Cherful,
Yeah, 'sidewalks'

I thought all Nth Queenslanders were dinky di Aussies.

You know elastic side boots and blue singlets, but 'sidewalks'.

Blow me down girl, I thought you were a ringers daughter.

Try 'footpath'

Hi Banjo,

Let the side down I'm afraid, I think I have been
listening to "Silver Bells" for too many Christmases.

"City sidewalks, pretty sidewalks,
Dressed in holiday style"

Also a touch of poetic license, given that cooking
your dinner on the footpath doesn't have the same
ring as cooking your dinner on the sidewalk.

Have you heard Kasey Chambers sing "Dinki Di Aussie"
She does a pretty good job on it.
The song she really does a fabulous job on though, is
"Better Be Home Soon”, originally sung by Crowded House,
Made me like the song all over again.

Sorry, should have typed Dinky-Di Aussie.

Hi Cherful,

But maybe that's the point, that Americanisms creep into our everyday language unawares. On the other hand, one could say 'so what'? Maybe somewhere in the US, the odd person is using terms like 'sheilas' and 'blokes' and maybe in the UK as well, as a consequence of the influences of Mel Gibson and Anthony laPaglia and the cultural magnificence of 'Neighbours' and 'Home and Away'.

It would certainly serve the b@stards right.

One other that has bothered me for some time is the replacement of the 4x4, four-wheel drive of 'fourby' with 'SUV'. I suppose it's appropriate, given that even Land Rover now offers rear-wheel drive versions of the Range Rover, but it still bothers me. Perhaps it's a sign of another 'Americanism' that has annoyed me for some time - the 'need' for an SUV for the daily school run or weekly shop. There's no need to take it off road, but there is (apparently) a need for the extra height, width and boot space to accommodate ... well, whatever it is that the drivers need to accommodate.

Sadly, around these parts, it's beginning to look like I'll have to join the trend. It's nigh-on impossible to pull out of a parking space without taking my life into my hands, as I'm surrounded by the metal walls of these monsters on almost all occasions and can't see around them; turning left at a roundabout is also dangerous, as there is invariably a great big lump of metal to my right obscuring any view I might have of oncoming traffic. On the upside, if I wait for that car to go, I have a handy shield to ward off any surprises.

Don't get me wrong - I'm quite a fan of the four-wheel drive in the Australian sense: either as a work vehicle or as a means of opening up the great outdoors to those of us stuck in the bleakness of suburbia. I can even understand the need for those with large families who don't want to drive a minibus. Sadly, though, so many people seem to buy these vehicles as single-passenger cars, without intending to take them any further off road than the occasional trip over the nearest kerb.