down under
informal

- Australia or New Zealand

Oxford Languages

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PHRASE ORIGIN

The term “down under” originated in the late 19th century and has gained wide acceptance by persistent media-use, especially in reference to Australia.

The Men at Work song "Down Under" became a patriotic rallying song for Australians. The Russian-Australian boxing champion Kostya Tszyu was nicknamed "The Thunder from Down Under", as is Australian snooker player Neil Robertson. When the then Miss Australia Jennifer Hawkins was crowned as Miss Universe 2004 in Quito, Ecuador, she was called by the same nickname by host Billy Bush.

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DOPPELT GEMOPPELT

The phrase “down under” is actually a "tautology" — the use of two words where one would suffice, because the same meaning is inherent in each of the words.

Tautologies are quite common in everyday language and are also useful as they can make speech or writing sound more natural or emphatic:

- “LCD display" = LCD stands for Liquid Crystal Display, so "display" after "LCD" is redundant.

- "HIV virus" = HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus, so "virus" is unnecessary.

- "Past history" = history inherently refers to past events, so "past" is unnecessary.

- "Unexpected surprise" = surprises are, by definition, unexpected, so "unexpected" is redundant.

- "Final conclusion" = a conclusion is, by definition, the final part of something, "final" is redundant.

- "Personal opinion" = an opinion is a personal viewpoint or belief, so "personal" is redundant.

- "Free gift" = by definition, a gift is something given freely, without expectation of return, making "free" unnecessary.

- "Added bonus" = a bonus is something extra or added, so "added" is unnecessary.

- "End result" = a result is inherently at the end of a process, so "end" is unnecessary.

- "Future plans" = plans are inherently about future actions or events, so the word "future" is redundant.

- "Repeat again" = to repeat something is to do it again, so "again" is again unnecessary.

Common examples in German are: "Weißer Schimmel”, "Null und nichtig”, "Runde Kreise”, "Exakte Kopie”, "Laut schreien”,… indeed “Doppelt gemoppelt” is itself tautologous :-)

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SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation, say something like:

“You can't trust the weather DOWN UNDER, one moment it's raining cats and dogs, the next, kangaroos and koalas."

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