Beyond the Black Stump
Twists & Turns of Phrase
Something that’s beyond the black stump is beyond or outside the realm of civilized life.
This Australian idiom or saying originated with the colonial-era habit of setting a charred stump of wood as a landmark for travellers. It made sense that travellers who continued beyond every charred marker were entering a land that had yet to be colonized and was therefore assumed (however problematically) to be uncivilized.
