Meaning

Technicolor yawn

Categorised in: Australian Phrases and Sayings ·What are euphemisms? ·A list of phrases about food and drink

What's the meaning of the phrase 'Technicolor yawn - A'?

Vomiting.

Not for all the tea in China
Not for all the tea in China - caption

What’s the origin of the phrase ‘Technicolor yawn - A’?

This is one of the many colourful Australian phrases for vomiting. It was coined by, or at least popularised by, Barry Humphries and appeared in his 1965 review A Nice Night’s Entertainment:

When I swallowed the last prawn,
I had a technicolor yawn and I chundered in the old Pacific Sea.

See also Point Percy at the Porcelain.

Historical trend

“Technicolor yawn” in printed material over time

Source: Google Books Ngrams (1980–2020).

198020002020
  • Technicolor yawn