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realspeed
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18-11-2020, 04:31 PM
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Question for Australians on here

Why is it all Australian born women are called Sheila?
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18-11-2020, 05:45 PM
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Re: Question for Australians on here

Originally Posted by realspeed ->
Why is it all Australian born women are called Sheila?
I'm sure someone called Bruce will soon be along to answer you cobber
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18-11-2020, 08:14 PM
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Re: Question for Australians on here

One theory is that a long time ago, many women in Oz were called Sheila, possibly derived from the Irish version of the name after a lot of people emigrated from Ireland to Australia.
With so many women having the same name, it became a collective noun for them in much the same way that (allegedly) a lot of men were called Guy, so guys became a collective noun for men.

Of course, it could just be that Courage Beer like to stereotype the name in their Foster's slightly alcoholic fizzy water advertisements.

My Mum was born in Oz, and as far as I know, nobody ever called her Sheila or a sheila.

I believe it is less frequently used today except in more rural areas of the country.
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18-11-2020, 09:18 PM
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Re: Question for Australians on here

This begs a smartarsed response but it's too early in the morning and I can't think of one. In short, they're not. The only women I have ever known named Sheila were English. And that's a fact. I guess it's kind of the Australian equivalent of the English "bird" as a collective noun for women. I remember when I was a little kid hearing men call women sheilas. Today it is never used by any man under 100 years old. Its an archaic term. Like "cobber". Although plenty of Australians still say "fair dinkum" including moi. If you called a woman a sheila today you'd probably get charged with assault.
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18-11-2020, 10:52 PM
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Re: Question for Australians on here

Sorry for the interjection, but, in Blighty, there are still "Bird" watchers, although the emphasis has somewhat softened. I would not mind betting there are "Sheila" Spotters over there, never the less, a lot of spotting must still go on, through the smoky barbeque haze, at the opposing ends of the globe.
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18-11-2020, 11:40 PM
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Re: Question for Australians on here

I have noticed that the term 'Sheila' , referring to any female, has almost disappeared here in NZ. When I was a teenager it was very common. Not meant in any way derogatory, just was the time, in the same way blokes were referred to as Jokers.
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18-11-2020, 11:59 PM
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Re: Question for Australians on here

Geezers have always combined with Birds, just as I suspect Jokers and Sheila's have also, some folks get offended about this, for some reason.
 

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