Name-dropping
I have been, I believe unfairly, called a name-dropper, especially in regards to inviting celebrities to dine at table d'Rudd. I don't see revealing that Nicole Kidman has been a dinner guest as name-dropping, but more as factual information. Nicole may well have mentioned to her circle of friends that she has dined with the Prime Minister, and bully for her. This is not the same as a shop assistant bragging that she sold a frock to Nicole Kidman - now that is name-dropping and in some ways a breach of privacy. I also know Cate Blanchett, by the way.
Nankeen Night Heron
This is a small, chestnut-brown nocturnal heron (Nycticorax caledonicus). I just mention this in passing because I actually saw one this morning. Such are the joys of retiring post-midnight and rising pre-dawn.
Nasal Delivery
I think I'm a reasonably broad-minded cove but I am certainly pro-censorship when it comes to billboards and radio advertising promoting nasal delivery technology to assist with erectile performance and counter premature ejaculation - talk about squirm in your seat when there are kiddies or women in the car! I'm sorry, if this is a concern, either learn to live with it or consult a medical professional. The former option is less embarrassing. And boy, there were a few words in this paragraph that produced a squirm just typing them!
Nasi Goreng
I'm afraid this is another advertising soapbox issue for me. (I hope you read this Sol Trulio!) Nasi Goreng was not a Chinese Emperor. I know these things because I speak fluent Mandarin. Nasi Goreng is an Indonesian dish consisting of rice, chillies, onion, sliced beef and egg. I can also say, "hello", "goodbye" and "thank you very much" in Bahasa Indonesian.
National Anthem
I love a sunburnt country and I love our national anthem! And it is such a versatile work of art in that it can be sung to the tune of 'Working Class Man' or the theme from Gilligan's Island. Many people criticise it for containing the word 'girt', meaning 'surrounded' (as in, "our home is girt by sea"). There is a very simple solution to this - bring back the word 'girt' as an accepted part of the lexicon! For example, the ACT is girt by New South Wales... "Put your hands in the air we have you girt!"... "Buy a stereo with 'girt-sound' from Harvey Norman (no deposit and nothing to pay until 2020!)"... and have a government-funded television campaign to promote the 'Girt Initiative' featuring Julie Anthony performing a cover version of the Cilla Black classic, "Girt Yourself With Sorrow". Makes sense to me. Time for a committee methinks.
Nelson, Brendan
Makes no sense to me. Whatever committee put poor Nelson together was scribbling on the wrong side of the coaster. Having a motorbike-riding, guitar-playing, former ALP voter who wore a marijuana earring step into John Howard's shoes was like voting Amanda Vandstone the next Australia's Top Model. Not that there's anything wrong with being a size 16+, of course. Brendan's main mistake may have been that he didn't realise that Malcolm Turnbull also voted for him.
Noodle
An Australian word meaning 'the head'. "To use one's noodle" means to think for oneself so, surely, mathematically, a committee of 12 noodles makes one think for oneself 12 times as good. Doesn't it?
Numismatist
In my youth, one of my hobbies was coin collecting. I never managed to find that elusive 1930 penny but I did have (and still have) a 1940 penny, which in 'good condition' should fetch upwards of $4.80. I had a collection of threepences and sixpences that were allocated annually to the Christmas pudding but, as Nanna's sight diminished, so did the number of coins in the collection. This hobby was discontinued in 1966 when Sir Robert Gordon Menzies introduced decimal currency. Since then my good wife has taken over the hobby of collecting coins and notes and has managed to squirrel away a motza. In my current Ministerial collection I have a 1968 Penny, Penelope Ting-yen Wong (Minister for Climate Change and Water) and at last evaluation she was also worth around $4.80.
Nymphomaniac
Someone once remarked that every Australian man's 'dream' wife was a nymphomaniac whose father owned a pub. I have trouble fathoming this. Firstly, while I recognise that in tough economic times purveyors of alcoholic beverages do well, surely it should be the man's 'dream' to actually own the pub, rather than witness his father-in-law reap the rewards of the business? And, if thus was so, the last thing he would want is an insatiable woman diverting his attention from the business at hand (see Weber, Max: The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism). Unless, of course, this was meant to be a joke. In which case it wasn't funny.
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Name-dropping
Nankeen Night Heron
Nasal Delivery
Nasi Goreng
National Anthem
Nelson, Brendan
Noodle
Numismatist
Nymphomaniac
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