Caring About Our Country
Answering your questions about Australia . . .
Slang - Rumours
During the First World War quite a few slang words were coined. Some are no longer
used while some still survive today.
For example, "furphys" are slang for rumours. Just as today people gossip on their coffee
breaks, during the war rumours were passed around as mobile water tanks travelled through the troops.
The water tanks were manufactured by Joseph Furphy & Sons, hence slang for rumours became "furphys".
Daylight Savings or Daylight Saving ?
David from NSW wrote to us asking which is correct Daylight Savings or Daylight Saving (with or without the
's' at the end) ?
It's acceptable to use daylight saving, daylight savings and even daylight-saving.
 Merriam-Webster Dictionary shows it both ways. The most common
spelling in Australia is without the
's'.
So why do we use it with the 's' on our website? Because we can?!
Up The Duff
Andrew wrote us wanting to know what the origins of the Aussie phrase "up the duff" is. He knew that it means that a woman is pregnant, but wondered where the saying came from.
We found the phrase "up the duff" in Baker's 1941 publication Dictionary of Australian Slang. So it's been in common usage for at least 60 year.
We believe that the roots of the phrase "up the duff" comes in part from the euphemistic terms used for the gentleman's organ that causes the lady's condition. (How's that for using euphemisms ourselves!)
One of the many slang words used for the organ in question is "pudding" So one might refer to that woman as being "in the pudding club" since in Victorian times it was impolite to discuss pregnancy directly.
One of the definitions for "duff" is a "stiff flour pudding boiled in a cloth bag or steamed". Simply put, one of the meanings for "duff" is a pudding.
As a result is "up the duff" becomes another way to say "in the pudding club". And that in turn means "to be pregnant".
Flush Backwards?
Funny how we get certain questions over and over. To Leah and Jacob, no our toilets do NOT flush backwards. To Peter and Anthony, the water in our sinks and bathtubs empty in the SAME direction as everyone else.
Here's why ...
There are a couple of reasons Australian toilets do not flush backwards. First, the Australian toilet flushes straight down. This question is generally asked by Americans. The toilet bowl in America holds a lot of water while the Aussie version hardly has any water in comparison. So when you flush an American toilet, what's there goes round and round before it disappears. An Aussie toilet simply flushes straight down.
We have an article on our website all about Aussie toilets, with a bit of humour thrown in.
Second, it's a common mistake that the direction water travels when a toilet, sink or bathtub empties is different in the Northern hemisphere where the USA is from the Southern hemisphere where Australia is. This is often attributed to the Coriolis force and even some teachers incorrectly tell their students this.
The Coriolis force only acts on large bodies such as the earth. Things such as toilets, bathtubs, and sinks are too small to be affected. What causes the water to spin clockwise or anti-clockwise is simply how the container is made and how the water empties from it.
More Information
In case you were wondering about the direction Aussie dogs turn round and round before laying down, it's the same as in the rest of the world ... whatever the dog wants to do. And yes, we have had this question too.
We love your questions and doing the research is always interesting.
Anzac Protected
It seems the Australian government has decided that our Anzac Day cards violated their regulations. What regulations you say?
Regulations to protect the word 'Anzac' and any word resembling it, from inappropriate use, were made originally in the War Precautions Act in 1914.
We thought our Anzac cards were tastefully done and designed to honour the special men and women who serve and protect our country. Unfortunately The Hon Bruce Billson, MP, Minister for Veterans' Affairs didn't see it that way and declined to give us permission to have the cards.
So we've removed the word 'Anzac' and you'll now find the cards listed in Holidays as "Lest We Forget".
Actually we are in favour of the regulation. Besides the historical importance, the Anzacs hold a special place in our country's cultural identity. So it is important to protect, even if the ruling went against us.
Does this mean you can't use the word Anzac for anything? You may have noticed streets and highways called Anzac. That's permitted. How about Anzac biscuits? Yes, but only if you use the traditional recipe and shape. Sorry Yanks, but calling it Anzac cookies is prohibited.
No Anzac Biscuits for Subway
Subway sold Anzac Biscuits until September 2008. The Department of Veteran's Affairs ordered them to bake the
biscuits according to the original recipe. Their supplier couldn't do it in a cost effective way, so Subway no
longer has them for sale.
As far back as 1917 people tried to make money out of using the name. Walker and his 'famous dog Anzac' ran the Anzac Golliwog Company which performed in theatres around Australia. After being interviewed by the local police, he left the state and presumable stopped using the name.
Some people asked to use the name Anzac for a child's name (approved) while others wanted to name their homes Anzac (refused). Queensland Kops Brewery wanted to make beer labels called Anzac Toast (refused). So ask permission first.
More information:
Regs at Dept of Veterans' Affairs
Australians at War
Australian Genealogy
Researching your family's genealogy can turn up some surprising things. Deb Jahn wrote us about research she's doing on the Castilla family.
She was pleased to read the story The Red Kangaroo by Ethel Castilla that we have in Voice of Australians. To help her we added a new page on Australian genealogy you might find interesting too.
Holidays in Australia
Ken Fagin wanted to know if we celebrate the American holidays Halloween and Thanksgiving. We don't celebrate Thanksgiving and Halloween is not officially recognized in Australia. Some older Australians strongly object to celebrating the American holidays here.
However, each year you'll find more Halloween things in our stores such as costumes and candy. Going trick-or-treating is growing in popularity with many Aussie kids because of the candy, costumes and parties.
Australia is often called an island continent since its surrounded by ocean. But did you know Australia has over 8,000 islands within its maritime borders.
Karen, a grade four student from Iowa, USA wanted to know if Kangaroo Island was called that because it has so many roos. Actually Capt. Matthew Flinders sailing on the HMS Investigator gave the island its name when he landed there in March 1802.
Why that name? When the men came ashore, the kangaroos were so tame, they had no trouble killing them. The men had not eaten fresh meat for 4 months so this was a welcome occasion. As a result Capt. Flinders honoured the kangaroos by naming the island after them.
Kangaroo Island is also famous for being the oldest bee sanctuary in the world. For a list of Australia's biggest islands, see our Land Facts page.
 Interesting Information?
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