Where "Spit the Dummy" Comes From
This one's a genuinely recent coinage: Macquarie Dictionary dates "spit the dummy" to the 1980s. It sits alongside older and newer siblings for the same idea — "chuck a wobbly," "chuck a mickey" — all Australian ways of describing a tantrum, built on the very literal image of a baby spitting out its dummy (pacifier) in protest.
Macquarie also points out this fits a broader Australian pattern: there are a lot of colourful phrases for losing your temper, because — as they put it — Australians don't really approve of people losing their temper, and tend to describe it as overreacting rather than justified anger.
Source:
"He spat the dummy when he didn't get his way."
How Aussies Actually Use It
Used to describe an outsized, often embarrassing overreaction — "he spat the dummy when he didn't get his way" carries a gently mocking tone.
It's frequently applied to adults in sport, work, or everyday disputes, implying the reaction was more childish than the situation warranted.
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