yowie
n.— «Defence spokesman Major Klaus Boehme says the sniper’s outfit of hessian bags and appropriate camouflage paint evolved from a British idea of about 35 years ago. It had been developed in the mid-1970s when the Army started training snipers, and did not replace the camouflage uniforms worn when in the field. “Someone said about the first person who wore one that he looked like a “yowie,” and it’s been called that ever since,” he said.…Colonel David Oliver in his “yowie” sniper’s outfit and, above right, as he really looks.» —“Aussie ingenuity keeps our soldiers safely out of sight” by Bruce Hogben Advertiser (Adelaid, Australia) June 17, 1989. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
In 1803, a shy British pharmacist wrote a pamphlet that made him a reluctant celebrity. The reason? He proposed a revolutionary new system for classifying clouds — with Latin names we still use today, like cumulus, cirrus, and stratus. Also: when...
Silence comes in many forms. Writer Paul Goodman says there is, for example, the noisy silence of “resentment and self-recrimination,” and the helpful, participatory silence of actively listening to someone speak. • The strange story...