gong???

[Michael Quinion]

> Today's word (22 Aug) at the Wordsmith "A.Word.A.Day" site is "mingy"
> (= mean + stingy.)  The sentence
>
> "The abandonment of gongs in most countries reveals how mingy the
> British were." (The Australian, Mar 16, 2000)
>
> was given as an example of it's use.
>
> any of you know the meaning of "gong(s)" in this context?

The full quotation, "The Commonwealth honours bestowed by Buckingham
Palace did not create good families. The abandonment of gongs in most
countries reveals how mingy the British were", gives the clue. A gong
in British English slang refers to an honour, literally a medal, from
the obvious similarity of shape and material. Partridge and Green
both say it derives from the British Army in India at the end of the
nineteenth century (where a gong was often used to sound the hours)
though the OED has its first example only from 1925. Room here for
somebody to do some antedating, perhaps.
--
Michael Quinion
Editor, World Wide Words
E-mail: <TheEditor at worldwidewords.org>
Web: <http://www.worldwidewords.org/>