Aussie Word of The Day - Spider

Here is today's word, continuing on the theme of food.  Confused?  Read on.

spider n. Aust. carbonated soft drink to which ice cream has been added.

This is the equivalent to the American "ice cream soda",  or sometimes it is called a "float" - which has never sounded too appetising, in my opinion.

We, of course, also use the word in reference to those lovely 8-legged arachnids that are very common in Australia.  However, as the above definition is unique to Australia, I thought it a good one to share.  

So if you hear someone making reference to "having spiders" for a birthday party etc, they are talking about the drink and not the poisonous creature.  Just FYI.

If I only had an oven...

They say you don't know what you've got until it's gone.  Well, they are absolutely right.  

Last year I had an oven in my apartment (and also the last 10 years or so at home).  I can probably count the number of times I used it that year on one hand.  Maybe two.  And yet, here in Tokyo I find myself in a teeny-tiny apartment with a "kitchenette" and no oven. 

Oh, the things I could do if I had an oven!  I could make a pavlova, or ANZAC biscuits.  I could cook roast potatoes and pumpkin with gravy.  I could try that recipe I found on Pinterest for homemade muesli bars.  I could bake cakes, muffins or banana bread.  I could make apple crumble!  Oh the humanity!

I'm not pretending that I used to do all those things when I actually had an oven.  

But let's just say I'm looking forward to the day when I, once again, have an oven in my life.  Because I now know what life is like without one.  

Cue the violins.

Aussie Word of the Day - Tucker

Good evening, and welcome to another edition of AWOTD, brought to you by yours truly, and the Australian Oxford Mini Dictionary (4th Edition, 2011).

And tonight's word is:

tucker n. Aust. food; means of subsistence.

And now a bonus (yet essential) word, by special request of my friend Colin.  The following definition came from the Collins English Dictionary (online):

bush tucker n. Aust. any wild animal, insect, plant or plant extract, etc. traditionally used as food by native Australians; cooking based around ingredients taken from the Australian wilderness.

And now some additional input from yours truly:

Buck Tucker Man - this was a great Aussie tv series that aired when I was growing up, about 20 years ago, where a man known as Bush Tucker Man (Les Hiddens) went out to the outback and showed us the various kinds of bush tucker available, as well as explaining many other aspects of Aboriginal culture and traditions, and even Australian history.  Here's a little clip below from one episode, for your educational viewing pleasure.  I think they should totally bring back this series!