… in the U.S. media, my friend Andrew Feinberg points out, as witness this use of the word in today’s Wall Street Journal:
Ben Yagoda’s Books
What I’m Reading, What I’ve Read
'Ginger,' 'Bits,' 'Whinge,' and other U.K. expressions that have got popular in the U.S.
Wonderful.
Next week Arthur Daley moves to New York.
No problem! In Canada we know “dodgy” as a word used to describe actions of our government. For an example of dodgy behaviour try Julian Fantino.
And in reading of Mr. Fantino’s troubles on the CBC website, I came across the following: “Auditor general Michael Ferguson tore a strip off the government for making soldiers with post-traumatic stress wait up to eight months to find out if they’re eligible for treatment.” Thanks, gilda – I’ve lived near Canada all my life, but that’s my first encounter with that vivid expression.
I saw a TV interview of US military commanders during the 2nd Gulf war. They were asked whether they had a any difficulty with Brit slang ( possibly a reference to “sticky” in the Korean War which was misunderstood by a US commander who didn’t appreciate the understatement..it is said!….and so no support was sent to a British battalion which was almost eliminated.)
One of the Americans said No.. Then corrected himself and said there was a new word though which he really liked!…”Dodgy”
On that basis alone and not even bothering to look further I would say this has to be a NOOB
There was/is a Britpop band called Dodgy, but they don’t seem to have troubled the US market much.
Their biggest hit had the chorus:
‘If it’s good enough for you,
It’s good enough for me.’
Which is a good definition of a NOOB.
It’s a Dodgy connection! 🙂 (I’ll get my coat…)