For the benefit of forumites bewildered by this suggestion,
umpie/
umpy is an Australian colloquialism for
umpire. It's mainly used in connection with Australian Rules football, though I have seen it used in relation to both cricket and baseball (in Australia).
Umpy and
umpies were
added to the list in 2007 following a suggestion. At the time I found that
umpy seemed a more frequent spelling than
umpie, though both are used. From what I can see this is still true. Searching on the
Age newspaper site and the Big Footy forum both show the
umpy spelling is in the majority. Nevertheless,
umpie is an alternate spelling recognized by various dictionaries, so it probably should be accepted. And hence
umpies should in future be disallowed in normal puzzles. I'll make these changes.
I can't leave the subject without commenting on yelnats's use of the term
white maggots, another colloquialism for umpire, but rather dated, since the AFL umpires have not worn white for many years. But regardless of the colour, the AFL has recently been cracking down on the use of harsh language by crowd members, having "Behavioural Awareness Officers" patrol the stands, threatening to evict fans who abuse players or umpires. Former player Campbell Brown was one of many who objected: "Is calling an umpire a bald-headed flog, or green maggot crossing the line? Absolutely not."
