Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Kangaroo

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Kangaroo: noun - a herbivorous marsupial mammal ofthe family Macropodidae, from Australia, New Guinea, and nearby islands, havingsmall front limbs, powerful hind legs and long feet, which allow it to leapgreat distances, using its long tail for balance; an Australian representingthe nation in sport; in Britain, a parliamentary closure by which someamendments are selected for discussion and others excluded; also used incombinations, such as 'Kangaroo Court', a derogatory term for bad justice.
The word, Kangaroo, isderived from a Guugu Yimithirr word 'gangurru', which refers to grey kangaroos.The story about how the kangaroo got its English name isn't true; it's an urbanmyth. The story goes that "kangaroo" was an aboriginal word for"I don't understand you." and Captain Cook, exploring the area andcoming upon the animal, asked a local what it was called. The local said'gangurru ', and Cook is supposed to have wrongly assumed it was the name ofthe creature. In fact, the aboriginalreally was providing the name of the creature, as the linguist, John B.Haviland, has subsequently shown in his research with the Guugu Yimithirrpeople.
'No matter how theyconstructed the fences around the vast ranch, there was nothing they could doto exclude the kangaroos.'
'When it became publicknowledge that Gordon, a well-known eccentric, had been accused of molesting asmall child, the local macho men formed a kangaroo court and decided he must beguilty, so they set fire to his house whilst he was sleeping there.'
11 Nov 2011 - ArmisticeDay: at 11:11:11:11, in the UK, there will be two minute's silence to commemoratethe fallen of many conflicts. No doubt, some numerologist somewhere will makemore of this coincidence than it merits, and, in so doing, detract from themain purpose of the event.
For a reading of the evocative and moving 'In Flanders Field' go to  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15691951