Strine

So I've begun writing another book and found I don't know as much about my own country's idiosyncrasies as I'd like; much to my chagrin.

Oh, I know we're laconic, are masters of the understatement, brash, innocent, curious, excitable... but others are like that too.

But the language we use - and no, I don't mean swearing - I mean the comparatives:

She bangs like a dunny door; dry as a burnt chip (or a dead Dingo's donga); flat out like a lizard drinking; up and down like a bride's nightie (or fiddler's elbow); right as rain; fair go; a dog's eye (meat pie), frog and toad (road) and so on... is still a factor of everyday life. But these are not enough. I need conversational colloquialisms, otherwise known as Strine.

I set off into cyberspace to find what I needed. Not surprisingly, I found some. Australian Slang is a web portal leading to all manner of language sin.

Feather Foot's Aussie Slang page has a comprehensive list of colloquialisms which amused the hell out of me.

The Australian Slang Dictionary also has a comprehensive list which demonstrates the various descriptions of a single word, like 'cockie': a cockatoo, a cockroach or a farmer.

These two are the best. Now that I have my Strine in order, I can happily write away. This is actually the first book set in my home country. Bit odd that, but how many people really know their own country's idiosyncrasies?