Luxing a ‘new’ word, but we’ve been doing it for 100 years

When language hits the headlines, I get as elated as Winston Peters whenever he finds himself in front of a mirror.

Last week it was news that the Oxford English Dictionary had included "luxing" among the New Zealandisms in its latest batch of new words.

We know the dictionary is cautious about approving new words but what took them so long with "luxing"?

It’s 28 years since the doyen of New Zealand English and lover of slang, Harry Orsman, compiled the Oxford Dictionary of New Zealand English, but maybe the boffins in Oxford have never read it.

"Luxing" is there and, as usual, Harry’s team provided the story of the word.

As always with dictionary makers, they sought evidence of the word in print and slang is by its nature, often spoken for decades without appearing in any publication. You’ll know that "lux" and "luxing" in relation to housekeeping come from the vacuum cleaner brand Electrolux which made its sensational New Zealand debut exactly 100 years ago.

Even before its official launch, Christchurch entrepreneur Lancelot Shutte, booked into the City Hotel and invited potential Dunedin buyers of an Electrolux to get in touch for "a free demonstration at your home".

The novelty about the Electrolux was its small size compared to existing models and the sliders which made it easy to pull around.

Dunedin was primed, and in July came the half-page ads announcing, "Now, Electrolux — ‘The New Cleanness’ — is coming to the South". An outlet was established in Rattray St, and a thousand machines were being sold in New Zealand each month at a price of about $2000 in today’s money.

A demonstration booth was erected at the Dunedin Exhibition and at the Electrolux store a "ladies’ lounge" provided telephone, writing table and materials, and "a beautiful gramophone for use when wanted".

Of course, the vacuum cleaner was shown off and an "advertorial" reported, "Those ladies who took advantage of the invitation to inspect and have tea were well rewarded and came away enthusiastic about the merits of the new labour-saving electric cleaner".

All this hoo-ha no doubt boosted sales but in the long-term Electrolux struck real gold when vacuum cleaning started to be called "luxing" and having your brand used as a generic term for what your product does outperforms even the most expensive publicity campaign.

What’s extra special about "luxing" is that it’s seen as a South Island, particularly Southland, word, leaving North Islanders to get on with their "hoovering".

Harry Orsman traces "luxing"’ back to 1980 when "lux the venetians" appeared in Roger Hall’s play Prisoners of Mother England which was written in 1977-78 when Hall was a Burns Fellow at the University of Otago.

Roger Hall’s perceptive ear had picked southern words which had been around for years. As a kid in the 1950s I constantly heard the domestic staff yelling, "get your muddy feet out of there I’ve just luxed the floor!"

So, at least 70 years late, the Oxford English Dictionary have caught up with some great Kiwi slang and also reminded us of the way we often turn brand names into mainstream English.

"Luxing" grew out of the habit of seeking easy phrases for long ones and "luxing" beats "vacuum cleaning" every time.

That manufacturers would like their brand to become so well-known it gets used to describe what it does, has led to attempts to manufacture such "spontaneous" linguistic change. During the war, when nylons were hard to get, unless you were very friendly with an American serviceman, Lever Brothers, the soap powder giants, launched a campaign to persuade women that their scarce and delicate nylons would last longer and be protected from laddering if they used Lux soap powder.

To this end they ran comic strip-style ads in which one glamorous young girl about town almost shrieks at her glum-faced friend, "for heaven’s sake, Polly! Haven’t you heard of nightly Luxing?"

The kind friend explains to Polly, "never let perspiration set in stockings every night".

"Lux them after every wearing to make them last."

Reads a bit like shonky science mixed with the courage in using "perspiration" when everyone knew that women did not perspire. They "glowed", I was always told.

Polly gets the message, decides to "Lux" her stockings every night and is no doubt soon able to discard the American boyfriend. Mind you, if Polly had been from Southland, she might well have replied (and the pun is unavoidable) "Lux my stockings? That’s crazy".

"They’d block up the hose!"

— Jim Sullivan is a Patearoa writer.