macquarie

The pub test is the notional measure of public opinion on a proposal or candidate arrived at by asking the average drinker in a hotel what they think. With the possibility of a Federal election in 2021, you’re likely to hear and see this phrase a lot more.  At this point in the blog we need … Read more

This week we are looking at provocative slang words. Do you have a mate who likes to stir the possum? That is, creates a disturbance or uproar? Stir the possum has been Aussie slang since the 1900s, so named because a sleeping possum does not take well to being stirred up. Stir the possum can also … Read more

Phew. Busy, busy, busy. I am flat out like a lizard drinking at the Macquarie office this week. This scaly phrase is a way of saying that we are working as hard or as fast as possible.  Australian English has some great ways of saying you are working hard. Graft simply means hard work. Aussie slang … Read more

This week we are paying homage to a national icon. The bin chicken graces towns and cities across the land. When rubbish is strewn across the footpath who is there to clean up the mess? The bin chicken, of course.   If you’re unfamiliar with the name, the bin chicken is none other than the Australian … Read more

After a truly bumper year for new words, and with the ticking over of a new decade, the Macquarie team decided that the time was perfect for thinking about a Word of the Decade. Taking the winners of Word of the Year for the past ten years, we asked all of Australia to vote for … Read more

A new month means new words. Check out our handful of new words to hold on to in February.  Would you describe 2020 as a dumpster fire? We would. That’s why dumpster fire, any utterly disastrous situation, heads up our eclectic list. There were plenty of opportunities for pic facs last year. That is, a photo opportunity for media … Read more

In this week’s blog we are looking at architecture, to be precise, the architecture of Queensland. Queenslander isn’t just a loud chant you hear at the football, it’s also a highset weatherboard house of the type commonly found in, you guessed it, Queensland. It’s hot up north. What better design for your house than to set it on … Read more

Hop in. This week we are chucking a lap down the main street of Macquarie Town. To chuck a lap is to drive around the block as a form of entertainment. The hoons spent Saturday night chucking laps. Since this is nearly always done off the main street it is also called chucking a mainy. In Whyalla, a hoon … Read more

In this week’s Word of the Week, I am ordering Australia’s favourite pub meal. The schnitty, the slang name for the legendary chicken schnitzel, comes with a generous side of chips and a forest of salad. Just thinking of that butterflied chicken breast makes me want to step away for an early lunch.  Aussies regularly … Read more

What will it be? Which word, from those added to the Macquarie over the last decade, will be chosen as the WORD OF THE DECADE? The shortlist is the collection of words which were selected in each of the years from 2011 to 2020 – both the Committee’s Choice and the People’s Choice. The choice … Read more