“What’s cool? What’s daggy? Who decides?”

Dag (a person) and daggy (an adjective) are hard-to-define examples of Australian slang, and they can mean slightly different things to different people.

Originally described in a 1731 source as a “clot of dirty wool about the rear end of a sheep”, the word "dag" is now more commonly used in colloquial Australian English to refer to someone unfashionable, often eccentric, with an idiosyncratic style or demeanour … together with a lack of self-consciousness.

This use of the term "dag", back then meaning a "tough but amusing person" was first recorded in the Anzac Songbook in 1916, but has only been popular, with quite a different colloquial meaning, since the 1970s.

In Australia, "dag" is often used as an insult … sometimes derogatory, yet sometimes affectionate. That’s where it gets a bit tricky, and it’s often the context or tone of the admonishment that is revealing.

A quirky and yet likeable person who doesn't take themselves too seriously might be called “a bit of a dag", and that would be non-pejorative. On the flipside, calling someone “daggy” behind their back would more often than not be interpreted negatively.

Unlike the term “bogan”, the word dag has no necessary ties with social class or educational background. And dag is also differentiated from terms like "dork", "nerd" or "geek" – those labels being more associated with an elevated interest in specific pursuits and/or a fascination with technology.

Dags are considered amusing just by being themselves, and attract feelings of either embarrassment or endearment from others.

In our opinion a very good example of a dag is The Simpsons character Ned Flanders. Flanders, the good-natured, cheery next-door neighbour to the Simpson family is generally loathed by Homer Simpson, although there are numerous instances where the two are portrayed as good friends. Flanders is armed with consistently daggy turns of phrase, e.g “Okiley Dokily”. If you’ve ever watched The Simpsons, you’ll know what we mean. He’s a dag.

Other examples of dagginess:

Socks and sandals [Ed: classically daggy]
Leaving a sign on a pot plant that reads: “Please water me. I’m thirsty.”
The Google Glass headset was never quite able to shake off the dag factor
Dad jokes are generally daggy
Gas fires that are pretending to be log fires
Kath Day and Kel Knight at the mall in matching Coogi jumpers is daggy
Old tracksuit pants that are bagging at the knee and the bum

NB: Please help us add to this list before we go to print. Post suggestions below!

Postscript
Exceptions maketh the rule. As argued in the Anatomy of Cool [RR#2: 3] – a sufficiently cool person is able to alchemically strip daggy behaviour of its dagginess, e.g. before Bob D’Angelo started wearing them, the woven elasticised belt with faux heraldic clasp represented the height of dagginess.

Story Idea: Yvonne Frindle
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References

wikipedia.org/wiki/Dag_(slang)
https://www.etymonline.com/word/dag
merriam-webster.com/wordplay/7-bonzer-australian-words
slll.cass.anu.edu.au/centres/andc/meanings-origins/d
quora.com/What-is-the-meaning-of-wog-and-dag-in-Australian-slang
reddit.com/r/AussieCasual/comments/12jnhug/what_does_a_dag_mean
wikipedia.org/wiki/Ned_Flanders
wired.com/2013/05/inherent-dorkiness-of-google-glass/

Images

1. Socks and sandals, an archetypal dagginess indicator
2. Dangling "dag" on a sheep's bum
3. Bob D'Angelo's belt, black and elasticised. Doodle by Remo, 2008
4. Kath with Kel in Kath & Kim, Season 2, Episode 4, 2003
5. The tuxedo apron is classically daggy.
6. Ned Flanders, character from The Simpsons,1989 to present
7. Kath and Kel in matching Coogi
8. Google Glassholes, WIRED "Guys like this could kill Google Glass before it even gets off the ground" 2 May 2013
9. Pocket protector: daggy or just nerdy?
10. Anatomy of Cool, 2008