(Australia, New Zealand, usually, in the plural) A remote tract of land in the interior; hence in plural sparsely populated country far from major cities and lacking conveniences common in urban areas.
I speak solely for the backblock roads, and I contend that the time has arrived when the Government should turn its attention to the metalling of these roads.
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Aussie and Kiwi vocabulary — bogan, daggy, brekkie, sheila, bach, jandals — the whole Antipodean lexicon, including outback dialect, surf and beach culture, and Sydney/Melbourne street slang.
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(Australia, informal, hyperbole#Noun, hyperbolic, usually, in the plural) The most distally outlying suburb among a set of suburbs.
It has happened in other districts that new settlement has turned the old centres into isolated backblocks.
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Land behind which fronts on water; land without a permanent watercourse.
Backblock means: Land behind which fronts on water; land without a permanent watercourse.. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than risky behaviour. If your teen uses it, context will usually make the intent clear. A short, curious question about where they heard it is usually all that is needed to know whether to follow up.
backblock means: Land behind which fronts on water; land without a permanent watercourse.. Register: neutral, standard English. A common learner mistake is using the word in a register it does not fit, or assuming a single global meaning; native speakers immediately notice when slang appears in formal contexts, so always check the surrounding register before producing it yourself. A formal-English equivalent (a synonym or descriptive phrase) is usually safer in writing. When in doubt, paraphrase rather than reuse the slang form.
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