cark

Everyday

1. (slang, Australia/New Zealand) To cark it means to die: "the old dog finally carked it". tree →
2. (slang, Australia/New Zealand) To cark it can also mean to break down or stop working: "my phone carked it". tree →
3. (old, literary) Cark meant worry or care, as in "carking cares"; this is very rare now. tree →

In the lessons

In Australian and New Zealand everyday talk and in funny stories, "cark it" is a casual, slightly rough way to say something died or broke. It is not polite to use about a person who has just died; say "passed away" instead. Phrases: cark it, carked it.

Examples

• The car carked it halfway up the hill. tree →
• My goldfish carked it last week. tree →
• The laptop carked it right before my project was due. tree →
• "Is the battery flat?" "Yep, carked it." tree →
• Grandpa says his old lawnmower is about to cark it. tree →
• The heater carked it in the middle of winter. tree →

Note

Slang (Australia and New Zealand); not used in formal writing. Past: carked. Similar slang: kick the bucket, croak, conk out (for machines). The polite euphemism for a person dying is "passed away".