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This is a group of nicknames, widely used in the British press in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, for which there is no formal name.
Gazza Probably the best known of these eponyms and the one that, in Britain at least, gave rise to the others was "Gazza" (c.1990) for the England international footballer, Paul Gascoigne (b.1967). Gascoigne claims this name was handed down by his father, who was originally known as "Gassa", but changed the name when his football coach pronounced it with a marked "zz" sound . However, "Gazza" itself was not an original form and was quite possibly derived from "Bazza", a popular nickname in Australia. In 1998 the controversy over Gascoigne's omission from the England squad for the World Cup finals in France was dubbed "Gazzagate" (in imitation of the Watergate scandal of the 1970s). Gascoigne's autobiography (2006) was entitled Being Gazza: My Road to Hell and Back. The Australian connection Although British works of reference tend not to make the link, its seems likely that the progenitor of "Gazza" was "Bazza", the nickname of both the Australian actor and writer Barry Humphries (b.1934) and his creation, Barry McKenzie. McKenzie first appeared in Britain in 1968 in a fortnightly strip cartoon in the satirical magazine Private Eye and was brought to life by Barry Crocker in the 1972 film, The Adventures of Barry McKenzie. Similar forms (including "Gazza" or "Gaz" for men named Gary) were widespread in Australia, where, as the Oxford lexicographer Susie Dent noted in The Language Report (2003), boundaries between formal and informal usage are often more fluid than elsewhere. By contrast, in Britain the "-zza" and similar forms tended to be associated with various politicians or celebrities whose activities were widely reported in the press, especially those with extrovert, troubled or, in the case particularly of women, feisty, personalities. Thus, "Bazza" (as well as the abbreviated "Baz") was applied in Australia to just about anyone with the first name "Barry". Prominent examples included Labor politician Barry Jones (b.1932), Australian rules footballer Barry Hall (b.1977) and British motor-cyclist Barry Sheene (1950-2003). "Gazzas" included Australian rules players, Gary Ablett (b.1961) and Garry Lyon (b.1967). British men In imitation of "Gazza", the British Conservative Cabinet Minister Michael Heseltine (b.1933), who was Deputy Prime Minister 1995-7, became widely known as "Hezza". It is possible that this form was suggested in part by Heseltine's other nickname, "Tarzan" (which also contains the letters "za"). John Prescott (b.1938), who was Heseltine's Labour successor as Deputy Prime Minister from 1997, was frequently dubbed "Prezza". Following a public spat between Heseltine and Prescott in 2006 ("Prezza vs Hezza" ), British Prime Minister Tony Blair remarked in the House of Commons, "I prefer Prezza to Hezza" . Other prominent male examples of the "-zza" in Britain were: During the 2006 football World Cup, Private Eye referred to Gary Lineker (b.1960), TV presenter and former England footballer, as "Gazza" ("Gazza grinningly signed off ..." ). British women Recurring female "-zzas" included: The Russian tennis champion Maria Sharapova (b.1987), who won the women's singles at Wimbledon in 2004, was sometimes referred to in the British press as "Shazza" (especially in terms of her being a "starlet"). Some popular newspapers adopted "Chazza" when reporting the private life of the Welsh singer, Charlotte Church (b.1986), and "Gazza" with reference to Welsh international rugby player, Gavin Henson (b.1982), with whom Church was (and still is) linked romantically. Similar forms Notes | ||||||||
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