Appendix:Australian English colloquial similes


 * mad as a cut snake or as cross as a frog in a sock - angry
 * sadder than a Werribee duck - very disappointed by an outcome (Werribee is home to one of the world's largest sewerage farms)
 * busy as a cat burying shit or flat out like a lizard drinking - flat out, busy- busy, flat out
 * busier than a one-arm paper hanger in a wind storm or busier than a bare-foot centipede on a barbecue plate - extremely busy
 * cunning as a dunny rat - cunning
 * dry as a dead dingo's donger or dry as a nun's nasty - dry
 * fit as a Mallee bull - fit and strong; Mallee being very arid beef country in Victoria/South Australia
 * hungry enough to eat the arse out of a low flying duck - expression of hunger
 * grinning like a shot fox - happy, smugly satisfied
 * shoot through like a Bondi tram - to leave
 * weak as cat's piss - weak alcoholic drink, weak person
 * stands out like dog's balls or stands out like a shag on a rock - obvious
 * crook as Rookwood - sick; used in Sydney in reference to Rookwood Necropolis
 * slow as a wet week - slow
 * useful as an ashtray on a motorbike or useful as tits on a bull - unhelpful or incompetent person or thing
 * as good as one man short - describing a person who is not very productive
 * off like a bride's nightie - leave quickly
 * disappear faster than a fart in a fan factory - when a large number of people leave all at once
 * off like a bucket of prawns in the noonday sun - farewell said on leaving
 * "doing a Nellie or Farnham" - frequent farewell at the end of the evening. Nellie Melba was famous for her concerts that were advertised as her farewell shows every time she left Australia or Johnny Farnham Farewell tour
 * more front than Myer - meaning to have more front than Myer Emporium, the department store having a huge, seven storey frontage that is almost the size of a city block.
 * A few short of a six pack or A few roo's loose in the top paddock - a bit crazy.