government man
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English[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Audio (AU) (file)
Noun[edit]
government man (plural government men)
- A representative of the government.
- A supporter of the government.
- (Australia, euphemistic, obsolete or historical) A convict.
- 1888, Rolf Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, Gutenberg eBook #1198:
- Whatever it was that had happened to him in the old times when he was a Government man he didn′t talk about.
Usage notes[edit]
The term convict was considered an insult in early colonial Australia, government man was the approved euphemism.[1] See convict for other terms.
References[edit]
- ^ 1987, Robert Hughes, The Fatal Shore, paperback →ISBN, page xi.