What it means
A proper scrap, a blue, a punch-up between two blokes who've had one too many. Works for any kind of fight really, from a dust-up in a pub car park to a full-on political barney in parliament. Comes from old military slang dating back to World War One. Still kicking around today whenever things get heated down under.
Usage examples
"There was a massive stoush outside the bottlo after the footy, the coppers had to break it up before someone lost a tooth"
"There was a bit of a stoush outside the pub after the match on Saturday."
"The two senators got into a proper stoush over the new bill."
"Don't start a stoush in the queue, mate, we're all just trying to get our chips and go home."
"It turned into a full stoush in the comments after he called their club a pack of frauds."
Where it comes from
Recorded from First World War military slang, especially in British and ANZAC use, where stoush meant a fight, clash, or rough scrap. The exact deeper root isn't nailed down cleanly, but the wartime slang stuck hard in Australia and New Zealand, where it still gets used for anything from a pub punch-up to a political bust-up.
Other ways to say it
Editors of this term
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