quicko: RIGO

Born out of a long and lively conversation, I am pleased to announce a new acronym. It was designed for Americans living in Australia, by Americans living in Australia, and it is useful indeed. But let me back up.

It all started when my friend Pamela began asking what the garbage can was referred to as. (For the record, she knew perfectly well, she just wanted them to say it. It was a rhetorical device.) Eventually she elicited the correct response: "a rubbish bin."

"Aha!" she exclaimed. "And what do you call the guy who comes to your house and collects your trash?"

"A garbo," the Australians answered.

"Aha!" she exclaimed again. "But what is 'garbo' short for?"

"Garbage," they replied, slightly slower this time.

"But," she cried, triumphantly, "you don't have garbage! You don't say 'garbage.' Why do you call the man a garbo? Why not a -- a -- 'rubbie'?"

The Australians began to titter.

"Or a 'rubbo'?"

They laughed even harder.

"Or a 'rubbz'?" I put in. (I've always liked words with z's.)

Between guffaws someone finally managed to get out a word: "outside."

"Outside?" we asked.

"Yes," the Australian continued. "The rubbish outside is called garbage, in the big bins."

And that, ladies and gentlemen of America who now live in Australia, is where your highly useful new acronym comes in: RIGO. Rubbish in, garbage out.