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"Bum steer", a term denoting misdirection, is predominantly from Australia, New Zealand and North America. The idiom means to provide information, intentionally or unintentionally, that is incorrect, was unhelpful, or caused one to be led astray. The idiom, as used in Australia and New Zealand, reached the United States in the 1920s probably after exposure to Australian troops on the Western Front during 
Its origin is possibly from 19th-century American maritime humour and the difficulty of trying to steer a vessel in reverse. A ship's stern is flat and lacks the pointed structure of a bow, and a ship is therefore difficult to maneuver in reverse when using the
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, and is recorded in the UK since 1944.
Its origin is possibly from 19th-century American maritime humour and the difficulty of trying to steer a vessel in reverse. A ship's stern is flat and lacks the pointed structure of a bow, and a ship is therefore difficult to maneuver in reverse when using the rudder
A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally air or water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adve ...
, also found on the stern.p.73, Day The reverse maneuvering was accomplished therefore through shouted instructions from the wharf to the wheelhouse, via intermediary deckhands. Such communication was prone to misunderstanding owing to the wide variety of nationalities employed on United States merchant vessels during the 19th century.
Citations and notes
References
* Smith, Chrysti M., ''Verbivore's Feast: A Banquet of Word & Phrase Origins'', Farcountry Press, 2003 * Kirkpatrick, E. M., Schwarz, C. M., ''The Wordsworth Dictionary of Idioms'', Wordsworth Editions, 1993 * Fergusson, Rosalind, Partridge, Eric, Beale, Paul, ''Shorter Slang Dictionary: From the Work of Eric Partridge and Paul Beale'', Routledge, 1994 * Kitching, G. N., ''Wittgenstein and Society: Essays in Conceptual Puzzlement'', Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2003 * Urdang, Laurence, ''The Oxford Thesaurus: An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms'', Clarendon Press, 1991 * Barnhart, Robert K., Steinmetz, Sol, ''The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology'', H.W. Wilson Co., 1988 * Day, Thomas Fleming, ''Rudder'', Fawcett Publications, 1958 * The Chambers Dictionary, Edinburgh, Allied Publishers, 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bum steer Australian English English-language idioms Information