Did you perchance mean one of these? furry, furth, fury, murphy
Definitions
Wiktionary
- n. Australia (slang) a rumour, or an erroneous or improbable story.
Etymologies
- From Furphy ("a surname"). The firm of Furphy and Sons (still in business today) manufactured and supplied water carts to the Australian Imperial Force in Egypt during World War I. Soldiers stood around these and talked, exchanging rumours and news. The manufacturer's name, which was emblazoned on the carts, was soon adopted for unreliable information or speculation. (Wiktionary)
Examples
“Labor's concern that Nauru is not a signatory to the United Nation's convention for refugees is a "furphy", he said.”
“Mr Morrison dismissed the government's reasoning as a "furphy".”
“Commander Unkles said it was a "furphy" for people such as Craig Wilcox, author of Australia's Boer War, to suggest the laws of 2010 were being applied to the case.”
“However, Ms Vass said the announcement was a 'furphy'.”
“Ophthalmologist Bill Glasson says the argument is a "furphy" and battlers in regional and remote areas cannot afford the extra $300 cost it will cost them for each operation.”
“Note they did not do the “stranger danger” abduction thing as everyone knew it was a furphy.”
“Still, there were things I wanted to discuss, particularly the idea of isolation, which I think is a furphy for the most part.”
“Hardware may be a furphy topic… the last thing the US is going to need for a about 10 years is hardware.”
“By Darkman, March 3, 2009 @ 11:39 am trade is a furphy…everyone else is stuffed, not just the USA.”
“There are two nuances and one furphy that might be relevant here.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘furphy’.
-
Auslang
Australian colloquialisms, slang and unique lingual artifacts.
bludger, strewth, shonky, cow cockie, sickie, woop woop, chunder, furphy, buckley's chance, whinge, root barrier, nuff nuff and 8 more...
-
slackagogo's Words
agelast, aggiornamento, zaftig, wowserism, vox barbara, verbigeration, tchotchke, tautology, sycophant, spoonerism, solipsism, sobriquet and 288 more...
-
Let's get back to our enraged sheep :...
Idiomatic wisdom from other countries and cultures. For some of the more obscure languages, expressions were found on the excellent site omniglot.com
donde ronca tigre..., a cada cerdo le l..., Поредити бабе и жабе, baba şi mitraliera, a otro perro con ..., llevar hierro al ..., no se le puede pe..., no se pescan truc..., ada udang di bali..., ropa inte hej för..., nu är det kokta f..., att lägga lök på ... and 210 more...
-
epeolatrist's list
epeolatry, syzygy, sphallolalia, lucubration, lugubrious, cacology, mellifluous, tmesis, synecdoche, anathema, eschatological, razbliuto and 349 more...
-
Not Quite The Real Thang
masquerade, sham, counterfeit, shyster, phoney, bogus, pseudo, artificial, fabricated, mock, concocted, false and 158 more...
-
5-0
Hecko, words! I’m so happy I’ve found you. I want to keep you all and never want to lose you again. I hope you like it here.
amscray, thistledown, tine, tinsel, pungent, snarl, wail, lanky, viscid, dawdle, luminous, stow and 2719 more...
-
rememberers
prolix, ageusia, animadversion, anodyne, antic, arabesque, beadle, brachymetropia, colophon, desquamation, diaphoresis, diegesis and 3255 more...
-
Gossiphoning
Psst!--Didja know?
nosy, snoopy, scuttlebutt, talebearing, echo chamber, tabloid, bruit, quidnunc, disinformation, rumor, interloper, meddler and 67 more...
-
Humbug and bafflegab
oil, rot, gas, gup, pop, jive, bull, jazz, guff, pish, tosh, flam and 83 more...
-
Strewth Mate, or, The Antipodean Anhang
Aussie stuff that doesn't really belong in my other lists.
The name is a discreet tribute to Charles Cudworth and his essay: "Ye Olde Spuriosity Shoppe, or, Put it in the Anhang", whi...wagga wagga, woy woy, walla walla, wee waa, wollongong, cooee, lairy, australele, kafoops, bewdiful, nature strip, yonks and 42 more...
-
Hogwash!
nonsense, tripe, twaddle, bullshit, poppycock, palaver, balderdash, baloney, gobbledygook, bunk, claptrap, hooey and 88 more...
-
Australiana
quokka, wombat, numbat, bonzer, grouse, woop woop, not the full quid, zac, mate, koala, chunder, vegemite and 49 more...
-
Anzac Day
Words heard on and around Anzac Day, a public holiday in Australia on 25th April. It commemmorates the landings on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey during World War I by ANZAC forces, ie. the Aust...
cenotaph, dawn service, kokoda, servicemen, servicewomen, anzac, gallipoli, the dardanelles, digger, simpson and his d..., tin hat, medal and 77 more...
-
SoulCurry's List
A bit like Schindler's List.
To add words which are the rejects, the lame dogs of English vocabulary.imparlibidinous, palimpsest, obacerate, gallimaufry, vitative, mystagogue, desuetude, flubdub, apophasis, apomnemonysis, praecisio, empathy deficit d... and 6 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for furphy.
maloney Australian idiom: misleading information, a rumour, unsubstantiated idea.
Origin: Manufacturer's name embossed on cast-iron water carts used to supply front-line troops in WW1. Solders congregated to draw rations and swap rumours. Jun 15, 2009
frindley Commonly accepted derivation (courtesy wikipedia):
"…from water carts made by a company established by John Furphy: J. Furphy & Sons of Shepparton, Victoria. Many Furphy water carts were used to take water to Australian Army personnel during World War I. The carts, with "J. Furphy & Sons" written on their tanks, became popular as gathering places where soldiers could exchange gossip, rumours and fanciful tales." Apr 25, 2008
bilby Very Australian, this one. Often used in reference to a rumour that is simply not true.
eg. "A new airport? It's a complete furphy."
Nov 21, 2007