Australia

Aussie Slang

AI generated with Copilot | Credit phb The Author of this post is Kel Richards, known in OZ as the Wordsmith. What are Swifties? Generation Z? Generation 0.00? OZWORD OF THE DAY: Swifties As a Baby Boomer all I know about Taylor Swift is what I read in the newspapers. To the best of my knowledge, I have never heard a Taylor Swift song—although I suppose as I walk though Coles that background music they pipe in might contain a bit of Taylor Swift (not that I would have recognised it).  So, all I know is that her ‘Eras’ tour attracted millions of people and made billions of dollars (well, a lot anyway) and that she is the leading pop star of this era (the Elvis and Beatles of today).  Taylor Swift is, it appears, a songwriter as well as a singer and performer. And it’s her songwriting that might be interesting. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary people tell me that there are words being looked up by young people just because they appear in Taylor Swift song lyrics.  And the words she is introducing the kids to are slightly out-of-the-way words that would baffle the average 13 or 14-year-old. Here is a sample (you’ll know all these, but look at them from the kids’ point of view):  Clandestine— “And that’s the thing about illicit affairs / And clandestine meetings and longing stares”; meaning done…

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Clam

The English Language WorldwideAuthor Kel Richards, Aussie Wordsmith Pls note: The Author of this Blog Post is Kel Richards, not me! Ocean Shores South Pacific | Credit phb OZWORD OF THE DAY: "Happy as a clam" A reader writes to ask about an expression that an American friend of his keeps using: ‘happy as a clam.’ The puzzle, says my reader, is: why are clams happy? Can we even be sure they are happy? And why did anyone decide that clams are happy creatures?  The expression is American and seems to date from around 1834. It’s one of a group of these ‘happy as…’ expressions. The Oxford cites the examples of: ‘happy as a king’, ‘as a lark’, ‘as a prince’ and ‘as a pig in mud.’ Each of which seems to have some sort of logic to it—kings and princes are often rich and powerful (so, perhaps, happy); ‘larks’ sing as if they are happy; and when a pig rolls in mud it looks like it is in ecstasy. But with the little clam this logic doesn’t apply.  One suggestion is that the full expression is ‘happy as a clam at high tide’ or ‘…at high water.’ Michael Quinion suggests this is because people walk along beaches, with their little spade and bucket, digging up clams at low tide, or low water, hence when the tide is high the clam should feel safe…

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Dubbo

A town not too close to home that we have now visited the first time in our life, though camping in Australia since 1998.Why (not)? Dubbo is a small country town in the West of New South Wales, Australia. Some people know this town only by passing between Melbourne or Adelaide visiting their families at Christmas during the longer Xmas vacations: A typical Stop Over Country Town. Why (not) live in Dubbo? We were interested to find about the past and visited the Old Dubbo Goal (jail), where about 150 executions are nicely documented between 1865 and 1930. Interesting, indeed … The colonial past of Australia. Another highlight is the unique open plan Zoo in Dubbo. And last not least the Flying Doctors Service life and in Action on large screen. Now you know, why a stop over on the roads to Melbourne or Brisbane is a great idea. Where to stay? There are huts on the camp sites there, we used the G‘Day Parks. With our best wishes and more on our Blogs With our kind wishes from the Gold Coast Peter Hanns with Maria Ines Linked Updated Fri 24 Jan 2025. Follow us on our Annual Loops from the Gold Coast into our Hinterland and back home mid Jan, leaving mostly Boxing Day since 2013. Our annual Loops Linked Once in Dubbo, you have many further options to explore…

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Tart

I copied this on the last day of the year 2024 from the Newsletter Kel sends out: What is Aussie Language? Just subscribe to learn about Aussie Slang and Aussies plus their sense of Humor. Which is not British, and far from German, which is mostly dry like Loriot. Language and the Gap. Cultures and the Gaps, id est Plural! Not to become political on this hot day in Dubbo NSW. OZWORD OF THE DAY: "Neenish tart" Australia has a number of sweet, baked treats. To the best of my knowledge the classic ‘Ice Vo Vo’ is ours. (As a friend of mine remarked: ‘Is it always plural? Or is it possible to have an Iced Vo?’)  In Adelaide you can find a try a frog cake– a small cake shaped like a frog with an open mouth and covered in icing (usually green, although pink and chocolate are also available), invented by Balfours bakery of Adelaide in 1922.  Or, perhaps, you’d like a sinker a solid fruit square, with flaky pastry on the top and bottom and topped with pink icing. Or, perhaps, a German cake – a yeast cake with a crumble topping sometimes with fruit (either apple or apricot) under the crumble.  But then there’s the classic ‘neenish tart’—the great Australian baked treat.  A neenish tart is a small pastry case filled with mock cream and iced in two colours – white and…

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Ein Bett im Kornfeld

Sie sind ja schon im Grünen schön, aber vor dem Gold dieses Kornfeldes entfalten sie ihre wahre Pracht. Ab und an macht es das Zusammenspiel aus, wie… Ein Bett im Kornfeld Because Music is the Language … More here soon. Winter at the Gold Coast and 23 Degrees Celsius. | Credit phb

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Sandbar in Burleigh QLD OZ

This is Sandbar in Burleigh Queensland Australia, THE PLACE TO BE ... / still under construction! Sandbar, Burleigh from Morris Property Group on Vimeo. The Building is still under construction, but will be finished in 2023! More to come soon, pls bookmark if you wish more information! Kindly yours from Burleigh QLD Peter and wife Maria Ines Morris Property Group And here the Sandbar at the Gold Coast LINKED

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