IT STRAIGHTENED OUT A LITTLE SOONER THAN WE EXPECTED
Dear Cecil:
I never imagined that the day would come when I would spot an error in your witty and
admirably researched column, but your recent discussion of the etymology of kangaroo,
alas, shows you aren't up to date on the research in this area. In the Guugu Yimidhirr
language, spoken by the aboriginals of the area where Captain Cook's party recorded the
term kangooroo (the original spelling), this word (more accurately pronounced something
like kang-ooroo) refers to a particular species of kangaroo, namely the large black
kangaroo. The only error Cook's party can be accused of is mistaking the name of one
variety of kangaroo for the generic term. I hope you will be able to bring your readers up
to date on this question and disillusion them regarding the widespread mythology
surrounding it. --Bernard C., Department of Linguistics, University of Southern
California, Los Angeles
Cecil replies:
As you can imagine, Bernie, keeping track of all the world's knowledge is a formidable
task, even for a person of my legendary abilities. So you will just have to forgive me if
I messed up on a few details of Guugu Yimidhirr. Perhaps I had best recap the whole
controversy. The story is that when the English explorer James Cook and his friend Joseph
Banks first espied a kangaroo during an expedition to Australia in 1770, they asked a
nearby native what it was. They received the reply "kang-ooroo," which they
assumed was the name of the critter in question. A later explorer, however, found that the
natives seemed never to have heard of "kangaroos," and the legend grew up that
what the native had actually said was the aboriginal equivalent of "I don't
understand you"--in other words, that Cook and Banks had made an unbelievably dumb
(not to mention comical) mistake. Subsequent research has established, however, that this
was not the case. The real problem, apparently, was simply that the later explorers
mispronounced "kang-ooroo" (it's ng as in sing, and I believe there's a roughly
equal emphasis on the second and third syllables). The natives were mystified by the
European pronunciation "kangaroo," and besides, whoever was asking was probably
pointing at a variety of roo other than the large black kind, which, strictly speaking, is
the only official "kang-ooroo." Anyway, lexicographers have since made several
attempts to convince the world that "kangaroo" isn't merely the result of
British incompetence. As usual, however, legend dies hard.
MISTAKEN NAMESAKES: THE SCANDAL WIDENS
Dear Cecil:
I was quite interested in the continuing story of the origin of the word
"kangaroo," and confess I was a little disappointed to have the wonderful myth
about its origin dashed by the truth--but the straight dope must prevail at all costs!
Besides, the kangaroo story isn't history's only case of mistaken namesakes. The Book of
Lists #2 reports that the word "Yucatan," meaning "I don't know," was
the response given when a Spanish explorer on the Mexican peninsula inquired what land he
was on. Also the city of "Nome," Alaska has an interesting origin. --Brad B.,
Hollywood, California
Cecil replies:
Cecil's rule of thumb for these things, Brad, is that the cuteness of the story is in
inverse proportion to the likelihood of its actually being true. The Yucatan = "I
don't know" story apparently started with one Gomara, who published The History
of the Indies in 1554. The explorer involved was Francisco Hernandez, who reached the
Yucatan in 1517. Asking some locals about the name of a nearby town, he received the
reply, "Tectatan," supposedly meaning "I don't know," which eventually
the Spaniards corrupted into "Yucatan." However, other historians say Yucatan
was first mentioned in a report by Bartholomew Columbus, brother of Christopher, who had
heard about it from some Indians in 1502. Believe who you will.
The origin of Nome, Alaska, is also in doubt. According to the 1943 Guide to Alaska
prepared by the Federal Writers' Project, the word is the result of a draftsman's error.
"When the manuscript chart of the region was being prepared on board the British
vessel Herald, attention was drawn to the fact that [a certain] point had no name, and a
mark (? name) was penciled against it. The chart was hurriedly inked in, the draftsman
reading ? name as C. Nome, and Cape Nome and Nome they have been ever since. This story is
disputed by other authorities, who say it is a local native name."
I am doubly inclined to disbelieve this story because of a suspicious yarn told by Mary
Lee Davis in Uncle Sam's Attic (1930). Quoth Davis: "The very name of Nome
is an answer to the query, "Whence came the first American?" `Ka-no-me,' said
the Eskimos, when white men asked what place this was: `I do not know.' And so the place
was called: Ka-no-me, Nome, `I do not know.'" Having now had the "I don't
know" yarn turn up in three different parts of the globe, I can draw one of two
conclusions: either explorers are incredible saps, or somebody's been pulling our leg.
--CECIL ADAMS
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