When writing fantasy we are always looking for ways to bring color, culture and a unique perspective to the world we create. Although we try to avoid clichés, we can often change or use colloquialisms to add flavor to our writing.
Down Under we have our own set of sayings that are common to our language. As we travel around we come across more colorful and inventive words and phrases to add to available material. It often happens that until my editor questions a certain turn of phrase, I don’t even realize it is an Australian colloquialism.
Anyhow, I was hoping during December to share some of our sayings. It would be great to end the year on a lighthearted topic. Please feel free to share your favorite sayings too. If you could mention where they originate from, that would be awesome. For this article I asked friends for help. Here is what I gathered. I wonder if they are only used here in Australia, or more widely. They seem like common English to me.
Dry as a dead dingo’s donger. (thirsty)
Flat out like a lizard drinking. (busy)
Going off like a frog in a sock. (upset)
Running around like a chook without its head. (disorganized)
Tight as a fish swimming backwards. (miserly)
A man on a galloping horse wouldn’t notice the difference. (it’ll do)
Not the brightest light in the harbor. (harbour in Australia) And in the UK – Ed.
Not the sharpest crayon in the pack. (stupid)
Two bob short of a quid. (stupid)
How’s that for a bunch of bananas? (good)
Same old, same old. (the usual)
Good and proper. Used in “You got me good and proper.” (you win)
It stinks like a koala’s arse. (bad smell)
It could kill a brown dog. (bad taste/smell)
Kick up a stink. (make a fuss)
It’s a dog’s breakfast. (mess)
On the blink. (broken)
As slow as a month of Sundays. Or, Slow as a wet week. (Time dragging)
Would blow a dog off a chain. (windy)
Don’t get your knickers in a knot. (calm down)
Be that as it may… (offering another point of view)
Makes no never mind. (doesn’t matter)
Don’t get off your bike, I’ll pick up the pump. (calm down)
Words can have two meanings even within the same country. For a simple example ‘scallops’ in NSW are potato coated in batter and deep fried. In Victoria, our neighbor state, scallops are a type of sea food while ‘potato cakes’ are potato coated in batter and deep fried. It makes it confusing when you order incorrectly.
And finally, in answer to Murphy’s Law, I heard of Sod’s Law, “Even if something can’t go wrong, it does go wrong.”
So, now it’s your turn. Do you have any local terms or sayings would you like to share?
