The Rev. F. A.
Hagenauer gives <i>Yappy</i>, in `Curr's Australian Race,'
vol. iii. p. 554, as a Gippsland word. Such variants as
the following occur--<i>Yappitch, kapich</i>, <i>yabbechi,
yaabity</i>. The distinction between the thin and thick
consonants is usually uncertain.

1894. `The Argus,' Oct. 6, p. 11, col. 2:

"In the case of small crayfish, called `yabbies,' . . . these
may be found all over Australia, both in large and small
lagoons. These creatures, whilst nearing a drought, and as the
supply of water is about to fail, burrow deeply in the beds of
the lagoons, water-holes, or swamps, piling up the excavations
on the surface over their holes, which I take, amongst other
reasons, to be a provision against excessive heat."

1897. `The Australasian,' Jan. 30, p. 224, col. 4:

"The bait used is `yabby,' a small crayfish found in the sand
on the beach at low tide. The getting of the bait itself is
very diverting. The yabbies are most prized by fish and
fishermen, and the most difficult to obtain. The game is very
shy, and the hunter, when he has found the burrow, has to dig
rapidly to overtake it, for the yabby retires with marvellous
rapidity, and often half a dozen lifts of wet sand have to be
made before he is captured. There is no time to be lost. In
quite twenty-five per cent. of the chases the yabbies get away
through flooding and collapse of the hole."

<hw>Yakka</hw>, v. frequently used in Queensland bush-towns.
"You yacka wood? Mine, give 'im tixpence;"--a sentence often
uttered by housewives. It is given by the Rev. W. Ridley, in
his `Kamilaroi, and other Australian Languages,' p. 86, as the
Turrubul (Brisbane) term for <i>work</i>, probably cognate with
<i>yugari, make</i>, same dialect, and <i>yengga, make</i>,
Kabi dialect, Queensland. It is used primarily for <i>doing
work of any kind</i>, and only by English modification (due to
"hack") for <i>cut</i>. The spelling <i>yacker</i> is to be
avoided, as the final <i>r</i> is not heard in the native
pronunciation.

<hw>Yam</hw>, <i>n</i>. a West Australian tuber, <i>Dioscorea
hastifolia</i>, Ness., <i>N.O. Dioscorideae</i>. "One of the
hardiest of the Yams. The tubers are largely consumed by the
local aborigines for food; it is the only plant on which they
bestow any kind of cultivation." (Mueller, <i>apud</i> Maiden,
p. 22.)

<hw>Yam, Long</hw>, <i>n</i>. a tuber, <i>Discorea
transversa</i>, R. Br., <i>N.O. Dioscorideae</i