Pronunciation of "death, dead"

[Mark A Mandel]

On Tue, 29 Apr 2003, FRITZ JUENGLING wrote:

#<<So, the phrase 'fish and chips' is the shibboleth: feesh and cheeps in OZ
#and fush and chups in NZ.>>
#
#>Is there an accepted theory as to why Australia is called "Oz"?  Noting the
#>juxtaposition of "NZ" and "OZ" in your post, and the way you capitalize "OZ",
#>I can't help wondering if "OZ" is an acronym for "Old Zealand" as opposed to
#>"New Zealand".
#
#No particular reason really.  It just sticks out to capitalise both.
#Surely, it's not an acronym for 'Old Zealand.' I have heard that it
#gained in popularity (if not originated) with "The Wizard of Oz," but
#I have never investigated that and I am not sure whether that
#suggestion was made in earnest.  (Maybe such a discussion was made on
#this list)

I've always supposed, with no evidence, that it had something to do with
the first syllable of "Australia". I'd welcome something better.

-- Mark A. Mandel