A to Z Challenge: M

M is for Macadamia, Mate and Mozzie

Mate is slang for friend, although in Australia it is also used as a friendly term, like 'thanks, mate' - even if you aren't necessarily a personal friend of the person.

Mozzie is another example of how Aussies like to shorten everything. Mozzie is our term for a mosquito (a blood-sucking pest found throughout my home state of Queensland along with most other parts of Australia).

The macadamia nut is an Australian native. Originally called a bauple nut (pronounced bopple), locals from the area it originated from (Mt Bauple near the towns of Tiaro and Bauple in Queensland) still refer to it that way. It has been exported and is now grown in many other parts of the world including Hawaii.