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In rhyming slang here in Australia, to do the Harold Holt is to bolt/disappear at a critical time with no good excuse, such as being nowhere to be found when it's your round at the pub, or vanishing when hard work is about to start.
What the hell is he on about, I hear you ask? 50 years ago today, then Prime Minister of Australia, Harold Holt, disappeared while swimming at the beach. No trace of him was ever found and the slang doing the Harold Holt was born. Cheers!
I always enjoy your Australian history/cultural/trivia posts Wayne. Keep 'em coming!
One day, you've got to explain why Waltzing Matilda is so dear Down Under. I read some place that it was a front runner for your National Anthem at one time.
Fred
In 1930 A New York Supreme Court Justice, Joseph Crater disappeared. Crater had been on vacation and returned to New York for a week, promising to return to his family in Maine to go fishing. He left a Manhattan restaurant, climbed in a cab and was never seen again. His disappearance and the search captivated America for decades. A regional saying came about, when someone suddenly and inexplicably was absent, even for a few minutes, that "He went fishing with Judge Crater"
The saying lost it's humor and fell into disuse after the famous union boss, Jimmy Hoffa disappeared.
Keep 'em coming, Wayne. They explain a lot of the strangeness of AU blokes. :D