411 REFERENCE · Wiktionary
Aussie salute
Reference material by Wiktionary contributors. This retains its source identity and is not 411 news reporting.
English
2020 January 26
Pronunciation
en /ˈɒzi səˈl(j)uːt/ /ˈɒsi-/ RP
en /ˈɔzi səˈlut/ GA
en En-au-Aussie salute.oga AU
en Aus sie sa lute
Noun
thumb|The hand movement in an Aussie salute
en Australia humorous The act of waving a hand in front of the face to flick away flies (particularly bush flies, Musca vetustissima species).
en Barcoo salute bush salute
en Brian Lee Dung Beetles to the Rescue w:Bernard Dixon w:New Scientist London IPC Magazines 5 April 1979 82 1149 46 and 47 https://books.google.com/books?id=9-8EkIhxeK0C&pg=PA46 0028-6664 801819399 [page 46] Even the stuffy diplomats of Canberra, the nation's federal capital, seem to drop their normal besuited reserve to wave what has laughingly become known as the "Aussie salute". But expressing a jovial liking for their fellow men is not what these antipodeans are doing: they are swatting flies. [...] [page 47] Proving that the introduced beetles are affecting bushfly numbers at this early stage is an even more difficult task (the diplomats of Canberra are still waving the Aussie salute).
en Helen Jonsen Kangaroo’s Comments and Wallaby’s Words: The Aussie Word Book New York, N.Y. w:Hippocrene Books 1988 79 978-0-87052-580-3 Together the blowies and the mozzies gave birth to an important piece of Australiana – the Aussie salute.
en John Williams Chairman Mao off the Bow The Fortunate Life of a Vindicatrix Boy [Scotts Valley, Calif.] Published by John Williams; produced by the Booksurge Group 2005 44 https://books.google.com/books?id=K_V5anVPLRsC&pg=PA44 978-1-921019-21-0 The flies are a different proposition. It takes a while to learn the ‘Aussie salute’, waving your hand in front of your face at regular intervals to keep the flies away. It doesn’t matter where they land, as long as you keep them off your face, out of your nose and mouth. No matter how accomplished you become at the Aussie salute, you have not really made it until you have swallowed an Aussie bush fly.
en Tim R. New Insects and People in Australia ‘In Considerable Variety’: Introducing the Diversity of Australia’s Insects Dordrecht; Heidelberg w:Springer Science+Business Media 2011 177 https://books.google.com/books?id=wA9IiozPVJAC&pg=PA177 10.1007/978-94-007-1780-0 978-94-007-1779-4 People may casually admire a Ulysses butterfly (and even pay to see living native butterflies as exhibits in Butterfly Houses), be fascinated by large termite mounds or trails of foraging ants, buy dragonfly larvae for fishing bait, counter bushflies with the ‘Aussie salute’, swat mosquitoes, and fear encounters with bull ants.
en Craig Platt Uluru: 20 things that will surprise first-time visitors https://web.archive.org/web/20181113221429/https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/destinations/australia/102086786/uluru-20-things-that-will-surprise-firsttime-visitors 13 November 2018 w:Stuff.co.nz 9 March 2018 There are a lot of flies in the warmer months and it's not uncommon for tourists to wear hats with face nets to avoid them. Be prepared to do a lot of "Aussie salutes" during the day.
Translations
act of waving a hand in front of the face to flick flies away
Further reading