Kel Richards' Dictionary of Australian Phrase and Fable

Are you seeing your mates this arvo because it’s been yonks? Do you shout ‘‘ave a go, ya mug’ to your football team from the stands? Or tell your mate his team has got Buckley’s chance of winning the AFL Grand Final? Do you mutter ‘stone the crows’ when surprised? Perhaps you’ve got your wobbly boots on? Aussie English may be the most inventive and creative language in the world. This larrikin lexicography by Kel Richards tells the stories behind almost a thousand Aussie words and phrases.So if you’ve ever wondered how ‘bloody’ became an all-purpose swear word, why ‘bludger’ means a lazy person, or even what ‘dangle the dunlops’, ‘possum knockers’ or ‘molly-dooker’ might mean, then you need to read this bonzer book.

Author Biography

Kevin Barry ‘Kel’ Richards is an Australian author, journalist and radio personality. He presents Sydney radio station 2CH’s Sunday night program ‘Connections’. He has written a series of crime novels and thrillers for adult readers, including The Case of the Vanishing Corpse, Death in Egypt and An Outbreak of Darkness. Richards presented ABC News Radio’s weekend afternoons, which included regular Wordwatch segments, a feature he introduced. Initially developed as a filler program to allow time for changes of people or locations between programs, Wordwatch tapped into the listening public’s interest and several books have been produced based on the show’s research.