@Nancy Hart. There is quite a correlation between English and Australian slang. Words like booze, bugger all and bloke are derived from England. Some rhyming slang as well. Idioms such as Stone the Crows was used by my grandfather. It came from old England some say as far back as Anglo/Saxon times. Sayings such as " a few roos loose in the top paddock" is an all Australian colloquialism.
I watched some Ricky Gervais standup comedy recently and heard a couple of new ones, but I'm not sure they are proper for mixed company.
I learned a new one today! "Numptie." I was reading about Meghan Markle declaring that she's a woman of color when she arrived in Africa today, and the comments on the article were also colorful. And may I say, "lol..." Prince Harry and the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, make a long haul flight to Africa on Monday to spread their climate advocacy. Baby Archie will join them on the visit along with 13 assistants, including a “social media officer” and a hairdresser. Wouldn't want to leave the social media officer or the hairdresser behind when making a statement about climate advocacy and reducing the carbon footprint.
I always wonder why in the UK, they use the terms going to hospital or to university, rather than the American going to the hospital or the university. Did they drop the the word or did we just add it?
It's generic...if you say going to THE hospital everyone wants to know which one... so just saying hospital or University covers it all...if anyone has an interest in the details they'll ask...
That's an Australian phrase.... I always thought of it meaning something along the lines of something being ''fair'' or genuine''..I could be wrong, I'm sure @Craig Swanson or Kate Ellery will let us know..
@Holly Saunders nailed it.. fair, genuine, truthful, on the money, fair and square.. Wanna here some more Aussie colloquialisms?
For you @Shirley Martin. "fair crack of the whip" means to give someone a break. "nice bloke but he fell out of the ugly tree" an unattractive person. "fair suck of the sav" or "fair suck of the sauce bottle" means showing disbelief. "fitter than a Mallee Bull" means in excellent health. "stone the crows" reaction to a sudden happening. It has a literal meaning. The farmers used to throws stones at the crows when they were pestering sheep and their new born lambs. "gone walkabout" means lost, unfound. "Kangaroo loose in the top paddock" means dumb, "a screw loose" is another. All of these phrases originated in the Australian outback.
Do remember a phase from my teens 50/60s Mate has got a new girl friend. You tell him she is a bit rough. His reply. You don't look at the mantel piece when you are poking the fire