Green’s Dictionary of Slang

borak n.

(Aus./N.Z.) nonsense, humbug, chaff, banter.

1845		C. Griffith Present State and Prospects of the Port Phillip District of New South Wales 162: The following is a specimen of such eloquence: – ‘You pilmillally jumbuck, plenty sulky me, plenty boom, borack gammon,’ which, being interpreted, means – ‘If you steal my sheep I shall be very angry, and will shoot you and no mistake.’.
1856		W.W. Dobie Recollections of a Visit to Port Phillip 93: He gravely assured me that [...] ‘blackfellow doctor was far better than whitefellow doctor.’ In proof of which he would say, ‘Borak you ever see black fellow with waddie (wooden) leg. Bungalallee white fellow doctor cut him leg, borak black fellow stupid like it that.’.
1885		Bulletin (Sydney) 28 Feb. 14/3: There’s no ‘borac’ about this.
1888		A.J. Chandler ‘Curley’ in Aus. Poets, 1788-1888 100: Here broke in Super Scotty, ‘Stop / Your borak, give the bloomin’ man a show.’.
1900		Bulletin (Sydney) 14 July 28/3: Carrington’s ‘borak’ probably contributed a good deal to the subsequent carrying of the reading.
1900–10		Stephens & O’Brien Materials for a Dict. of Aus. Sl. [unpub. ms.] 24: BORAK slang chaff, fun, persiflage.
1908		G. Seagram Bushmen All 229: Cheese your borack.
2003		McGill Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl. 31: borax Banter. Originally ‘borak’, almost invariably in the phrase poke the borax at, to tease somebody. From an Aboriginal development of burag, no. ANZ C19. By the middle of C20 the borax had come to mean blame or a scolding.

In compounds

borak merchant (n.)

(Aus.) a persistent tease.

1972

A. Chipper Aussie Swearers Guide 43: Borak Merchant. A goad or tease. (Compare Brit. mickey-taker).

In phrases

poke (the) borak (v.) (also …borack, ...borag, …borax, poke it)

(Aus./N.Z.) to make or poke fun.

1857		Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 14 Sept. 2/8: More was done by the early agitators than we were doing. Earl Grey and the Downing-street gentlemen did not poke ‘borak’ at them.
1858		Moreton Bay Courier 20 Jan. 2/4: He said ‘to the divil with Mr. Lord and yoursilf, I’m here to poke borak (fun) at Mr. Lord and yoursilf’.
1867		Darling Downs Gaz. Toowoomba, Qld) 7 Dec. 2/6: We are inclined to fancy that the worthy host of the Cricketers Arms is [...] trying to do what is commonly called in that toon 'poking borak' at the Toowoombaites.
1875		Maryborough Chron. (Qld) 27 Mar. 3/1: The boys, after the manner of colonial boys, ‘poked borak'’at their distressed parents.
1882		Bulletin (Sydney) 9 Sept. 9: A smart fellow was ‘poking borak’ at them, and asked, ‘Is the snow in Japan the same as it is in Tasmania?’.
1885		Australasian Printers Keepsake 75: On telling him my adventures, how Bob in my misery had ‘poked borack’ at me.
1893		Argus 26 Aug. 13/1: It does not do for a man whose mission it is to wear stuff and a horsehair wig to ‘poke borak’ at that venerable and eminently respectable institution – the law.
1898		S. Aus. Register (Adelaide) 11 May 5/1: Among the words [...] which called forth enquiring interjections from Mr Justice Holroyd were [...] ‘poking at me’ (meaning trying to deceive me).
1900		Bulletin (Sydney) 11 Aug. 24/4: Bourke kept ‘poking it’ at the old man, who can’t stand banter, especially under such conditions, and Bourke knew it.
1901		Truth (Sydney) 12 Jan. 1/6: Bloodyard Drippling’s preposterous ‘pome’, which virtually pokes borak at England’s helplessness.
1902		‘Dads Wayback’ in Sun. Times (Sydney) 6 July 13/7: ‘lokes likes pokin’ borax at them sort [of woman] [...] but no one but er natural-born fool ever married one’.
1902		Truth (Sydney) 16 Mar. 4/3 This is the sort of ‘light and airy persiflage’ in which Elijah, the Prophet of the Lord, ‘poked borax’ at the poor prophets of Baal.
1903		‘Dads Wayback’ in Sun. Times (Sydney) 7 June 1/4: ‘It's these fancy sketches [...] poke borag at ther live-fer-ever idee’.
1908		Aus. Mag. (Sydney) Nov. 1251/1: Borak [...] is alleged to be the origin of the term ‘barracker’. In the old days a barracker was a person who poked borak at the opponents of the side he favoured.
1911		L. Stone Jonah 43: ‘Garn!’ he cried at last [...] ‘yer needn’t poke borak.’.
1919		C.H. Thorp Handful of Ausseys 203: When the train pulls out, they leans out uv the carriage an’ ‘pokes it’ at the Jacks. ’Struth! they seem ter like jeerin’ an’ pokin’ borax and those blokes.
1920		(con. WW1) Coffs Harbour Advocate 29 May 2/6: If you see a man ‘poking borak’ (1916-1918 Franco-Australian slanguage) you can bet your fifty bob boots and ten- shilling socks that he never saw the other side.
1940		H. Drake-Brockman Hot Gold I ii: The poor dope musta been dingbats if he wasn’t poking borak.
1947		D. Davin For the Rest of Our Lives 209: Those bastards are too bloody fond of poking the borax at a bloke just back from the blue.
1949		R. Park Poor Man’s Orange 82: Don’t go poking borax at the dead.
1951		D. Stivens Jimmy Brockett 107: For some time I hadn’t liked the way Pat Regan had been poking borak at me about having got on.
1959		G. Slatter Gun in My Hand 224: Taffy was always poking the borax at the queers.
1960		E. North Nobody Stops Me 148: I sort of subscribed to his ravings about women, while everybody else about the place poked borak at him.
1968		G. Slatter Pagan Game (1969) 163: Two queens having a stand up scratch fight — Poking the borax.
1968		S. Gore Holy Smoke 48: He slings in a rider that in future anyone who tried poking borak at their God ’d be cut to pieces.
1975		(con. 1930s) H. Anderson Men of the Milford Road 39: The men in the various gangs [...] made the most of such a glorious opportunity of ‘poking the borax’ at the boss.
1988		McGill Dict. of Kiwi Sl. 19/1: borax in phr. poke the borax to ridicule; most popular spelling here of Aboriginal word ‘borak’ aka ‘borac’ and ‘borack’.
1999		G. Seal Lingo 143: Yet other racing expressions moved into the general vernacular [...] to poke borak, meaning telling ridiculous lies in racing slang, had the meaning of tease or stir.
2003		McGill Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl. [as cit. 1988].