Home and Away fans are clamoring for the long-running soap to bring back a classic bit of Australian slang that became a fan favorite of the show in the ’90s.
The move came after a viewer shared a compilation of flashbacks showing some of the soap’s most popular characters telling each other to “shut down.”
The phrase, which translates as “go away”, has been commonly heard in Australia since the 1970s.
Some of the show’s biggest stars can be seen in the hilarious Instagram post using the term, including Kate Ritchie, who played Sally Fletcher from 1988 to 2008.
In the excerpt from one of the first episodes of Home and Away, Sally says: “You’ve hurt me and you’ve hurt everyone else, so just leave.”
Other scenes included in the nostalgic compilation feature Dannii Minogue, Craig McLaughlin, Dieter Brummer and current star Ray Meagher.
Home and Away fans are clamoring for the long-running soap to bring back a classic bit of Australian slang, “rack off”, which was said on the show in the 90s. Pictured: Kate Ritchie
American film star Isla Fisher, who played Shannon in the series between 1994 and 1997, can also be seen in the clip, as well as Melissa George.
Fans were quick to post their enthusiasm for the saying that has fallen into disuse.
‘Do they still say leave?’ one fan posted on the Instagram video.
“I forgot that was a saying,” another admitted.
Meanwhile, another fan seemed inspired by the video: ‘I love this! Maybe I’ll start saying this again!’
“I’m going to start wearing this from now on and anyone who says I can’t, leave,” one viewer joked.
“That’s it lol so he’s Australian,” said another.
However, one fan seemed to doubt whether the slang term was ever used, writing: “And no one ever said it was gone.”
Some of the show’s biggest stars can be seen in a hilarious Instagram post that includes Dannii Minogue and Craig McLaughlin (pictured) using the term.
Isla Fisher in a scene from Home and Away (far right)
Fans were quick to post their enthusiasm for the saying that has fallen into disuse.
The term was popularized in Australia in 1975 after singer Maureen Elkner scored a hit with the song Rak off, Normie!.
The novel tune reached number six on the Australian national singles chart.
It was a “sequel” to an earlier hit, Bob Hudson’s The Newcastle Song, which featured a character called Normie.
The song’s lyrics chronicle the exploits of Normie and his companions on a Saturday night as they try to “pick up” women while cruising the streets of Newcastle in an FJ Holden.
According to the Cambridge Online Dictionary, the definition of “rack off” is: “To leave or leave, used especially as a rude way of telling someone to leave.”