Cop A Gander At These Rippers Too...

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    Grand Final (Granny)

    　オーストラリアは、とにかくスポーツ好きの国。そのシーズンの王者を決める究極の一戦は、たいてい『グランドファイナル』だ。ストライン（オージー英語）でこれ以上ド真ん中の呼び名はない。要するに、その年の最強クラブやチームを決める試合のこと。 Australia is a sport-loving country, possibly more than most. And the ultimate game that decides a champion in Australian sports is almost invariably the grand final. Real Strine could give no other fair dinkum name to a grand final, which is the match that determines the best club or team for its particular season, though we do sometimes refer to the match as the “granny,” too. なかでも一番有名なのが、毎年9月の最終土曜日にメルボルン・クリケット・グラウンドで行われる、オーストラリアン・フットボール・リーグのグランドファイナル。勝ったチームは実質「世界王者」なんだけど、オージーは控えめだから、そんな呼び方はしない。 The most notable grand final of Australian sports is played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, usually on the last Saturday in September, to determine the premiership team of the Australian Football League. The winners of that match are the world champions, but…

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    Welcoming The New Aussie Plants To The Garden After I Said There’d Be No More

    After promising myself that I would not further complicate the garden already lacking space for any new members when visiting 沼ノ上農園 (Numanoue Nouen)  yesterday, I spent today planting the bunch of additions that I invariably picked up. We bought a bottle tree at the popup shop at Urawa PARCO, and then ended up buying basically a forest full of trees when we went to the nursery itself in the afternoon. I’ve long found the best way to deal with temptation is not to resist it, so I woke this morning expecting a delivery, probably in the early afternoon given that we had not made the order until the afternoon and…

  • Spruik/カラス族

    Spruik Australian English To advertise or promote a service or product. Somebody who does this is a spruiker. The name is also given to street-side touts who try to entice people into clubs, restaurants or other entertainment establishments. 日本語 １） 製品及びサービスを推薦・促進すること。この行為を行う人はspruikerと呼ばれる。 ２） Spruikerは、バーかクラブやレストランなどをしつこく売り込む人に対して使われることもある。日本の繁華街などで集まる「カラス族」もオージー英語ではspruikerと呼ばれるはずだ。 Plain English To plug, tout, harangue or sell and promote aggressively. Strine Dictionary

  • Dead!?! (Not Yet, it Turns Out!)

    My hospital killed me, I learned today. It was part of a mix-up caused by our dinosaur (actually, it was my fault as I let her chew up my appointment reservation slip without noting any information that it contained, and then taking too long to follow up on it). Normally, every three months I go for a routine check-up to the hospital, where I have been receiving treatment for the past 15 years. I’d last visited in March, so knew I was due to go back again, and rang through during the week to book an appointment for this morning. I sensed something was amiss as I was told I…

  • New Start And Great Times Ahead

    We’ve got an entirely new and bolstered coordinating team almost double the size of the previous cohort, so it’s great times ahad even though the boss warned that we are on the verge of dark times. I’m quite happy to do what I can to keep my job, but I guess my decision to reject management responsbilities did not go down well. Nonetheless, the company took the survivors of our merger out for dinner to thank us for our service, which was a lovely gesture considering how few of us remain. From our team, it was only the American and me.