On Instapundit, two matters of local interest to have come up together one after the other. First this under the heading, “THAT’S NOT AN EXTREME SPORT, THIS IS AN EXTREME SPORT: New Extreme Sport Of Flyboarding Takes Off In Australia” which then links to this from The Telegraph in the UK:

Merely a day in the life of a typical Australian, as we would all know.

But then there’s this which came next (which means, as found on the page, it now comes before the above):

ANSWERING THE VITAL QUESTIONS: The Oxford English Dictionary wants to know whether Prince Philip is responsible for coining the phrase ‘blue-arsed fly’.

The text with the story:

Prince Philip is known for his blunt talk and colourful turns of phrase.

Now the Oxford English Dictionary wants to know whether the British royal consort is responsible for coining a memorable entomological term.

Editors say Philip uttered the first recorded usage of “blue-arsed fly” in 1970, telling a photographer he’d been “running around like a blue-arsed fly”.

The dictionary is appealing to readers to submit earlier uses of the term. It notes the variant ‘blue-assed fly’ was first recorded in 1932.

My Dinkum Dictionary naturally shows it (with the correct spelling) but was published in 1988. It is truly an Aussie phrase, but how far can we go back? We need to help out our Pommy friends at Oxford. Anyone have a citation before 1932?