Thursday, August 19, 2010

Mad as a cut snake

I'm listening to "BUSES AND TRAINS" by BACHELOR GIRL, an AUSTRALIAN hit single from 1998 that used metaphors to equate falling in love to walking under a bus, getting hit by a train and other disasters.That reminded me of Australia's own love affair -- with metaphors and similes.
Here is a sampling of Aussie similes found in the LONELY PLANET GUIDE TO AUSTRALIAN LANGUAGE & CULTURE:

(To express anger)

"Mad as a cut snake."

"Mad as a frilled lizard."

(To express dryness)

"Dry as a dead dingo's donger."

"Dry as a pommy's towel."

(To express fullness)

"Full as a goog."

"Full as a footy final."

(To express happiness)

"Happy as a dog with two tails."

(To express sadness)

"Happy as a bastard on Father's Day."

(To express weakness)

"Weaker than a sunburned snowflake."

I'm looking forward to hearing more Australian metaphors and similes when I get to SYDNEY.

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