Mallee bull n.
used as a notional measure of health and/or strength.
In phrases
(Aus.) extremely powerful.
![[Aus]](/static/img/flags/aus.png "Australia") | Australasian (Melbourne) 21 June 6/1: I was as lissom as a quince bough and as strong as a mallee bull in them days. | |
| Canberra Times (ACT) 18 Oct. 2/3: ‘I have a check-up twice a year and my doctor has told me I'm fit as a mallee bull’. | |
| Canberra Times (ACT) 4 Jan. 16/1: ‘Sir has trained down to almost peak fitness. [...] generally Sir is as fit as a mallee bull’. | |
| Lairs, Urgers & Coat-Tuggers 43: Archer was not only as strong as a mallee bull but as fast as a scared possum. | |
| (con. late 1950s) Amaze Your Friends (2019) 92: ‘How are you, Joe?’ ‘Fit as a Mallee’. | |
| Base Nature [ebook] ‘It’s going to take two of us to overpower him. He looks fat but he’s like a Mallee bull’. |