"emu bob" means: A task assigned to a group of people, especially schoolchildren or army recruits, where they move around an area and pick up rubbish from th.... This is a fairly neutral word with no inherent risk attached. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than something dangerous. If your child uses it, context will usually make the meaning clear. A brief, curious question about where they heard it is generally enough to know whether to follow up.
emu bob
(Australia) A task assigned to a group of people, especially schoolchildren or army recruits, where they move around an area and pick up rubbish from the ground.
Definitions
(Australia) A task assigned to a group of people, especially schoolchildren or army recruits, where they move around an area and pick up rubbish from the ground.
"emu bob" means: A task assigned to a group of people, especially schoolchildren or army recruits, where they move around an area and pick up rubbish from th.... This is a fairly neutral word with no inherent risk attached. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than something dangerous. If your child uses it, context will usually make the meaning clear. A brief, curious question about where they heard it is generally enough to know whether to follow up.
"emu bob" means: A task assigned to a group of people, especially schoolchildren or army recruits, where they move around an area and pick up rubbish from th.... Register: neutral, standard English, usable in most everyday contexts. A common non-native mistake is to use the word in the wrong register, or to assume one fixed meaning when it is actually polysemous; always check the surrounding register and the audience before producing it yourself. In formal writing, prefer a neutral synonym or a short descriptive phrase, and use this word only when you have heard or read it being used naturally in a comparable context.
Comments
(Australia, uncommon) Any activity which involves repetitive bending down over a wide area, such as searching for clues relating to somebody's disappearance.
Comments
For specific readers
Why is this section here?
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
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🇦🇺About Australian & NZ slang slang
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.
See all Australian & NZ slang slang on Slangora.
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Semantically related
- bob-a-job70%
(British, historical) The practice of children undertaking to do small jobs around the home, originally for a charge of one shilling, traditionally offered by boy scouts during a designated week of the year.
- slack bob67%
(UK, slang, dated) A schoolboy who does not take part in sports.
- bobar64%
(vulgar, Northern England, slang) Something that is rubbish, useless, nonsense.
- six bob a day tourist63%
(Australia, historical, slang) An Australian soldier serving in World War I, especially a volunteer.