29 June 2015
fogy
[foh-gee]
noun, plural fogies.
1. an excessively conservative or old-fashioned person, especially one who is intellectually dull (usually preceded by old):
The board of directors were old fogies still living in the 19th century.
Origin of fogy
1770-1780; origin uncertain
Related forms
fogyish, adjective
fogyism, noun
Can be confused
foggy, fogy.
Dictionary.com
Slang definitions & phrases for fogy
fogy
noun
An old person; any very conservative, outdated person; dodo: College students today are young fogies (1785+)
A military longevity allowance, awarded for units of service : He got his pension and eight fogies (1881+ Armed forces)
[origin uncertain; perhaps fr French fougeux, ”fierce, fiery,” referring to the doughty spirit of an invalid soldier, whence fogy, ”fierce, fiery,” found by the 1860s; veteran soldiers were called foggies in the late 1700s, perhaps because they were regarded as moss-covered with age, fog being Scots dialect for ”moss”]
(The Dictionary of American Slang)
Today’s quote
When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said ‘Let us pray.’ We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land.
– Desmond Tutu
On this day
29 June 67AD – death of Paul the Apostle (formerly Saul of Tarsus), one of the most influential and important figures of the Apostolic Age. In the mid-30s to the mid-50s he founded several churches in Asia Minor and Europe. He was both a Jew and a Roman citizen. As Saul of Tarsus he often persecuted Christians. He had an epiphany and renamed himself Paul, going on to write 14 of the 27 books of the New Testament. Born in 5AD.
29 June 1888 – birth of Joseph Theodore Leslie (Squizzy) Taylor, Australian gangster, earned money from sly-grog, two-up, illegal bookmaking, extortion, prostitution, cocaine dealing. Died 27 October 1927 from a gunshot wound inflicted by ‘Snowy’ Cutmore.
29 June 1936 – birth of Eddie Mabo, campaigner for indigenous land rights in the Torres Strait. Successfully challenged the concept of ‘terra nullius‘ which was enshrined in federal law and meant ‘uninhabited land‘. The High Court ruled in favour of Eddie Mabo’s challenge and overturned terra nullius. The Mabo Decision resulted in legal recognition of indigenous rights to native land title. The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) awarded Eddie Mabo the Human Rights Medal in 1992, along with those who assisted in the case, Reverend Dave Passi, Sam Passi (deceased), James Rice (deceased), Celuia Mapo Salee (deceased) and Barbara Hocking. Died 21 January 1992.