Tinnie

Last updated
"Tinnie" issued by the Nazi Party in 1935 1935 Nazi KdF Pin Pfronten, Allgau, Germany.jpg
"Tinnie" issued by the Nazi Party in 1935
A tinny in the Australian usage of the term Fishermen in a tinnie - Austins Ferry.jpg
A tinny in the Australian usage of the term

The slang or colloquial term tinnie or tinny has a variety of meanings, generally derived from some association with the metal tin, or aluminium foil which has a loose allusion to tin.

Contents

"Tinnie" is the common term for a commemorative medal made from a non-precious metal such as zinc or tin (or even plastic) and with provisions for being attached to a garment and displayed while worn. Such medals were commonly sold or given away at public events to build group cohesiveness or to lend prestige to the wearer. The "golden age of the tinnie" was World War II, and the Nazi Party and the USSR were among the most prolific disbursers of them. They are avidly collected today by hobbyists and, although usually inexpensive to obtain, are often collected in conjunction with coins, exonumia, military awards and decorations and other related small stamped or cast metal objects. [1]

In New Zealand, a "tinny" or "tinnie" can be a small package of cannabis wrapped in tin foil (cf. 'foilies' in Australia), retailing for between NZ$20–25 (depending on the region). A building where such retailing takes place (commonly a superficially unremarkable home) is a "tinnie house". [2] Other drugs such as methamphetamine may be available as well. In recent years the term has become not unusual in New Zealand court judgments involving the Misuse of Drugs Act.

Another variant of "tinny"/"tinnie" is as a slang term for a can of beer, commonly used in Australia. The word is also widely understood throughout the UK, where it has been used extensively to advertise Australian and Australia-themed lagers over many years. Although most "tinnies" in Australasia (and across the world) are actually now made of aluminium, the older term is still used generically across the region to refer to all cans of beer; not just those made of tin.

In Australia and New Zealand "tinny" or "tinnie" is also commonly used as slang for a small open aluminium boat. [3]

Short for tin-arse, "tinny" is also used in Australia and New Zealand to mean "lucky", where an in individual should have met with bad circumstances but has avoided them through sheer luck. A common phrase would be "he's a tinny bastard".

Tingoora, a small town just north of Kingaroy in south-east Queensland, Australia, is also often referred to a "Tinny", e.g. the "Tinny Pub".

In the United States, a "tinnie" refers to a piece of tin foil that is made into a smoking device, most often for cannabis. It is used when nothing else of use can be found.

Other uses cover certain German medals or shops selling aluminium products.

Other meanings

One of the medieval Peel towers on the Scottish Borders was at Tinnies.

Colloquially meaning a game in which a group of people jump on top of each other to form a pile, like sardines in a tin. The game is initiated by an individual shouting "Tinnies", then lying face down to allow other players to lie on top, forming the pile. This game is also known by the names "Bundle" or "Pile-on."[ citation needed ]

"Tinny" is also a term for audio which lacks resonance, resembling a piece of tin being struck.[ citation needed ]

The phrase is also referenced in the Monty Python sketch "Woody and Tinny Words" where Graham Chapman describes various seemingly-random words as being "tinny" or "woody" with the former utterance inducing great discomfort in his daughter.

In the town of Bathgate, West Lothian, "Tinnie" often refers to an aluminium can of Tennent's Lager. "Here Oj, gies a tinnie o'er mate".[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tin foil hat</span> Hat and stereotype for conspiracy theorists

A tin foil hat is a hat made from one or more sheets of aluminium foil, or a piece of conventional headgear lined with foil, often worn in the belief or hope that it shields the brain from threats such as electromagnetic fields, mind control, and mind reading. The notion of wearing homemade headgear for such protection has become a popular stereotype and byword for paranoia, persecutory delusions, and belief in pseudoscience and conspiracy theories.

Colloquialism or colloquial language is the linguistic style used for casual (informal) communication. It is the most common functional style of speech, the idiom normally employed in conversation and other informal contexts. Colloquialism is characterized by wide usage of interjections and other expressive devices; it makes use of non-specialist terminology, and has a rapidly changing lexicon. It can also be distinguished by its usage of formulations with incomplete logical and syntactic ordering.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">XXXX (beer)</span> Australian beer brand

XXXX is a brand of Australian beer brewed in Milton, Brisbane by Queensland brewers Castlemaine Perkins. It enjoys wide popularity in the state of Queensland, where it is commonly found on-tap in pubs and bars. The XXXX brand was first introduced by Castlemaine in 1924 and is a throwback to the long-standing tradition of using Xs to indicate the strength of an ale. The brand name also built upon XXX Sparkling Ale introduced in 1878.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aluminium foil</span> A thin, flexible sheet of aluminium, used for wrapping food and other purposes

Aluminium foil is aluminium prepared in thin metal leaves with a thickness less than 0.2 mm ; thinner gauges down to 6 micrometres are also commonly used. In the United States, foils are commonly measured in thousandths of an inch or mils. Standard household foil is typically 0.016 mm thick, and heavy duty household foil is typically 0.024 mm. The foil is pliable, and can be readily bent or wrapped around objects. Thin foils are fragile and are sometimes laminated with other materials such as plastics or paper to make them stronger and more useful.

A misnomer is a name that is incorrectly or unsuitably applied. Misnomers often arise because something was named long before its correct nature was known, or because an earlier form of something has been replaced by a later form to which the name no longer suitably applies. A misnomer may also be simply a word that someone uses incorrectly or misleadingly. The word "misnomer" does not mean "misunderstanding" or "popular misconception", and a number of misnomers remain in common usage — which is to say that a word being a misnomer does not necessarily make usage of the word incorrect.

Corrugated galvanised iron Type of metal building material

Corrugated galvanised iron or steel, colloquially corrugated iron, wriggly tin, pailing, corrugated sheet metal and occasionally abbreviated CGI is a building material composed of sheets of hot-dip galvanised mild steel, cold-rolled to produce a linear ridged pattern in them. Although it is still popularly called "iron" in the UK, the material used is actually steel, and only the surviving vintage sheets may actually be made up of 100% iron. The corrugations increase the bending strength of the sheet in the direction perpendicular to the corrugations, but not parallel to them, because the steel must be stretched to bend perpendicular to the corrugations. Normally each sheet is manufactured longer in its strong direction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foil (metal)</span>

A foil is a very thin sheet of metal, usually made by hammering or rolling. Foils are most easily made with malleable metal, such as aluminium, copper, tin, and gold. Foils usually bend under their own weight and can be torn easily. For example, aluminium foil is usually about 1/1000 inch (0.03 mm), whereas gold can be made into foil only a few atoms thick, called gold leaf. Extremely thin foil is called metal leaf. Leaf tears very easily and must be picked up with special brushes.

Sheet metal Metal formed into thin, flat pieces

Sheet metal is metal formed into thin, flat pieces, usually by an industrial process. Sheet metal is one of the fundamental forms used in metalworking, and it can be cut and bent into a variety of shapes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cannabis smoking</span> Inhalation of marijuana fumes

Cannabis smoking is the inhalation of smoke or vapor released by heating the flowers, leaves, or extracts of cannabis and releasing the main psychoactive chemical, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is absorbed into the bloodstream via the lungs. Archaeological evidence indicates cannabis with high levels of THC was being smoked at least 2,500 years ago.

Chasing the dragon Cantonese drug slang phrase

"Chasing the dragon" (CTD), or "foily" in Australian English, refers to inhaling the vapor from a heated solution of a powdered psychoactive drug on a sheet of aluminum foil. The moving vapor is chased after with a tube through which the user inhales. The "chasing" occurs as the user gingerly keeps the liquid moving in order to keep it from overheating and burning up too quickly, on a heat conducting material such as aluminium foil.

Roach (smoking) Stub of a smoked cigar/cigarette

A roach is the remains of a joint, blunt or roll up cigarette after most of it has been smoked. Most roaches are disposed of immediately after smoking a joint; however, some users will retain the roach for use at a later date. Some users maintain that smoking the roach again has a more intense high due to a high concentration of resin that gathers at the tip of the filter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tea chest</span>

A tea chest is a type of wooden case originally produced and used to ship tea to the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. The conventional tea chest is a case with riveted metal edges, of approximate size 500 by 500 by 750 millimetres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joint (cannabis)</span> Cannabis cigarette, contains marijuana or hashish

A joint, which is commonly referred to as a spliff, "doobie" or "doob", is a rolled cannabis cigarette. Unlike commercial tobacco cigarettes, the user ordinarily hand-rolls joints with rolling papers, though in some cases they are machine-rolled. Rolling papers are the most common rolling medium in industrialized countries; however, brown paper, cigarettes or beedies with the tobacco removed, receipts and paper napkin can also be used, particularly in developing countries. Modern papers are manufactured in a range of sizes from a wide variety of materials including rice, hemp, and flax, and are also available in liquorice and other flavoured varieties.

Tinny is alternative spelling of tinnie, a slang term with a variety of tin-related meanings.

Slang terms for money often derive from the appearance and features of banknotes or coins, their values, historical associations or the units of currency concerned. Within a language community, some of the slang terms vary in social, ethnic, economic, and geographic strata but others have become the dominant way of referring to the currency and are regarded as mainstream, acceptable language.

Tin mining began early in the Bronze Age, as bronze is a copper-tin alloy. Tin is a relatively rare element in the Earth's crust, with approximately 2 ppm, compared to iron with 50,000 ppm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diminutives in Australian English</span> Australian slang words

Diminutive forms of words are commonly used in everyday Australian English. While many dialects of English make use of diminutives and hypocorisms, Australian English uses them more extensively than any other. Diminutives may be seen as slang, but many are used widely across the whole of society. Some forms have also spread outside Australia to other English speaking countries. There are over 5,000 identified diminutives in use in Australian English.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Galvanic corrosion</span> Electrochemical process

Galvanic corrosion is an electrochemical process in which one metal corrodes preferentially when it is in electrical contact with another, in the presence of an electrolyte. A similar galvanic reaction is exploited in primary cells to generate a useful electrical voltage to power portable devices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glossary of cannabis terms</span>

Terms related to cannabis include:

References

  1. "WWII German Tinnie Collectibles Price Guide - MilitaryItems.com". quanonline.com.
  2. Tiffen, Rachel (6 February 2010). "Drug crackdown nets more than 250 suspects so far". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
  3. "Tinnie - A New Zealand Colloquialism for a Small Aluminum Boat". 4 January 2019.