new chum

Examples

• 1906, Edward Dyson, In the Roaring Fifties, 2005, Gutenberg eBook #17045, ‘New chum?’ queried the barman, after serving him. ‘I suppose I am,’ replied Jim. ‘Look here, would you mind telling me what in the devil′s name a new chum is?' ‘A new chum is a man fresh from home.’ ‘From England?' ‘Scotland, Ireland, anywhere else, if he′s green and inexperienced. Miners from the Californian fields don′t rank as new chums.’ 'And how am I known as a new chum?’ The barman grinned. ‘That′ll tell on you all over the place,’ he said, indicating the bag. ‘That′s a true new chum′s bundle. No Australian would expatriate himself by carrying his goods in that fashion. He makes them up in a roll, straps them, and carries them in a sling on his back. His bundle is then a swag. The swag is the Australian′s national badge.’
• 1990, John Lane, Fairbridge Kid, Fremantle Arts Centre Press, page 114, Being a new chum at Fairbridge meant that I had to go through a lengthy period of initiation all over again.