bunyip

plural bunyips

1. AustraliabiologyA mythical Australian monster, said to inhabit swamps and lagoons.

   One particularly fierce bunyip described by Smith was well known as a man-eater throughout south Australia.

   2009, David D. Gilmore, Monsters: Evil Beings, Mythical Beasts, and All Manner of Imaginary Terrors, page 150

   2 more examples

   The bunyip here was considered to have a magical power over humans, causing them considerable misfortune. Places where there were many eels tended to be where bunyips lived, as this was their food. On one occasion, Aboriginal people claimed that a bunyip lured a woman to her death by distracting her with a large catch of eels. It was considered extremely bad luck to kill or injure a bunyip.

   2007, Janet Parker, Julie Stanton, editors, Mythology: Myths, Legends and Fantasies, page 387

   According to the stories, the Bunyip comes in many different shapes and sizes—some are covered in feathers, while others have scales like a crocodile. Most Aboriginal drawings show the Bunyip with a tail like a horse, and flippers and tusks like a walrus.

   2008, Oliver Ho, Mysteries Unwrapped: Mutants & Monsters, page 26

2. AustraliaobsoleteslangAn imposter or con-man.
3. abbreviationellipsisEllipsis of bunyip bird.

1. A town in the Shire of Cardinia, central eastern Victoria, Australia