Tried to find out what it is colloquially, but the only reference I could find was a Mad Max term, which didn't help. Anyone know--? Actually there are several phrases throughout the movie that I just don't get, but it's brilliant anyway. Thanks in advance for help--mean people go away.
shareIt refers to the practice of one criminal torturing (or threatening torture of) another criminal in order to elicit information (usually the whereabouts of the tortured criminal's ill-gotten gains). A favourite torture method was amputation of fingers or toes using bolt-cutters, hence the term.
In the context of this film, it is clearly used in a more colloquial (and disparaging) sense to refer to the ethics investigators as people who are tasked with cutting people accused of misconduct out of the police department.
Any other phrases you want to know about? Aussie slang can be impenetrable to people not born here ;)
Thanks tons. I'm getting a list together of Australian phrases, etc. and would love to know what they mean. Maybe you should do an Australian to North American handbook of sorts. I'm serious, I think it would sell. I can't find any websites that are helpful.
shareI think it refers to the cop-cops.
shareThe "Toe cutters" were a gang operating in Sydney back in the 1970s who used to prey on other criminals they knew had committed major robberies to take their cash. They used bolt cutters to cut off toes as a form of torture.
It came to be Police slang for Internal Affairs.
Good information Willjohn. You may also note that the current usage of toe-cutter has moved away from its origin. It is no longer specifically related to criminals. It largely carries the sense of those who turn on their own from a position of authority. Hence the association with Internal Affairs. Toe cutter is now commonly used in a corporate sense for someone brought in to an organisation to sack people. For instance Chainsaw Al Dunlap was Kerry Packer's notorious toe cutter.
share