Word: wallah
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1940-1949
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
India's festering sun beat down impartially on New and Old Delhi-on the precisely geometric, grandly drab preserves of the British Raj, on the noisy, squalid, sprawling native town. A sweat-soaked British wallah might change his shirt four times before settling down to an evening burra peg of bad Australian whiskey in the garden of the Cecil Hotel. Even the calloused, naked feet of shirtless Indians burned as they padded along the teeming Chandni Chauk. In the brassy glare, the flowering trees near the Viceroy's residence seemed to bear sparks rather than blossoms. The rind...
...Pukka Gen Wallah Reports...
...have some 'gen,' " meaning I have something that is genuine. But it has been messed around quite a bit, with the result that today it has many meanings and many applications. To "gen up" means to study. A fellow who purveys "gen" is known as a "gen wallah." If he dishes out good "gen," he is a "pukka gen wallah." If he dishes out bad "gen," then he is a "duff gen wallah...
...their meal one remarked, with his hand on his djambia, 'By God, these deserve to be killed.' I told him that they were prisoners of war and had gone to fight by order of their chiefs, who were responsible for all the trouble. Another gentleman exclaimed, 'Wallah! Hitrar alone is responsible for this rabshah [trouble].' While I was continuing my lecture a man said, 'Make sure that these prisoners do not run away at night.' (Please see that this is done...
...warship Admiral Graffs Bey ought to have fought till the end. If one of us is attacked he must fight till he is killed. It is disgraceful to run away or to kill oneself. Graffs Bey is a coward. Wallah! How do warships fight? Do they knock down one another or simply jump over one another...