‘to put one’s cue in the rack’: meaning and origin
USA, late 19th century—to give up, to retire, also, occasionally, to die—from the image of a billiard-player putting the cue back in the rack when the game is over
Read MoreCategory: Australia & New Zealand
‘what do you think this is, bush week?’: meaning and origin
Australia, 1938—an indignant response to someone who is taking the speaker for a fool—alludes to the condescending way in which townspeople treated people from the country during bush week (i.e., a festival held in a town or city, celebrating bush produce, activities, etc.)
Read Moremeaning and origin of the political term ‘dog whistle’
the targeting of a potentially controversial message to specific voters while avoiding offending those voters with whom the message will not be popular—Canada, 1995—the image is that, like the sound made by a dog whistle, the message is only fully audible to those at whom it is directly aimed
Read More‘one man’s meat is another man’s poisson’: meanings and origin
humorous variant of ‘one man’s meat is another man’s poison’—Australia, 1872—used in particular of the opposition between flesh-eating and fish-eating in relation to the religious observance of fasting
Read More‘(as) cunning as a Māori dog’: meaning and origin
very cunning—New Zealand, 1908—‘Māori dog’: a dog of Polynesian origin; also any mongrel dog associated with Māori settlements or living in a wild state
Read Morea figurative use of ‘tiger’
characterises a person who has an insatiable appetite for something—especially in ‘tiger for work’ (Australia, 1857) and ‘tiger for punishment’ (New Zealand, 1911)
Read More‘to put sport back on the front pages’: meaning and origin
Australia, 1978—used of a desirable state of political stability—alludes to a remark made by Malcolm Fraser, Leader of the Liberal Party, during the campaign for the 1975 Australian federal election
Read More‘stone the crows’: meaning and origin
exclamation of surprise, regret or disgust—New Zealand and Australia, early 20th century—one of several similar phrases, such as ‘starve the rats’, expressing those feelings
Read More‘wahine toa’: meanings and origin
a brave Māori female warrior; by extension, any strong or brave woman—New Zealand—in Māori, 1873—in English, 1902—from ‘wahine’ (a Māori woman or wife) and ‘toa’ (a brave Māori male warrior)
Read More‘(as) full as a Bourke-Street tram’: meaning and origin
drunk—Australia, 1983—refers to Bourke Street, one of the main streets in the centre of Melbourne, Victoria—in Australian English, the adjective ‘full’ is used in various phrases referring to drunkenness
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