About 10 years ago I discovered a lovely book called Lily on the Dustbin by Nancy Keesing (an Australian). It's full of family-oriented sayings, i.e. sayings which were acceptable with children present.

One of my favourites, which I hadn't heard for decades is: As scarce as rocking horse shit. The book has some clever illustrations and this one shows a rocking horse shitting wooden A-B-C child's blocks. I laughed when I saw it because the real imagery of the saying just hit home to me.

I started using the phrase after that and nearly everyone who hears it cracks up or comments that they haven't heard it for years. I was working in the public library at the time and I took a phone enquiry from someone looking for a particularly hard-to-find motor repair manual (hard to find because they kept getting stolen because they had gone out of print almost immediately after the first print run). After the man told me what he wanted I said "Oh yes, it's listed in the catalogue but those manuals are as scarce as rocking-horse ..........umm..err.. umm.. (frantically back-pedalling, trying to think of the polite equivalent to shit)" I suddenly realised I was just about to swear to a customer I didn't even know. It was all right though because he cracked up laughing too.

The Oz-language is full of funny imagery - e.g. He was all over me like a rash (woman complaining of man getting too familiar on a date). People say it without thinking about it but when I picture what is really being said it's very funny.

Helen