Aussie Life
Aussie life
Is the woke tide finally starting to turn? One aspect of the mainstream media’s coverage of the Ukraine crisis might…
Language
The word ‘fatigue’ has been part of the English language since at least 1693. It comes from a French source…
Aussie life
April is the cruellest month for anybody who despairs at the state of contemporary humour. Where are the Ealing comedies…
Language
The expression ‘to walk back’ has exploded over the news recently. We have been told by the news media that…
Aussie life
According to our National Archives, the aim of the Immigration Restriction Act, aka the White Australia Policy, was ‘to limit…
Language
A reader (Rosie) has drawn my attention to a new(ish) word: ‘coddiwomple’. Rosie wrote to say that she has been…
Aussie life
Indulge yourself with a fascinating read of Admiral Sir Reginald Henderson’s 1911 recommendation for the protection of Australia’s coast. This…
Language
Have you noticed the trend to refer to some Australians as ‘First Nations’ people? Those Australians were once called ‘Aboriginal’…
Aussie life
Prime ministers rarely lose elections by bungling a single issue. An obvious benefit of the four-year term is that if…
Language
According to news reports Vladimir Putin expected his invasion and conquest of Ukraine to be a ‘cakewalk’. This is originally…
Aussie life
There’s nothing like a war and a flood to ease pretend problems like exaggerated viral outbreaks off the front pages.…
Aussie Life
I’m thinking about acquiring a drug habit. As a New South Wales Seniors Card carrier I may have left it…
Aussie Language
We are used to words being banned – but now it seems the word police are coming for the word…
Aussie Life
A journalist friend has been writing an advice column rather like The Speccie’s ‘Dear Mary’. He was calling it ‘Ask…
Aussie Language
A small award should be presented to the Australian’s Alice Workman for her new coinage. She has given us a…
Aussie Life
If a week is a long time in politics, two months is a geological epoch, during which not just goalposts…
Aussie Language
Writing in the Daily Telegraph James Morrow referred to something called a preference cascade which he said was a term…
Aussie Life
You’ve possibly heard of a ghastly woman called Patrisse Cullors. Her chief claim to fame is that she founded that…
Aussie Language
I have coined a potentially useful new expression: comatose bias. We are told that one of the great problems in…
Aussie Life
The elevation of Dylan Alcott to Australian of the Year is a great win for the disability sector, but threatens…
Aussie Language
As we approach a federal election, for the next few weeks I’ll look at some ‘election lingo’. ballot: Why do…
Aussie Life
Even in Australian publications of a conspicuously conservative disposition, it has been some time since any respected pundit has suggested,…
Aussie Language
Here’s a delightful expression I have just encountered: ‘offence archaeology’. This is the practice of going through the social media…
Aussie Life
I live by the sea and like walking along the coastline including scrambling over the rock ledges in Noosa National…
Aussie Language
A letter writer to the Australian has pointed out that Anthony Albanese appears to have coined a brand-new oxymoron to…
