Australian word: whinge

[AAllan at AOL.COM]

>From _The Australian_
http://news.com.au:80/common/story_page/0,4057,1130556%255E1683,00.html

All whinge and no action defines who we are
By SUSAN MITCHELL
28aug00

IN this land of "no worries", next to a good laugh we love to have a whinge.
Sometimes it can go on for days; weeks, even. Often it's the same whinge,
told to as many different ears as we can  bash.

Whinging in Australia is a form of bonding. Nothing like a shared whinge to
make you feel less alone in this vast country. Perhaps that's why we love it
so much. Perhaps it came over with the first white inhabitants. No doubt the
first thing they did was have a whinge about the heat and the flies.

The Macquarie Dictionary defines a whinger as someone who complains or
whines. The whine element is important because it involves a nasal sound
peculiar to our accent. It also means "to complain in a feeble, plaintive
way".
. . . .
All of this helps explain the launch of a new website, Whinger.com, which
promises "your whinge is our command".

 LOG on, have a good whinge and for $8.25 the company will contact the source
of your complaint, attempt to get something in return -- like a free meal or
a free lube from a garage or an apology. If it doesn't, it will stick the
offender on the website for public humiliation.
. . . .
- Allan Metcalf