old dart
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.52 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "J. A. W. has still, I am persuaded, any amount of friends in the Old Dart."
- "You recollect that when I left the Colony to visit the old dart, besides the usual allowance granted..."
- "The ‘Old Dart’ mattered little to German Australians but the empire was another matter and Australia was their home."
- "‘I have a whole range of new talents, Dad. I can muster a mob of cattle, break in a horse, speak pidgin, and at a pinch, stitch up someone′s head.’ ‘Very useful in the Old Dart,’ he commented dryly and returned to his newspaper."
- "Marsh′s experiences during his first days in the Old Dart were no different from most Australian cricketers′."
Etymology
Possibly from the river Dart in Devonshire which enters the sea at Dartmouth, location of a Royal Navy College. Royal Navy officers who were returning to England at the end of a foreign tour of duty referred to going back to the "Old Dart" for further training. Alternatively a variation of "old dirt" (compare old sod).
Usage
- Australian usage
- New Zealand usage
- British usage
- Colloquial
Synonyms
the old country