beyond the black stump
- idiom
- Australian
- You won’t find a signal out there; it’s beyond the black stump.
Examples
-
Our campsite was truly beyond the black stump, miles from the nearest town.
-
Visiting her farm meant driving beyond the black stump for several hours through dusty roads.
-
They live beyond the black stump in a small cabin.
-
Have you ever been beyond the black stump?
-
The nearest town is 100 kilometers beyond the black stump, making it hard to get supplies.
-
They live beyond the black stump where there are no amenities and only a few neighbors.
-
Camping beyond the black stump offers a true taste of the Australian wilderness.
Synonyms
31
5.9
Remote land in Australia far from towns where few people live
8
9.1
A place far from towns where few people live
6
9.9
A very remote part of the Australian outback that is wild and harsh
6
6.3
A large dry area in Australia far from cities and towns
6
6.2
A wild area far from towns and roads, like a mountain
4
9.9
A remote part of the Australian outback that is very empty and hard to reach
3
7.9
From a remote rural area that has few modern facilities
2
9.4
A distant land far beyond the sea
1
7.7
Areas far from towns or cities where few people live and life is often hard
1
7.4
A rural area far from towns and cities with few people
How Remote
- Australian
- UK
8
9.1
43
1.0
59
3.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
Although the words 'beyond', 'black', and 'stump' are individually transparent, the compound 'black stump' is a culture-specific referent whose association with extreme remoteness is not predictable from the constituents. A B1 learner who knows the literal meanings would not reliably infer the idiomatic sense 'very remote/isolated' without prior exposure or cultural knowledge, so the expression is opaque.
Etymology
Beyond the black stump comes from early Australian life. People often left a burned tree, a black stump, as the last sign of town, so anything 'beyond the black stump' was out in the wild and the phrase means 'in a very remote place'.