Hughie Austral. and N.Z. slang.
(ˈhjuːɪ)
Also Huey.
[Diminutive of the name Hugh: see -ie, -y6.]
The ‘god’ of weather, especially in phr. send her down, Hughie!
| 1937 Partridge Dict. Slang 209/1 New Zealanders and Australians say send her down, Hughie! 1958 Tararua XII. 27 The derisive phrases, ‘Send it down, Hughie’ and ‘Let it come down, Hughie’, go back to early in this century and are variants of the British military catch-phrase ‘Send it down, David’... St. Hugh has long been associated with rain. 1962 Austral. Women's Wkly. Suppl. 24 Oct. 3/2 Come on, Huey, send the waves up. 1967 J. Cleary Long Pursuit vii. 151 ‘Good on you, Hughie,’ he said gratefully and with true religion... Hughie was the Australian working man's vernacular for the Lord. 1971 N.Z. Listener 19 Apr. 57/1 Well, that night Hughie sent it down, a nor' wester followed by a southerly buster. |