Where "Things Are Crook in Tallarook" Comes From
It's first confirmed in print in a 1941 Victorian newspaper, phrased in a way that shows it was already a well-known saying by then.
It's part of a wider Depression-era tradition of rhyming place-name idioms, alongside cousins like "no work in Bourke."
“The car broke down, the fridge died and the roof leaks. Things are crook in Tallarook this week.”
“How's the shop going? Crook in Tallarook, to be honest.”
Business has been crook in Tallarook ever since the highway bypassed the town.
How Aussies Actually Use It
Used to sum up a run of bad luck, a struggling business, or a generally grim situation, with a wry, old-fashioned charm.
This is a rhyming saying you use for effect. It sounds a bit old-fashioned and playful, and people say it with a grin when they want to sum up a bad patch in a memorable way. It is a comment on the situation rather than a report of facts: things are going badly, and the rhyme makes the complaint sound more like a joke than a moan.
Because it depends on the rhyme, it sounds best in the full form. "Crook" on its own is still very common for feeling ill or for something being bad, but the Tallarook part turns it into a wry saying. Younger speakers may know it more from older relatives than use it every day. Learners can use it lightly when talking about a hard week or a struggling project, but it is not needed in normal conversation.
See also: Crook (the everyday word it plays on), Back of Bourke (another place-name saying), Struggle Street (another way to describe hard times).
Less common today than in earlier decades, but still recognised and enjoyed as a classic piece of Aussie wordplay.
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