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1. Were/are all confirmed bachelors gay?
2. NZ bach is said to be North Island only.
In the south they say crib. [Max Richards]
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I've heard it said (not reliably necessarily) that in NZ 'crib' is used in
the North and far South (Dunedin? I don't know) while 'bach' is used in the
middle (wherever that might be).
Either way 'crib' (= cabin, shack or whatever) isn't a specifically NZ usage
but is actually quite widespread. In the US a 'crib' can also mean a unit,
small room or enclosure used by a prostitute. So if the Lion had sung about
'Madame Johnny crib' I would have interpreted it thus. But he didn't. And
'bachee' still strikes me as weird, with or without any sexual connotations.
As to *The Times* and 'confirmed bachelors', the notion was that if someone
was described as 'unmarried' or as 'single' when he died then he was
straight, but to refer him as a 'confirmed bachelor' was a bit like saying
that he liked to wear a green carnation: one of those nudging terms at which
the language excels.
CW
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