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Australian phrases

Posted by Brian from Shawnee on May 06, 2011 at 03:55

In Reply to: Australian phrases posted by Victoria S Dennis on May 05, 2011 at 18:17:

: : : There are some common Australian phrases that I am interested to know the origins of:

: : : "Sparrow's fart" meaning "the crack of dawn" e.g. I'll be up at sparrow's fart tomorrow.

: : : "I'll go hee" e.g. If he doesn't [do something very likely], I'll go hee.

: : : "I'm here all week - try the veal."

: : [The last of these ("I’m here all week – try the veal.") isn’t commonly used here in the US, but it’s well known to originate in the patter of a comic to the audience at a supper club. American comics, such as Letterman and Conan, have sometimes used it out of that context: for instance, to acknowledge a more muted response than they had hoped for from an audience. – Baceseras.]

: "Sparrow's fart" is a jokey variation on the very ancient phrase "at cock's crow", meaning dawn. (VSD)

Shrek said "I'm here 'til Thursday. Try the veal." in the eponymous 2001 movie, and that was certainly intended to mimic supper club comics as Baceseras describes.

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