Gaberlunzie Man

"And verily, to mak' acquaintance with a man a-come from so far, from the land o' perpetual snow, as we may say, where wolves and wild boars and other dangerous animalcules be as common as blackbirds here-about--why, 'tis a thing we can't do every day; and there's good sound information for bide-at-homes like we when such a man opens his mouth."

"Nay, but ye mistake my country," said the young man, looking round upon them with tragic fixity, till his eye lighted up and his cheek kindled with a sudden enthusiasm to right their errors. "There are not perpetual snow and wolves at all in it!--except snow in winter, and--well--a little in summer just sometimes, and a 'gaberlunzie' or two stalking about here and there, if ye may call them dangerous. "

Thomas Hardy - The Mayor Of Casterbridge

Don't know who he is, except he's Scottish, is acquainted with the works of the great MacGonagall, and chose a hideous subtitle. I wonder if he likes AL Kennedy ?

Elsewhere this Australian site makes me wonder what education is like down under. Our school discos were never like this. Do I hear a cry of 'unfortunately' ? Link from Wendii's Blog.

UPDATE - Gaberlunzie links to the delightfully named Protocols Of The Yuppies Of Zion, which contains this joke :

(two men are moving priceless paintings from a museum)

1st. Guard: Man, this Hieronymus Bosch is heavy!

2nd. Guard: That's because he deals with man's inclination towards sin, in defiance of God's will.

1st. Guard: I didn't mean it like that.