What is the 'shirtfront' Tony Abbott wants to give to Vladimir Putin?
"Look, I'm going to shirtfront Mr Putin ... you bet I am."
Prime Minister Tony Abbott's fighting words almost certainly sent the diplomats in the Russian Embassy rushing for their Australian slang dictionaries on Monday.
Many Australian observers were also left scratching their heads at the evocative choice of words, which hails from the lexicon of Australian Rules football.
Ultimately Mr Abbott (or his media manager) may be the only one who truly knows what he plans to do during bilateral talks with Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, at the G20 in Brisbane next month.
So what exactly is a 'shirtfront'?
Shirtfront *_(Australian Rules)_ _noun,_ "A fierce tackle, usually delivered by the shoulder to the chest of an opponent." _verb,_ "The act of delivering such a tackle." - *Oxford Australian Dictionary.*
Politicians usually tailor their words to suit their audience, so it was a curious choice of words from Mr Abbott.
Speaking to reporters in Brisbane (rugby league heartland) about the president of Russia (Moscow is approximately 14,400 kilometres from the MCG), the PM pulled out a word clearly associated with 'Aussie Rules' football.
Any AFL fan worth their salt would know that a 'shirtfront' is an old-fashioned shoulder charge to an opposition player's chest (the front of their shirt).
The word has fallen out of usage in recent years, replaced by the less colourful term, 'bump'.
The shirtfront itself is now somewhat of a dying art in the AFL, as the game's administrators try to make the game safer for players and more palatable for the parents of young footballers.
A 1970s-era shirtfront that drew plaudits from fans and critics would probably earn a modern footballer a month or more on the sidelines for "dangerous conduct".
Social media has been full of speculation Mr Abbott was referring to Mr Putin's penchant for ditching his shirt, in which case it remains to be seen how a shirtless shirtfront will play out at a diplomatic level.
There has been no formal response from Moscow yet, but given Mr Putin's tough-guy reputation, and the fact one of Russia's most popular sports is ice hockey, things could escalate.
