Where "Fair Suck of the Sauce Bottle" Comes From
"Fair suck of the sauce bottle" is a humorous variant of the older Australian exclamation "fair suck of the sav" — sav being a saveloy sausage — invoking the Aussie tradition of sharing food communally. Both belong to the wider family of "fair..." phrases in Australian English, of which "fair go" is the most culturally significant.
The phrase returned to national prominence around 2009, when Prime Minister Kevin Rudd repeatedly deployed the closely related variant "fair shake of the sauce bottle" — a slightly garbled version that drew widespread attention and gentle mockery, with The New York Times noting the "antiquated Australian slang" in June of that year. The authentic "fair suck" form had been in circulation long before Rudd, but his usage introduced both variants to a new generation.
"Fair suck of the sauce bottle, mate — we've been standing in this queue since eight this morning!"
How Aussies Actually Use It
Spoken with exasperation or cheeky defiance when calling out unfair rules or stingy behaviour.
A sister phrase to 'fair go', expressing the deeply held Australian demand for equity.
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