ten pound tourist
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.92 in modern English
18
Scrabble Score
15
Letters
3
Syllables
10
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "In 1971 my own (Anglo-Celtic) parents traveled from the “Mother country” (the United Kingdom) as assisted immigrants, among the last of the “ten-pound tourists.” My brother and I traveled free (see Appleyard et al. 1988)."
- "Billy′s parents were ‘ten pound tourists’, arriving in Australia in 1962."
- "I became a ten-pound tourist, and emigrated to Australia. While I was there, I saw nobody from Trinity - apart from John Castle on the silver screen in Melbourne, starring in a film with Katherine Hepburn, which hardly counts. Nearly five years later, to miners′ strikes and the three-day week, I returned,[…]."
Etymology
From ten + pound (“unit of currency”) + tourist. An allusion to the immigrant′s contribution (in sterling) paid for passage to Australia under an assisted immigration scheme, the remainder being paid by the Australian government. The scheme operated from 1946 to 1982; in 1973 the immigrant contribution was increased to £75. The term tourist refers to the obligation (only) for participants to remain in Australia for two years; some elected to return after this time.
Usage
- Australian usage
- British usage