"Bushmaster" is an ironic name for an Australian tank, isn't it? Their next line of tanks will be called "Outbackmasters". The Bushmasters will patrol the bush, and the Outbackmasters will patrol the Outback.

EDIT: Apparently they're not technically "tanks", but I'm too lazy to look up what the technical term is for a military vehicle to be used in the bush.

Bushmaster" is an ironic name for an Australian tank, isn't it? — Arcane Sandwich

I thought is was an amusing name - sounds more like a Chinese Swiss army knife knock off you might find at Kmart in a grubby blister pack for $4.99.

So, is the bush like this super dangerous place that needs the presence of several military vehicles known as "Bushmasters"?

If so, would the Outback need "Outbackmasters"?

I don’t know the difference between the bush and the outback. I use them interchangeably if I have to use them. But generally I talk about going to ‘the country.’

I don’t know the difference between the bush and the outback. — Tom Storm

I have a similar problem with the Pampas and the Patagonia. I can distinguish them if I see them separately, either in person or in visual recordings (photographs, cinema, etc.). But there's a "fuzzy zone" in the middle where it's genuinely impossible to discern where one of them ends and the other one begins. As David Lewis famously said of the Outback:

The only intelligible account of vagueness locates it in our thought and language. The reason it's vague where the outback begins is not that there's this thing, the outback, with imprecise borders; rather there are many things, with different borders, and nobody has been fool enough to try to enforce a choice of one of them as the official referent of the word `outback.' Vagueness is semantic indecision. — David Lewis (1986)

Out back was where the dunny was situated in the Australian burgs until septic tanks and sewerage systems. And the Bush was closer at hand if the lady was prudish. No need to leave home, in the good ol' days, to be in either. And no semantic indecision defining the difference, unless you too were prudish.

smile

Have led a sheltered life regards pop bands from Scant'ia. Only know one from each, A-ha, Abba, Nightwish. Danish bands ???? Oh, and "Europe", wherever they were from...a Continental band, perhaps?
Argentinian bands ???? Sorry, Arcane, but ignorance is no excuse. Will check out early Sui Generis and give it due consideration, that is against the Argentinian political scene/upheavals of that time. Having Googled Spanish bands so as to not leave out Javi, not sure now if Goo gal can distinguish between bands that sing in the Spanish language and bands originating from Spanish speaking countries. Will work on it. Sorry, Javi, Spain's cultural contributions don't extend to metal/rock/etc bands for this ignoramus. More Cervantes, Picasso, flamenco type of Spanish cultural interests. Might mature/ grow up one day, generally no time soon if it can be helped.
Midnight Oil deserves a mention in an Australian Politics thread ( that's veered into rock/metal/ pop bands) for lyric content and personnel reasons.

unrepentant smile

Sorry, Javi, Spain's cultural contributions don't extend to metal/rock/etc bands for this ignoramus. More Cervantes, Picasso, flamenco type of Spanish cultural interests... — kazan

I am deeply sorry for the small contribution of my nation to metal/rock/etc musical bands. Yes, we are better at other things. I will ask Rosemary (again, your stunning and very competent ambassador in Spain) if I could gift a beautiful surrealist painting by Dalí. I honestly believe it is a good start for diplomatic relationships. Looking forward to what is going on with Australian politics! I am very interested in this thread because I got fond of the country.

Ah, on the other hand, it is interesting to see that environmental issues are actually a key factor. Here happened the same on the municipal elections. People went to vote considering the best option to not keep screwing the planet. We don't act like the U.S.

Frame that truth...

I don’t know the difference between the bush and the outback. I use them interchangeably if I have to use them. But generally I talk about going to ‘the country.’ — Tom Storm

When I was a kid living in Epping (a suburb of Sydney) there were corridors of bush (which I believe still mostly exist). I used to spend all day from breakfast to dinner from the age of about seven playing in the bush.

My family used to go on very primitive road trips to the outback (Nyngan, Bourke, Tilpa, Wilcannia, Broken Hill, Coonabarabran, Lightning Ridge, White Cliffs, etc, etc.).

So, I think it is understandable that I don't see them as being the same at all.

@javi2541997,

The Christ Radiant painting, please.... If that's not available, the Melting Watch, please....

@Janus,
Very relatable. It's not bush or outback or city, it's how you situate yourself and your life.

relatively smiling

Very relatable. It's not bush or outback or city, it's how you situate yourself and your life. — kazan

:up: I just noticed I failed to specify that I was in the bush on weekends, not during the week so much.

When I was a kid living in Epping (a suburb of Sydney) there were corridors of bush (which I believe still mostly exist). I used to spend all day from breakfast to dinner from the age of about seven playing in the bush.

My family used to go on very primitive road trips to the outback (Nyngan, Bourke, Tilpa, Wilcannia, Broken Hill, Coonabarabran, Lightning Ridge, White Cliffs, etc, etc.). — Janus

I had pretty much the same experience - growing up in the Dandenong ranges and off to places like Broken Hill for road trips. I still can't tell the difference. :wink:

I was going to say to That if I thought about it at all, I always took 'outback' to be more remote and often barren or dry, while 'bush' implies greenery and perhaps closer proximity to towns or cities. I suspect regular travellers in Australia probably don't use the terms much and are likely to be more precise in their descriptions, as in, going to 'the remote Kimberly' or 'far north Queensland'.

:up:

Very informative and helpful, the distinction between bush and outback is interesting indeed. New lesson learned. I think I have never heard of those words, so I guess it is Australian slang.

I am trying to contextualise it in my reality; I live in a suburb (called "Vallecas") and since "bush" implies greenery, as @Tom Storm points out, I guess I have some bush in the suburb I live in.

And, also yes, I used to play there when I was a kid, as well as @Janus.

My local "bush:"

https://maps.app.goo.gl/tk43Mu1AzFroVUM28

:up: This is a view of area where my parents built their home. But I don't call it the bush - it's too close to suburbia and cities, despite its lushness.

Pretty! It seems to be a quiet and cosy place. If I am not mistaken, those are the famous eucalyptus, right? The tree that shouldn't be disregarded in Australian politics! :cool:

Argentinian bands ???? Sorry, Arcane, but ignorance is no excuse. Will check out early Sui Generis and give it due consideration, that is against the Argentinian political scene/upheavals of that time. — kazan

I don't listen to Sui Generis myself. I have nothing against them or their fans, but it's just not my thing. I like heavy metal and punk rock, among a few other genres. The first argentine metal band was V8, formed in 1979. I'd say that Horcas and Almafuerte were the best metal bands after V8 split up. As for punk rock, I'd say that the best band is Las Manos de Filippi, though they're more of a ska-punk / fusion sort of band with an extremely heavy-handed political message built into their very core. A message that I happen to agree with, for the most part:



I also listen to some argentine folk music, like José Larralde.

As for bands from Spain, I like the punk band Ska-P:



@Banno @@Tom Storm @kazan @Janus since we're talking about the difference between the bush and the outback, this relates to the discussion about Banjo Paterson. Here's my question. If Paterson romanticized the bush, is there any Australian poet that has romanticized the outback? Or was Paterson referring to both, the bush and the outback, as if they composed "the country", as distinct from "the city" as envisioned by Lawson?

Or was Paterson referring to both, the bush and the outback, as if they composed "the country", as distinct from "the city" as envisioned by Lawson? — Arcane Sandwich

No idea.

But if you had to guess, or if you had to argue for any philosophical position in that sort of debate, what would be the best thing to say? I'm not asking for your personal opinion, though I'd listen to it, if you cared to share it.

Well, I can't l say I am familiar with Patterson's work so there is that. At the time he was writing, the remote parts of Australia were also called the "Never-Never" and "back o' Bourke." One of the more famous books (turned into a film) was Jeannie Gunn's 1908 novel, "We of the Never-Never" which I read 40 years ago and have forgotten, like most novels I read.

OK, let me ask you a different question, then. Culturally, does the Billabong have the same "status" as the bush and the outback?

Culturally, does the Billabong have the same "status" as the bush and the outback? — Arcane Sandwich

I don't know what the 'same status' means here. I would imagine most younger people (under 40) do not know what a billabong is and apart from appearing in an old song, it is not a word used much, if ever. Outback may still be used in general conversation, billabong, not so much.

I would imagine most younger people (under 40) do not know what a billabong is and apart from appearing in an old song, it is not a word used much, if ever. — Tom Storm

Are you sure?

https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=billabong%2C+outback&year_start=1800&year_end=2022&corpus=en&smoothing=3

Woa...

I added "bush", check it out:

https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=billabong%2Coutback%2Cbush&year_start=1800&year_end=2022&corpus=en&smoothing=3

Are you sure? — Arcane Sandwich

Fairly sure.

Are you surprised? Think about it.

Fairly sure. — Tom Storm

What do you mean by that? 100% sure? Or less than 100%?

Are you surprised? Think about it. — Banno

But then why are you on Lawson's side instead of Paterson's? I don't get it. Can you explain it to me?

What do you mean by that. 100% sure? Or less than 100%? — Arcane Sandwich

WTF? I am never 100% sure of anything and I don't use percentages to qualify any ideas i hold.

Bear in mind Billabong has been a popular brand of sports wear so the name has recognition if nothing else.