Traditional
Heritage slang / older generations
Definition
Phone.
Example Sentence
"Get off the dog and bone!"
Where "Dog and Bone" Comes From
One of the most famous pieces of Cockney rhyming slang ever exported: "dog and bone" rhymes with "phone," and it made the journey from London's East End straight into Australian vocabulary.
It's an old enough phrase that it predates mobile phones entirely, but it's still used today, updated in spirit if not in origin.
How Aussies Actually Use It
Mostly used now with a wink, often by older generations telling someone to answer or stop hogging the phone — "get off the dog and bone" has the same energy as a mum yelling up the stairs.
Younger Aussies tend to know it as a fun bit of heritage slang rather than an everyday phrase.
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