Isn’t it great that Michael Ware not only provides us with excellent analysis of what’s going on in Iraq, but he can also throw out a couple of really cool smackdown words as well. ‘Drongo’ is probably going to become very popular pretty soon. Isolating the sound bite in time to air it later may have been easy, but it’s still impressive how you manage to make everything work–good job as usual Sean.

Sean:

You got to love AC360! Nothing like learning a more pleasant way to call someone an idiot. I’m going to have fun with these two words at work tomorrow. Thanks for your efforts.

BTW, when are we going to see this “Control Room” you blog about every night? Didn’t you promise us that you’d post some pics awhile back? Just wondering…..

Jolene, St. Joseph, MI

So let me get this straight. A galah and drongo are both idiotic birds?
A catchy little word for…You’re an idiot. A little birdbrained idiot. Ok, thanks. I’ll file it away under M..Must use soon.

Lorie Ann, Buellton, Calif.

Hi Sean, yes, I got a good laugh when Anderson and Michael were talking and Anderson said that he didn’t know what those words meant. Because I didn’t know either! LOL! But now I do; this is what I like about 360…I learn something new everyday!

Sean, good job in putting Michael’s soundbite into “The Shot of the Day” and for getting the meanings of those words.

Lilibeth
Edmonds, Washington

hey sean,

wow~ learn 2 new words today so that’s means two idiot birds? Haha… good job! this prove that control room always playing an important role.

Thanks, Sean, well done.

I enjoyed learning a little of the Aussie lingo … hope there is more to come. Michael Ware is fantastic. Thanks for running down the definitions.

Michael Ware is an excellent journalist and the whole “drongo , galah” thing made me laugh! He’s doesn’t hold back like most reporters, and I love that about him.

Hello from Australia!
Linguistics are fun! Although a Drongo is a bird, it is not as stupid as a Galah (who are can be seen hanging upside down on wires). The origin of the use is likely tied to a race horse in the 1920’s named Drongo (named for the bird) who was hopeless… not good in horse-racing mad country.
Cheers.

Enjoyed the piece - I’m an Australian-American dual citizen now, and the linguistic differences always amuse me. Here’s my view on usage: I reckon that “drongo” is more about being an “idiot”, displaying stupidity or lack of thought. I think of “galah” as describing a person’s foolish actions, embarrassing themselves, like standing up in public and “making a galah of yourself”.

Sean,
My question is can CNN or Michael get fined for using that language on TV? I was wondering those were considered “swear” words or just slang which is ok to say. BTW, Good Job!

Sean,

I’ve learned 3 new words this week on AC360 – I did not have a clue what “luddite, was I honestly had to go look it up! Numpty me… and now I can add “galahs” and “drongo” to my new list of eejit words.

Jill