Surprise me

Meaning & origin

Have a Captain Cook

  • 2 sources
  • 3 alternate wordings
  • 2 usage examples
Suggest a correction

Meaning

Have a look at something. Informal rhyming slang. Shortened Captain forms depend more heavily on shared cultural knowledge. Regional use: Australia.

Origin

Captain Cook is Australian rhyming slang for look, using the surname of the British navigator James Cook. It belongs to a productive Australian tradition that often keeps both words of the rhyming name rather than dropping the rhyming part, as Cockney slang may do. The expression is documented from the late 19th century.

Research Sources

References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.

  1. Australian National Dictionary Centre: Rhyming slang in Australian English
  2. National Museum of Australia: Cook, his mission and Indigenous Australia

Variants

  • Have a Captain
  • Take a Captain
  • Take a Captain Cook

Usage Examples

  • Have a Captain Cook at the map before we leave the sealed road.
  • The mechanic took a quick Captain at the engine and found the loose cable.

Same territory

Not finished being curious?

Keep Exploring

Browse all phrases