Nicknames…the quintessential Australian tradition where we call someone by anything except their real name. At least that’s the way it is in our family. In our family, if you are called by your actual name, you start running!

Have you ever given a thought as to the various nicknames used around OPBC? There’s quite a few let me tell you. I was recently given a new one by another club member, and it appears to have stuck…for now. “Hurricane Hailey” – Yep I know what you are thinking…One Mr Don Corbit has a lot to answer for.

But let’s take a look at some interesting facts about nicknames before we delve into the plethora of Saints walking around with Nifty little nicknames (see what I did there).

The compound word ekename, literally meaning "additional name", was attested as early as 1303. By the fifteenth century, the phrase "an ekename" had been rephrased as "a nekename". Though the spelling has changed, the pronunciation and meaning of the word have remained relatively stable ever since.

In Viking societies, many people had nicknames which were used in addition to, or instead of the first name. In some circumstances, the giving of a nickname had a special status, to the extent that the creation of a nickname also often entailed a formal ceremony and an exchange of gifts (pssst Don…my favourite chocolate is Lindt).

Slaves often used nicknames, so that the master who heard about someone doing something wrong could not identify the slave. In capoeira, a Brazilian martial art, the slaves had nicknames to protect them from being caught, as practicing capoeira was illegal for decades.

Ok, with your daily dose of learning done for the day…why don’t we take a look at the eclectic bunch of people we have wandering around the club. We have a:

· Caveman aka Cavey

· Cora

· Kojak

· Nifty

· Pacman

· Hurricane

· Chooka

· Yogi

· Shoosh

· FP

· Hollywood

· Hooter

· Belly

· Lew-I

· Buster

· Robo

· General

· Captain

· Kingy (yes a General, a Captain and a Kingy…which one is the superior officer?)

· Pickers

· Dewy

· Lilly

· Pender

· Bucky

· Hitchy

And there’s probably a heck of a lot more…Can you put all the actual names to the nicknames?

#Saints #OPBC