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<DIV>This is an Australianism. The online _Sydney Morning Herald_ is wont
to use it it its headlines. Looking at the online Macquarie, it's almost as
if the SMH *knows* how vulgar the word is in Kiwi.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><A href="http://www.dict.mq.edu.au/">http://www.dict.mq.edu.au/</A></DIV>
<DIV>(the dictionary box is in the lower left corner)</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>It sez:</DIV>
<DIV>--start quote--<BR>--noun 1. Australian, NZ an incident or series of
incidents involving reprehensible or suspect behaviour, especially by officials
or politicians. 2. Australian a wild party. 3. NZ ‡ an act of sexual
intercourse. <BR>--verb (t) 4. Australian, NZ to take wrongful advantage
of; abuse: to rort the system. 5. NZ ‡ to have sexual intercourse with.
[origin uncertain]<BR>--rorty, adjective </DIV>
<DIV>--end quote--</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The word is used in the SMH much as one would use all the inflections of
the f-word. It seems to be a word some precious, smutty-minded American needs to
spread far and wide: "Rorts in Jerry Fallwell's Church Rock Lynchburg".</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Mark Odegard.</DIV>
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