kangaroo court

[Laurence Horn]

>"Prof. Roly Sussex" wrote:
>
>> By the way, Hendrickson mentions the story that when Capt
>> James Cook the explorer asked an Aboriginal for the name of
>> the kangaroo, the Aboriginal is supposed to have said
>> "kangaroo" meaning "I don't know". OED is uncertain, but
>> thinks the story lacks foundation. The "Australian National
>> Dictionary" favours gangurru, the word for a large black
>> or grey kangaroo, Macropus robustus, from the language
>> Guugu Yimidhirr.
>
>Sounds like a relative of the following:
>
>Teacher:  Johnny, can you use the word "indemnify" in a sentence?
>
>Johnny:   Teacher, indemnify know.
>
>-- mike salovesh                    <salovesh at niu.edu>


Or the origin of the French word for transom, le vasistas.

larry