Australian terms referring to left-handedness

9th Jul 2022.Reading time 15 minutes.

left-handed: ‘molly-handed’, ‘mauldy’, ‘molly-dooked’—a left-handed person: ‘molly-hander’, ‘mauldy’, ‘molly-dook’—‘molly’ and ‘mauldy’ may derive from ‘mauley’, denoting the hand or fist; ‘dook’ is ‘duke’, denoting the hand or fist

‘to sweat the small stuff’: meaning and origin

8th Jul 2022.Reading time 7 minutes.

USA, 1957, teenagers’ slang—to worry about trivial, insignificant matters—usually as ‘don’t sweat the small stuff’, said as reproof or consolation

notes on ‘backwards, the way Molly went to church’

7th Jul 2022.Reading time 4 minutes.

means ‘backwards’, also ‘reluctantly’—USA, 1865—of unknown origin—allegedly borrowed from Irish English, but nothing seems to support this allegation

‘a car crash in slow motion’: meaning and origin

6th Jul 2022.Reading time 6 minutes.

a chaotic or disastrous situation that holds a ghoulish fascination for observers—UK, 1980, as ‘like viewing a car crash in slow motion’—USA, 1991, used without ‘like’ by George Colony, president of Forrester Research

‘he must have killed a Chinaman’: meaning and origin

5th Jul 2022.Reading time 11 minutes.

Australia, 1885; New Zealand, 1894—indicates that a person is suffering from bad luck—the implication is that this bad luck is punishment for a crime committed by the person

‘Bugs Bunny’ (i.e., an eagle)

4th Jul 2022.Reading time 5 minutes.

Australia, 1954—derogatory nickname for the metal eagle at the top of the Australian-American Memorial in Canberra—alludes to the fact that, from a distance, the eagle’s upswept wings look like a rabbit’s ears

‘dinnyhayser’: meanings (and origin?)

2nd Jul 2022.Reading time 13 minutes.

Australia, 1878—a knockout blow; anything of exceptional size or force—allegedly alludes to a boxer called Dinny Hayes—but no evidence supports this allegation

‘not worth a crumpet’: meaning and early occurrences

1st Jul 2022.Reading time 7 minutes.

Australia, 1944—utterly worthless—one of the phrases built on the pattern ‘not worth a —’, such as ‘not worth a tinker’s curse’

‘panier de crabes’: meaning and origin

30th Jun 2022.Reading time 11 minutes.

1942—an arena of fierce or ruthless rivalry—borrowed from French: literally ‘basket of crabs’—the image is of crabs fighting, if not devouring one another, when kept in a basket

‘oojamaflip’: meanings (and origin?)

29th Jun 2022.Reading time 9 minutes.

UK—1969: a type of collapsible trolley designed for use in the home—1970: a thing whose name the speaker cannot remember, does not know, or does not wish to mention—perhaps from ‘oojah’, ‘-ma-’ in nouns such as ‘thingamabob’, and the verb ‘flip’