Wednesday, February 1, 2012

quicko: indian summer

I was reading an article today and ran across the phrase "Indian summer."  What got me was that it was actually referring to the summer in, of all places, India.  I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure Australians don't have the term "Indian summer" at all -- not that it's terribly PC in the US either, but it is a common enough phrase.  (For the Australians reading, "Indian summer" is usually in September or possibly October -- after "summer proper" has come and gone, but then "summer" pops back for a couple more warm days.)

In general, Australians also use "Indian" much more appropriately to refer to people from India, rather than Native Americans.  (Had a bit of a moment the other day when I was shocked to realize that sitting "Indian style" could actually be taken either way ...)

2 comments:

Mom said...

School children are no longer taught to sit Indian style - it is now called criss-cross applesauce.
Indian summer is a legitimate term for weather that goes above 70 degrees Fahrenheit after a frost (in autumn).

Mom said...

Did I remember to sign that last post? It was from me.