Phrases & SayingsEveryday lifeRhyming slang
Noah's ark
Rhyming slang: historically 'nark' (informer), and later in Australia 'shark'.
In a sentence
In this historical or contextual use, “Noah's ark” means rhyming slang: historically 'nark' (informer), and later in Australia 'shark'.
Where it came from
The Australian National Dictionary Centre records the nark sense from the late nineteenth century and the Australian shark sense from the 1930s.
- Initial era
- 1850–1899
- Where used
- Australian use; no narrower regional pattern established