Kattywompus

What's a word or phrase you use all the time that no one else seems to? Where did you learn or pick up this word/phrase?

Reply 11

The "Ballarat Cup". I didn't actually realise this was particular to our family until I reached university. A Ballarat Cup is a cup of tea (or other drinkable liquid in a cup or a glass), which is only three-quarters full. So, if someone offered you a drink of some kind, and didn't fill it to a reasonably accepted level, you'd accuse them of giving you a "Ballarat Cup".

The origins of this particular family saying are from a story my grandfather used to tell, of going to visit a certain aunt who lived in Ballarat and who was known for always being stingy with the teapot. After a while, the family got used to calling a short-poured glass/cup a Ballarat Cup, and the saying stuck. It wasn't until I used it to a uni friend in Melbourne that I realised it wasn't a common saying at all, but one restricted to my mother's side of the family.

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