Thursday, January 24, 2008

Australia has anti-Hoon legislation

Wikipedia tells us:

The term "Hoon" was first used in Australia at the turn of the 20th century where it referred to a man living off immoral earnings (i.e. a pimp).

The origin of its current usage is currently unknown but is widely believed to be a shortened form of "hooligan". In more recent times it has been used to describe any young male or female who drives in a manner which is anti-social towards the standards of modern day society.

The Hoon is such a social problem down under that anti-Hoon legislation has been introduced in Western Australia and Victoria and is planned in New South Wales.

All of which puts my own thoughts on the the definition of "hoon" into the shade:
We all know what a hoon is: a subordinate kept so he can resign if his boss runs into trouble. Leon Brittan was Mrs Thatcher’s hoon at the time of the Westland affair. Norman Lamont was John Major’s hoon after the ERM débâcle.

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