When the University of Oxford's style guide suggested staff think twice about idioms like 'learn the ropes', it got plenty of people talking about what everyday English sounds like to newcomers. Australian English has more than its share of local words, and some Australian universities, like UNSW, tell staff to explain them rather than drop them.

A Hills hoist rotary clothes line in a Brisbane backyard. Photo: John Robert McPherson / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0), resized.