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tart
A dated Australian term for a girlfriend or sweetheart; now likely to be offensive.
In a sentence
The memoir uses tart in its now-obsolete Australian sense of sweetheart.
Where it came from
Likely shortened from jam tart, rhyming slang for sweetheart. Australian National Dictionary Centre direct entry confirms the recorded sense and Australian historical context.
- Initial era
- 1850–1899
- Where used
- Australian use; no narrower regional pattern established
- Use today
- Historical Australian sweetheart sense obsolete; modern senses derogatory