dinkum

American  

[ding-kuhm] / ˈdɪŋ kəm /

Also fair dinkum

adjective

Australian.

1. genuine; authentic.

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dinkum British  

/ ˈdɪŋkəm /

adjective

1. genuine or right

   a dinkum bloke

2. genuine or true: used to emphasize the truth of something or in asking for the truth of something to be confirmed

   Back to the states? Fair dinkum?

3. archaic the truth

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Etymology

Origin of dinkum

First recorded in 1890–95; origin uncertain, possibly from Lincolnshire dialect dincum, dinkum “work, hard work,” extended to mean “doing one's fair share of work”

Example Sentences

Stephen Roche, who filmed the video, described the incident as a "fair dinkum stampede" and can be heard warning the animals to "not stand on my golf ball".

From BBC • Mar. 7, 2024

"I think that is very wrong and unfair and really sad. We're not racist people here, we're fair dinkum Australians. Everyone is equal."

From BBC • Oct. 12, 2023

“Scare dinkum – Aussies caught by the ghoulies at ‘haunted’ hotel,” squealed a predictably-restrained back-page headline in the Sun after the 2005 incident.

From The Guardian • Jul. 21, 2014

Fair dinkum to you chaps, it's the only chance you've had to use that combination of words all winter.

From The Guardian • Jan. 9, 2011

The other type of guide hailed from somewhere at the back of the bazaars; he was loudly importunate, proclaimed himself as named Macpherson, Abdullah, or Johnson, and stated that he was "dinkum."

From The 28th: A Record of War Service in the Australian Imperial Force, 1915-19, Vol. I Egypt, Gallipoli, Lemnos Island, Sinai Peninsula by Collett, Herbert Brayley