Sideswipe: November 25: Aussie humour

They're real in Australia!

Mike and Annette spotted this sign on a recent trip to Sydney.

Beyond the pale

Expressions banned from use in New Zealand parliamentary debate:
1933 — Blowfly-minded
1943 — Retardate worm
1946 — Clown of the House ... Idle vapourings of a mind diseased... I would cut the honourable gentleman's throat if I had the chance
1949 — His brains could revolve inside a peanut shell for a thousand years without touching the sides
1957 — Kind of animal that gnaws holes
1959 — Member not fit to lick the shoes of the Prime Minister
1963 — Energy of a tired snail returning home from a funeral
1966 — Shut up yourself, you great ape ... Snotty-nosed little boy ... You are a cheap little twerp ... Ridiculous mouse
1974 — Could go down the Mt Eden sewer and come up cleaner than he went in ... Dreamed the bill up in the bath ... Frustrated warlord
In brighter news, saying that a fellow member "scuttles for his political funk hole" was deemed allowable in 1974.

SUV owner's shock discovery

A reader writes: "While cleaning out the Pathfinder this morning after an adventure outing, I discovered two more seats under the floor, so it's a 7-seater. I've had the Pathfinder for 14 months and sometimes wondered what the cup holders behind the back seats were for."

Saving for a drainy day

A reader writes: "It was so good to see that Takapuna Drain was doing so well ... Glendowie Drain says hello ... Uncle Howick Drain is enjoying retirement ... Aunty Mt Eden Drain has been having additions added to her home." (Pictures snapped by a family in Auckland concerned about our blocked drains).