by Ian Loft

Created on: January 25, 2010

Modesty is a trait of character that can be described as self-effacing, unassuming, and unpretentious – the challenge here is to reconcile this rather unusual description of Aussies with a brief exploration of unique Aussie characteristics in a way that somehow relates to modest!  

As a born and bred Aussie myself it is often very easy to take for granted a way of life that may seem a little bizarre, off-colour and perhaps even rude if compared with other cultures.  Lets take a closer look at a few of the Aussie characteristics, sayings and traits that when considered in isolation are often misunderstood by those of you unfamiliar with the culture.

‘Could be worse mate!’ – a classic Aussie understatement best described by relating an old joke that circulated some years ago:

Bruce, a laid-back Aussie renowned for his ‘could be worse mate’ response to the hardest of situations was in the pub knocking back a few ambers when his drinking partner Jacko came in with the bad news that Blue, Bruce’s best mate, was shot by the jealous husband of a stunning blond taken home from that very pub last evening.  “Could be worse mate’ replied Bruce when told of what happened.  ‘How can you say that?  That was your best mate and now he is dead – how can it possibly be worse’ says Jacko.  ‘Well’ responds Bruce as he knocked back the last of his Fosters ‘two nights ago it would have been me that was shot!’ 

Now the story above is quite an illustration of Aussie modesty.  Bruce clearly kept his peccadilloes with a married blond to himself and did not share the story with his mates over a beer next evening in the pub.  A lesser male would proudly boast of his conquests.

 ‘She’ll be right mate!’ – This is always the best comment for those really bad situations. Even the toughest of us Aussie males have our difficulties from time to time but few want to involve others.  Consider the following example, a common situation that can break the best of us: Missus ran off with a mate, and the beer fridge broke down.  Now there are few circumstances I can think of worse than warm beer.  The modest Aussie bloke taking all this in his stride will shrug his shoulders, phone a few mates (those without missus’), organise a cold esky to rescue the beer and fire up the barbie.  At some point

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>