Green’s Dictionary of Slang

nan nan n.

[? nancy n. (1)]
(Aus.)

1. a straw hat; also attrib., straw-hat wearing.

1899
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1941
[Aus]H. Lawson ‘If I could paint’ in Roderick (1972) II 39: A boarding-house keeper, with two or three [...] straw-hatted, cigarette-smoking sons [...] I’d like to paint her and the children – and the ‘nan-nan’ sons.
[Aus]Stephens & O’Brien Materials for a Dict. of Aus. Sl. [unpub. ms.] 104: Nan-nan A straw hat for men’s wear: by transference, to the gangs of youths who affect these hats [...] They are well known in Sydney as the ‘Nan-nan or Straw-hat’ push.
[Aus]Sydney Sportsman (Surry Hills, NSW) 23 Nov. 3/4: [cartoon caption] The Bloke with the Nan-Nan.
[Aus]Sport (Adelaide) 26 June 3/7: A Johnnie in a nan-nan hat / Then raised a goatish laugh .
[Aus]Baker Popular Dict. Aus. Sl.

2. a dandy, also attrib.

1899
189919001901190219031904
1905
W.T. Goodge Hits! Skits! and Jingles! 39: Two little dudes of the nan-nan style / Bent on captivation.
Sydney Sportsman (Surrey Hills, NSW) 9 Aug. 5/3: The nan-nan heroes from John Bull’s Land are inclined to be equally contemptuous, and talk through their neck as absurdly as the Yanks through their nasal organ.