Oh! Isn't Aussie English is closer to BrE: Metal roads, aluminium, pissed as a fart, bloody hell, g'day mate?
I'll give you the rest, but we do not say 'G'day, mate!' Joking aside, yes, Aussie language is far closer to British English than American. Although having read your list again, I'm a little confused by the first. What the hell are metal roads?
I was going to ask that! We also don't use 'sheila' for women and there are a million other Aussieisms I don't even understand.
Gravel roads. Also, it's not just the animals that are dangerous in Australia. http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/science-environment/2009/06/gympie-gympie-once-stung,-never-forgotten/
Really? But gravel isn't metal, so where does this term come from? It can't be common British English if Jud and I (one Southerner, one Northerner I believe?) have never heard of it.
Well that's road metal, as opposed to metal roads. I guess it's referring to the material used, but seriously, I've never heard of gravel roads, or the material used on gravel roads, referred to as 'metal'. It doesn't even make sense
I've never heard of them either. Maybe they're in reference to the iron ore roads in some of the red deserts.
I was born and grew up in New Zealand. We often drove on metal roads, e.g. the road out to Piha beach. The first time I fell off a motorcycle was when I panicked when I was surprised where the tarmac stopped and the metal (as well called it) began, and I grabbed the brakes.
I'm guessing it's a Noo Zeelund thing then...., eh, bro? I grew up in the bush with lots of dirt tracks and this is the first I've ever heard of it. Lol.
I think we're discussing two different things here. The term you linked to is 'road metal', not 'metal roads' - there's a difference. 'Road metal' in the British sense, apparently refers to the material used to make gravel roads. Maybe you call them 'metal roads' in NZ, but in Britain there's no such term.
Lol, been here 33 years and it takes you pommies to bring it to my attention. This is why we don't involve ourselves in those language debates. We don't even fucking know our own! ...and that's true btw. Country vernacular and slang is quite different here on many accounts compaired to city slang. They're often worlds apart. So no doubt it's a thing, just not where I grew up.
I hike here a lot and sat down right next a sleeping Eastern Brown snake (also: Common Brown or Common Eastern Brown) once. Go have a look where that ranks in the world top 100 deadliest snakes... I dare you. Spoiler: From wikipedia The Eastern brown snake (Pseudonaja textilis) has a venom LD50 value of 0.053 mg SC according to (Brown, 1973) and a value of 0.0365 mg SC according to (Ernst and Zug et al. 1996).[10] According to both studies, it is the second most venomous snake in the world. Average venom yield is 2–6 mg according to (Meier and White, 1995). According to (Minton, 1974) average venom yield (dry weight) is between 5–10 mg.[92] Maximum venom yield for this species is 155 mg.[13] This species is legendary for its bad temper, aggression, and for its speed. This species is responsible for more deaths every year in Australia than any other group of snakes. I got up very, very carefully.
Traveling in Oz we came across magnetic trucks. Then we saw signs saying, metal road. You can imagine our curiosity. But they weren't related. Magnetic trucks drive around construction sites picking up nails. And as has been noted, a metal road is a gravel road. Which reminded me, they also call asphalt, bitumen.
