emu bob

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English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

The motion of the people repeatedly bending down and standing up is likened to emus bobbing their head as they forage on the ground.

Noun[edit]

emu bob (countable and uncountable, plural emu bobs)

  1. (Australia) A task assigned to a group of people, especially schoolchildren or army recruits, where they move around an area and pick up rubbish from the ground.
    Synonyms: emu parade, emu patrol

Usage notes[edit]

Occasionally the term and its synonyms are applied to another activity which involves repetitive bending down over a wide area, such as searching for clues relating to somebody's disappearance.