Aussie Life
Language
It is an exciting moment when I discover a new word – and this time it’s a word that focuses…
Aussie life
Imagine waking from a 50-year coma to find that the TV in your recovery room was permanently tuned to a…
Language
Recently I came across the expression ‘weaponised words’– the idea that words with a standard, accepted meaning can be changed…
Aussie life
South of Sydney there is a road which winds its way from the glistening emerald waters of the Pacific Ocean,…
Aussie life
As the head of a dynasty which owes its wealth and influence to military aggression, white supremacy and colonial exploitation,…
Language
Have you come across the word ‘transabled’? This is a new one on me, and I find it a frightening…
Aussie life
I’m a long-time devotee of the op shop, as anyone who has seen my wardrobe will confirm. I’ve spent many…
Language
A ‘sliding doors moment’ is one of those moments in life when a small, seemingly inconsequential decision (or event) goes…
Aussie life
The Melbourne Comedy Festival’s continuing refusal to apologise for not closing this year’s festival with a tribute to its co-founder…
Language
The word ‘gender’ has been part of the English language since at least 1390. It appears to have started at…
Aussie life
One of the few survivors of Gough Whitlam’s Camelot, that legendary cultural icon and eminent Australian diplomat, Sir Les Patterson,…
Language
The word ‘mulligan’ is new to me – but golfers everywhere will find it familiar. In golf a ‘mulligan’ is…
Aussie life
‘Where did all the poof readers go?’ is not a question which would make it into many Australian publications. I…
Language
‘White guilt’ is one of the concepts lying behind the proposed Indigenous Voice. When Prime Minister Albanese announced he had…
Aussie life
After that tweet by Mark Latham, thousands of column words, outraged tweets and statements by MPs quickly followed. I can’t…
Language
This year is the centenary of Vegemite. The classic Australian spread first hit the shelves of local grocery stores in…
Aussie life
Australia’s greatest footy rivalries used to be strictly intra-code affairs – obvious examples being league’s State of Origin, union’s Bledisloe,…
Language
Our esteemed editor has drawn my attention to the word ‘ecocide’. It was employed by the Greens Party’s treasury spokesman…
Language
The charity Oxfam has come under fire for issuing a bizarre ‘inclusive’ language guide to staff. The 92-page report warns…
Aussie life
Two weeks after our Prime Minister told us he will be attending the coronation of Charles III we still don’t…
Aussie life
A new Arts policy has been released to help raise the creative standard just as a balding redhead called Ed…
Language
The word ‘manifestation’ has been part of the English language since the 1400s. It comes from the verb ‘to manifest’…
Aussie life
The now universally acknowledged failure of vaccines and masks to reduce your chances of spreading, contracting or dying from Covid…
Language
The Church of England is considering scrapping centuries of Christian teaching to give God gender-neutral pronouns. The church has confirmed…
Aussie life
I was visiting my son in California when I first heard about ChatGPT, the real-time writing app which has gotten…
