Aussie Life

Aussie life

5 April 2025 9:00 am

It’s hard to imagine climate fanatics smashing roof-loads of solar panels, gluing themselves to wind turbines or scrawling offensive semi-literate…

Language

5 April 2025 9:00 am

Are you a ‘pejorist’? I wouldn’t blame you if you were. I am currently reading Melanie Phillips’ brilliant book The…

Aussie life

29 March 2025 9:00 am

A sad legacy of Dark Emu, or rather of the embarrassing embrace of its ludicrous central thesis by our education…

Language

29 March 2025 9:00 am

It’s easy to picture the situation: a politician who has been an outspoken supporter of China (insisting their government is…

Aussie life

22 March 2025 9:00 am

In a world of pointless questions like ‘Are tariffs good for me?’ and ‘Why does Kevin Rudd have a beard?’,…

Language

22 March 2025 9:00 am

I am frequently asked about the expressions ‘First Nations’ / ‘First Peoples’. And Speccie reader Kay has raised it again,…

Aussie life

15 March 2025 9:00 am

When Kermit the Frog told us in 1971 that it’s not easy being green it was meant as a plea…

Language

15 March 2025 9:00 am

Speccie reader Joseph has written to ask: What is ‘identity politics’? First, the history. The term ‘identity politics’ is recorded…

Aussie life

8 March 2025 9:00 am

Following the BLM protests in the US, which were seized on by the Aussie media and in schools, Disney declared…

Language

8 March 2025 9:00 am

A Speccie reader, Lillian, has sent me this information about a brand-new word – governmentium. ‘Scientific research has led to…

Aussie life

1 March 2025 9:00 am

Older Speccie readers would have smiled at the vinyl revival. And some would have laughed out loud at the reappearance…

Language

1 March 2025 9:00 am

When the Seven News Network asked me to explain the story behind the Aussie expression ‘no worries’ I did some…

Aussie life

22 February 2025 9:00 am

If you’ve ever suspected that left-wing crusaders are whingers with a chip on their shoulder and a negative outlook on…

Language

22 February 2025 9:00 am

‘Palindrome’ has been part of the English language since 1636 and means (as you know) a word or phrase that…

Aussie life

15 February 2025 9:00 am

In the UK, where I have just spent a few weeks, Christmas officially starts when you can’t enter a supermarket…

Language

15 February 2025 9:00 am

As Joe Biden rushed (sorry, stumbled) out of the doors of the White House, he flung around things called ‘pre-emptive…

Aussie life

8 February 2025 9:00 am

Harpy. Shrew. Harridan. Virago. Vixen. Hellcat. Scold. Fishwife. Fury. The English language has no shortage of words for belligerent and…

Language

8 February 2025 9:00 am

We are still at the beginning of 2025, but Brendan O’Neill has already named his ‘most irritating phrase of the…

Aussie life

1 February 2025 9:00 am

Like many public-facing organisations trying to have their zeitgeist and eat it, the Australia Institute is getting down with ‘youff’. They’ve…

Language

1 February 2025 9:00 am

I’ve been intrigued recently by the verb ‘to unsee’. It turns up as a trendy way of saying that something…

Aussie life

25 January 2025 9:00 am

The public shaming of elite pole vault coach Alex Parnov reminds me of the time I was sent to cover…

Language

25 January 2025 9:00 am

We missed it! Back on January 18 we should have been celebrating National Thesaurus Day. Mind you, the day is…

Aussie life

18 January 2025 9:00 am

As if Hollywood’s elite didn’t have enough to be worried about, the Governor they elected, and whose homelessness laws and…

Language

18 January 2025 9:00 am

It is easy to miss the fact that a good deal of slang has a long-forgotten rhyming component (and is…

Aussie life

11 January 2025 9:00 am

It’s hardly surprising that Doris Day’s jaunty homage to Marcus Aurelius ‘Que sera, sera’ was one of the 1956’s best-selling…