Look

By virtue of watching a lot of cricket and cricket commentary this last few months, the penny dropped about a strange Australian phrase "Look". People here say "Look" where an "er" would do quite well. The result is an inappropriate emphasis. I had trouble with someone at work alway saying "Look..." at the beginning of any sentence. My immediate reaction was that I must have said something especially dumb or offensive. I now realize that it's just one of those verbal tics like "I guess" for an Amurican. Allan Border, the great Australian cricket ex-captain says "Look" all the bloody time so I finally caught on. Needless to say, I feel much better, right?

Tim