Come in, Spinner!

[Alan W]

The phrase "come in, spinner!" meaning "Ha! tricked you!" has been used by Viz a couple of times, to the consternation of non-Australian readers.

It seems this usage of the phrase is yet to be covered by any of the Australian dictionaries, even though it's quite widely used. Lexicographer James Lambert has recently written a note about it on a Web page, http://www.anu.edu.au/andc/res/aus_words/lambert/lambert_more.php, but he was only able to find one written example.

The same phrase is used in the gambling game two-up, played with coins, where it means that all the bets have been placed and the coins can be tossed. But it's not totally obvious why this should have come to mean "You've been duped". My own hypothesis is that there might have been an influence from fishing. Another way of expressing the same idea is to mime an angler reeling in a line, and a spinner is a type of fishing lure, so maybe people felt the phrase come in, spinner suggested reeling in a fish that's been fooled by a lure.

In any case, it's a good phrase, and quite apt sometimes on the forum.

[ilandrah]

I daresay that the fishing influence would not be needed, though the theory is sound.
Two-up is a rowdy game with all gathered in a circle shouting bets and jeers at one another. A newbie to the game can be quite daunted and miss the chance for a bet as other players call the spinner in. Someone may even talk you into making a bet that will pay less if you win and summons the spinner before you are able to alter your bet.
It's good to see posters interested in Aussie slang, it is rapidly becoming something of a lost language. Youngsters these days seem bent on imitating American slang, a trend that irritates me beyond belief.

[biggerbirdbrain]

That's pretty interesting about how the US culture has caught on with kids around the world. Being from here, it's nothing new, of course.

I find the Aussie (and Brit) slang much more colorful and love hearing it spoken. BBC-America is one of my favorite channels. 

[ilandrah]

I agree threeb, I hope you don't mind my also adapting your nick as everyone else seems to have.
Aussie and British slang are much more interesting, I blame the proliferation of American television, not to mention music and even restaurants here in Australia.
Whilst I love the world wide interaction that is the internet it also plays a large part in influencing slang around the world.
I am all for melting pots and a world society, but it comes at the cost of individual cultures I think.
But perhas that is a topic for another thread.