(Australia, slang) A feigned illness allegedly used by a laborer to justify malingering.
(Australia, slang) A feigned illness allegedly used by a laborer to justify malingering.
"Mediterranean back" means: A feigned illness allegedly used by a laborer to justify malingering.. This is informal slang, common in casual speech, texting and social media, but not appropriate for school work, applications or professional settings. There is no real cause for concern in itself; it is everyday peer vocabulary. If your child uses it, a light comment about audience and register is usually enough — no need to escalate. Context, more than the word, tells you whether to follow up.
"Mediterranean back" means: A feigned illness allegedly used by a laborer to justify malingering.. This is informal slang, common in casual speech, texting and social media, but not appropriate for school work, applications or professional settings. There is no real cause for concern in itself; it is everyday peer vocabulary. If your child uses it, a light comment about audience and register is usually enough — no need to escalate. Context, more than the word, tells you whether to follow up.
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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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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(slang, UK, Australia, New Zealand) To take a day off from work for ill health (either real or feigned).
To take a day off from work feigning ill health.
(Australia, slang, obsolete, pejorative) Any illness feigned by convicts to avoid being sent to Botany Bay.
(slang, UK, Australia, New Zealand) To skip work or school or avoid an obligation by pretending to be sick.
"Mediterranean back" means: A feigned illness allegedly used by a laborer to justify malingering.. Register: informal slang, fine in casual conversation, texting and social media but not in academic essays, business writing or formal speech. 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.
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Australian slang for defecating, using the spatial metaphor of backing a vehicle out of a space. Somewhat euphemistic compared to more direct terms, but the vehicle imagery makes it simultaneously vivid and deniable. Casual in register and typically used among friends rather than in polite or mixed company. A characteristic example of Australian slang's preference for unexpected metaphors. The slang falls into the Australian tradition of applying mundane mechanical metaphors to bodily functions for deadpan comic effect.