An Australian exclamation of surprise or astonishment — the local equivalent of 'well, I'll be darned' or 'blow me down.' The gum tree (eucalyptus) is so embedded in Australian cultural identity that it makes perfect sense as the backdrop for a colourful oath. The phrase has an old-fashioned, bush-era quality to it now, but it captures the Australian tradition of inventive, nature-infused expressions for everyday emotions.
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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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When he pulled out the old photograph and showed her, she gasped and said, 'Strike me up a gum tree — that's my grandfather!'
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(AU, informal) Expressing astonishment.
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