poke borax

== English == === Alternative forms === poke borack poke borak poke the borax === Etymology === From poke borak or poke borack, probably by substitution of the unfamiliar word, by the law of Hobson-Jobson. === Pronunciation === === Verb === poke borax (third-person singular simple present pokes borax, present participle poking borax, simple past and past participle poked borax) (intransitive, Australia, New Zealand, often with "at") To ridicule. 1975, New Zealand House of Representatives, Parliamentary Debates, page 3399, Hon. S. J. Faulkner—You see, as long as the people concerned are not political, it is O.K. But members opposite want to poke borax at people who dare to have a different view from that of the Leader of the Opposition. 1991, Maud Cahill, Christine Dann (editors), Changing Our Lives: Women Working in the Women′s Liberation Movement, 1970-1990, Bridget Williams Books, New Zealand, page 74, It was an acceptable way of poking borax at unions for being so bloody backward.