barleese

A school-yard term used in games of chasey to indicate that you can't get "it" or to call a truce. Beyond the age of 12, used to communicate a desire to not get involved or answer a difficult question. Folklorists and other researchers have noted the use of the term and its variants in various parts of Australia, particularly, it seems, in Western Australia. However, in Western Australia one sometimes hears the term – usually as ‘barleese’ – in the conversation of adults. In these contexts, ‘barleese’ may be used to indicate that the speaker has ‘had enough’ of something, usually something that they consider to be excessive, irritating or otherwise unpleasant. Another use for the term is to indicate that the speaker considers something to be too difficult to contemplate or to carry out.