SHRIMP ON THE BARBIE

'"Shrimp on the barbie"' is an often-quoted phrase that originated in a series of television advertisements by the Australian Tourism Commission starring Paul Hogan from 1986. The actual quote spoken by Hogan is "I'll slip an extra shrimp on the barbie for you". It has been popularly used along with some variations since to make reference to Australia in popular culture.
"Barbie" is Australian slang for "barbecue," and the phrase often evokes images of a fun social gathering under the sun. However, Australians invariably use the word "prawn" rather than "shrimp." Australian "prawns" are prepared in several manners, including on a barbecue like in the advertisement. Since the commercial was commissioned for broadcast in the United States, the changes were probably made to limit confusion.

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Pop culture references

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References

Pop culture references

★ ''The Shrimp on the Barbie'' is the title of a 1990 film set in Australia, starring Cheech Marin.

★ Lloyd Christmas (Jim Carrey) utters the line in the 1994 film ''Dumb & Dumber'' when trying to pick up an Austrian woman.

★ Marge Simpson says the line in the 2004 ''The Simpsons'' episode "Diatribe of a Mad Housewife".

★ Lawrence Jamieson (Michael Caine) utters the line in the 1988 film ''Dirty Rotten Scoundrels'' when trying to imitate an Australian businessman.

★ In the 2005 film ''The Dukes of Hazzard'', a largely incomphrehensible version of the saying is uttered by a smitten Bo Duke (Seann William Scott) upon meeting an Australian woman.

★ In a "Pearls Before Swine" strip, Pastis uses the term "throw another shrimp on the barbie" and Pig is shown throwing shrimp at a Barbie doll.

★ In the episode "7 Continents for 7 Koopas" of ''The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3'', when Cheatsy Koopa invades Australasia he changes a man into a shrimp and says "We're throwing a shrimp on Barbie!".

Media

References

★ Come and Say G’Day!, ''Travel Marketing Decisions''. Retrieved 14 March 2007.