Originally Posted by
VThokie2
Many Ozzies love using phrases they know international audiences wouldn’t understand precisely for that fact alone.
Pot kettle, black. Many international folk probably couldn't tell you what a chinook (not the helicopter) is either.
For your benefit, the knock-em downs are short sharp thunderstorms that occur when the Wet (monsoon) season has finished. So called because tall (6 foot) grasses grow in the wet, then the cooler dry season winds hit (usually in early April) then the grass quickly dries and dies. Then a week later is normally a couple of days of storms that knock the grass over. Hence the name, and it's the short Bangkerring season - one of six distinct seasons in the Top End and the best time to visit.
The relevance of that is that this year it was at the very end of April which is later than normal, along with the humidity and heat which might have lead to less payload along with the runway works.