The Little Slit in the Tail
The Little Slit in the Tail - meaning Summary
Outfitted to Impress
The poem humorously depicts a bushman turned town dandy who flaunts fashionable clothes to impress and perhaps fool his rural peers. The speaker catalogs his hat, coat and pants with amused pride, fixating on a trivial detail—the "little slit in the tail"—as a symbol of affectation and social aspiration. The tone mixes self-mockery and pride, showing how outward dress can mask or comicize identity shifts between bush and city.
Read Complete AnalysesI’m glad that the Bushmen can’t see me now A-doing it tall in the town; I’ve an inch-brimmed hat on my sun-burnt brow And my collar jumps up and down. I’m wearing a vest that would charm a snake, And a tie like a lost soul’s wail; And I’m dressed in a coat of the latest make, With a little slit in the tail: With a little slit in the tail of it, With a little slit in the tail. My pants alone are a thing of joy, And they’re built to show my bends, With a crease behind and a crease before, And a little curl in the ends. I carry my nose-rag in my cuff, And the lot should get me gaol I paid five guineas for my rig-out, And one for the slit in the tail: For the little slit in the tail of it, For the little slit in the tail.
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