At the Macquarie Dictionary head office, we are fond of road trips. One of our favourite parts of cruising through the outback is when you notice your fuel drop down to two bars with a hundred kilometres to go before the next servo. Oh, the thrill of not knowing whether you’ll make it. Ah, the argument over why you didn’t buy a jerry can. Short for service station, servos don’t just sell petrol, they sell an experience.
As your car splutters in to the next servo, you get the chance to stretch your legs, to buy an ice cream and stock up on desperately needed bottles of water. And you finally, finally get to use the loo.
If you love a road trip, be sure to check out our blog on grey nomads.
Each week, we have a look at a slang word from Australian English. You can see other Aussie Word of the Week posts from the Macquarie Dictionary here.
