Park 3: bush

Bush Idioms

Idiom Explanation Example
beat about/around the bush discuss something in an indirect way without coming to the point Just stop beating about the bush and tell what the problem is.
a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush proverb: be happy with what you have rather than try to get something better at the risk of loosing what you already have At the market a man offered me $100 for my bike. I know it’s worth more, but a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

Bush Idioms From Australia and New Zealand

Idiom Explanation Example
go bush leave one’s usual habitat, run wild I’ve decided to go bush for year. I’m going to leave the city behind me and live off the land.
out bush in a remote area Ravi has gone to live and work on a cattle station out bush.
take to the bush run away, live in the wild (originally about convicts) We haven’t seen the cat for two weeks and we think she might have taken to the bush.
What do you think this is – bush week? Do you think I’m stupid? You expect me to pay that much for a tin of tomato soup. What do you think this is – bush week?
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Exercises C1

Choose the correct idiom.

  1. —Where do Sally and Peter live?
    —Oh, I can’t remember the name, somewhere really far away and remote. The middle of nowhere …
  2. They can’t expect me to believe that story about the kangaroo and the dingo. What do they think this is … ?
  3. I don’t understand what you want from me. Tell me again, but this time don’t … .
  4. After finishing our exams, we went on holiday and had a wild week of parties, fun and no responsibilities.
  5. I thought you liked your job. I don’t understand why you want to quit. Do you think you will find something better?
  6. I don’t want to live in the city anymore. I want to go back to nature, back to a simpler way of life.

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