Australian crawl

noun

Swimming.

1. a crawl in which the swimmer kicks twice with one leg for each stroke of the opposite arm.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Australian crawl¹

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

Gray-haired man doing the Australian crawl calls out to gray-haired woman doing the backstroke: “Hi there, Esther Williams!”

From New York Times

They said it was so as not to be hampered in swimming—as if they expected to do the ‘Australian crawl’ to Norway or the Shetlands!

From Project Gutenberg

No, it's the double side stroke, the Australian crawl, and a lot more.

From Project Gutenberg

Bidding farewell to Mr. Fogerty at this point, I gave myself over to the joy of the moment and went wallowing along, giving a surprising imitation of the famous Australian crawl.

From Project Gutenberg

"He has the Australian crawl and all the fancy strokes."

From Project Gutenberg