See the hottest books publishing this Summer

Australian Vernacular

Summary |  Excerpt |  Reading Guide |  Reviews |  Beyond the Book |  Read-Alikes |  Genres & Themes |  Author Bio

Breath by Tim Winton

Breath

A Novel

by Tim Winton
  • BookBrowse Review:
  • Critics' Consensus (11):
  • Readers' Rating (3):
  • First Published:
  • May 27, 2008, 224 pages
  • Paperback:
  • May 2009, 224 pages
  • Rate this book

About This Book

Australian Vernacular

This article relates to Breath

Print Review

Being a novel from "Oz", the pages of Breath are casually sprinkled with words not found in most non-Australians' vocabularies. While "blokes" and "fags" are easily recognized as meaning "men" and "cigarettes," other descriptive terms remain cloaked in obscurity. To counteract this sense of puzzlement, here is a regional translation chart to clarify most of Winton's more colorful verbiage:

  • bitumen - asphalt paving
  • blued - fought or quarreled
  • bombora - large sea waves breaking over submerged rock shelves
  • carn - come on!
  • dag - nerd, goof, funny person
  • didjeridu - long, tubular, wooden wind instrument that produces continuous low-pitched sounds
  • fossicked - searched, rummaged
  • gaffer - elderly rustic fellow
  • gobbing - surprising or shocking
  • hessian - coarse strong jute or hemp fabric
  • humpy - makeshift or temporary building
  • kelpie - Australian herding dog
  • lamingtons - sponge cakes dipped in chocolate then coconut
  • melaleucas - native trees similar to bottlebrush, one of which produces tea tree oil
  • marri - eucalyptus hardwood trees, native to Western Australia
  • natter - chatter, gossip
  • oldies - parents
  • perspex - tough, light, transparent acrylic also known as plexiglass
  • prang - crash or damage
  • punters - gamblers or risktakers
  • resus - resuscitation equipment
  • saurian - lizard (from the classification Sauropsida)
  • sook - timid, tame, inoffensive person
  • spruiking - publicly promoting goods, a cause, or services
  • swag - possessions or sleeping bag
  • tanty - tantrum
  • tingle - tall eucalyptus tree with bulbous lower trunk
  • tip - a dump
  • twigged - perceived, noticed, understood
  • ute - utility vehicle, pickup truck
  • wattles - Australian acacia shrubs
  • wingeing - constant complaining

Filed under Places, Cultures & Identities

Article by Kathy Pierson

This "beyond the book article" relates to Breath. It originally ran in June 2008 and has been updated for the May 2009 paperback edition. Go to magazine.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

BookBrowse Book Club

  • Book Jacket
    The Busybody Book Club
    by Freya Sampson
    They can't even agree on what to read, so how are they going to solve a murder?

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    Making Friends Can Be Murder
    by Kathleen West

    Thirty-year-old Sarah Jones is drawn into a neighborhood murder mystery after befriending a deceptive con artist.

  • Book Jacket

    Ordinary Love
    by Marie Rutkoski

    A riveting story of class, ambition, and bisexuality—one woman risks everything for a second chance at first love.

Who Said...

Great literature cannot grow from a neglected or impoverished soil...

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

B a L

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.