Fair suck of the saveloy! An explanation

In a recent article I used the Orstralian exclamation ‘Fair suck of the saveloy!' and a few readers were unsure of its meaning.

I've since learned that the term saveloy itself is mysterious enough to those outside the British Empire so firstly let us hear what Wikipedia says about it:

"A saveloy is a type of vividly red sausage served in English Fish and Chip shops, also available in parts of Australia where it is commonly deep fried in batter as a "battered sav" and New Zealand, where it is also known colloquially as a sav. It is made of pork and is highly seasoned."

Having established the saveloy is a sausage, we can now move on to what it means when someone from these parts suggests this particular sausage could be more equitably distributed, via sucking. Originally the phrase was meant to indicate an injustice had been observed and, in accordance with our national ethos of a fair go for all, the discrepancy should be corrected. The expression these days is similar to ‘give me a break', ‘you've got to be kidding me', ‘oy veh' and ‘mon dieu'. But just how the term originated is a most interesting tale.*

In 1921, prior to the invention of vegemite, but after the Great War and 'flu epidemic, Trevor Bweedle, a gormless youth living in Melbourne's inner city slums, became apprenticed to an English butcher. Had it not been for the decimation of the young male population in the preceding years, the boy Bweedle would never have qualified for such a highly regarded position. Trade apprenticeships were golden in those grim days and had traditionally gone to the brightest and most respected lads in the neighbourhood. The brightest and most respected neighbourhood lads were all dead however and so this gap-toothed twerp joined the staff at Creswicks Creative Comestibles.

Although not overly blessed with braincells Trevor was a well meaning young chap and tried hard to learn. He knew the threepence halfpenny he brought home each week was essential for his poor family's survival, particularly since the triplets had arrived as a surprise pre-menopause present for his unlucky, yet persistently fertile, mum. Each Saturday at three, as the last cleaver was wiped down for the week and the cereal bins were tightly lidded against the weekend rats, he was given, on top of his substantial wage, a pound of tripe, any unsold pork pies and on a good week, a single delicious saveloy.

These treats meant Sundays were days of great feasting and thankfulness in the Bweedle flat and a solemn, sincere piety overtook young Trev. As the months went by and he saw his little brothers thriving, unlike so many poor bairns of the district, he became more devout and decided his feeble mind needed more learning to appreciate the goodness of the Lord who had provided so well for his family. He took to his Bible each evening by the light of a hog-fat candle and was soon reading the message every third Sunday at the St Kilda Methodist church.

Trevor Bweedle became a chap of great learning and hard-working sobriety. He took over the butchery from old man Creswick in the thirties, was elected to the city council in the forties, and watched with tremendous pride as the three younger Bweedle boys led The Saints to the VFL premiership for the fifth year in a row.

Bazza, Bruce and Brian Bweedle never forgot those long ago days when they'd gum away greedily at that sensuously salted savoury sausage, while their big brother gently admonished, ‘Now now lads, fairly suck thee upon that saveloy, there's enough there for ye all."  Those finely muscled triplets always remembered the sacrifices their older brother made for them and learned from his instinctive sharing nature to be on the look out for malfeasance, to right wrongs and to never start the third quarter from behind. Poor umpiring decisions would find the Bweedle boys calling out with heartfelt passion, "Fair suck of the saveloy! He was clearly holding the ball!" and from there a national plea was born.

* This story is fiction. We know this mainly because St Kilda have only ever won the premiership once and that was in 1966, long after the events here took place. Or rather long after the events here didn't take place. You know what I mean.