metho
Australian colloquial term for methylated spirits — denatured alcohol used as a solvent and fuel but also historically consumed by people experiencing extreme poverty or substance dependence.
Definitions
Australian colloquial term for methylated spirits — denatured alcohol used as a solvent and fuel but also historically consumed by people experiencing extreme poverty or substance dependence. The word is practical in Australian English for the product itself, but it carries a darker connotation in discussions of homelessness and addiction. Often heard in both mundane and more serious social contexts.
He kept a bottle of metho in the shed for cleaning the brushes after painting.
Comments
(Australia, colloquial) Methylated spirits.
"metho" means: Methylated spirits.. 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.
"metho" means: Methylated spirits.. 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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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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