If you're a tradie or working on the land, when it's time to take a load off, pull up a stump, have a spell, it means it's time to tuck into some smoko.
An Australian institution, the mid-morning break in recent more health-conscious times is less associated with a cigarette break and rather, a chance to recharge for the day.
Gaining international attention thanks to the broadly popular song Smoko by Australian band The Chats, the slang term has been thrust into the spotlight with many now asking what it is and where it came from.
What is smoko?
Macquarie Dictionary defines smoko as (1) a break in the work of the morning or of the afternoon, originally to allow time for workers to smoke tobacco; (2) food or drink consumed at that time.
The experts on the true meaning of smoko work at the Australian National Dictionary Centre in Canberra.
Mark Gwynn is a senior researcher at the centre and said an official definition did exist.
"It's a tea break, a rest from work," he said.
"It can also mean the food and the drink provided in that period of that break."
Federal Member for Kennedy, Bob Katter, takes a smoko break every day.
"Smoko is the reason why we shouldn't work for a fair proportion of the day," he said.
"When I had ringers working on St. Francis [Station], they believe smoko should last for 20 hours a day.
"For smoko I enjoy tea with condensed milk and a slice of toast with butter on it."
For those on the land like Ray Fleming in McKinlay, north-west Queensland, smoko offers a chance to recharge.
"It is just a morning break to pull up for 10 minutes and have a spell and something to eat and get a bit of fuel in the tank and go again," he said.
Origin of the term
The origin of smoko is hard to track down, but experts believe it all began as a call out to workers in the form of "smoke-oh! smoke-oh!".
"Early evidence of the word is that we find it is spelt with a H at the end, so it comes from a call to down tools," Mr Gwynn said.
The very first evidence of the break itself came from the mid-1850s.
"There is some early references to this break where guys down their tools and have a smoke which is recorded in the context of the Victorian gold rush period," he said.
Queenslanders will be happy to learn that the Sunshine State can claim the first use of the term.
"Our first evidence is coming from the Moreton Bay Courier," Mr Gwynn said.
The term has changed in recent times from a call to gather for a smoke to a chance to chug down an iced coffee and sausage roll.
"It is definitely out there in the world of blue-collar workers and tradespeople these days and it doesn't necessarily have any connotation that we are all going to have a cigarette or even a vape, it is really about the break itself and having a breather," Mr Gwynn said.
Rural Australians' favourite smoko treats
Whether you are slaving away on a work site in the city or mustering cattle in the country, smoko can become quite competitive simply based on what is in your lunchbox.
Scones, cake, pastries, sangas, what are the smoko go-tos these days?
Grazier Jay Hughes of Richmond, north-west Queensland, said her favourite smoko was scones.
"My nana used to make them, so we've grown up with them when we were kids," she said.
"It has to be jam first and then cream last."
The classic scone is a favourite among those on the land, including Ruth Chaplain who lives on Wynberg Station, near Cloncurry, north-west Queensland.
"My favourite thing for smoko would have to be anything freshly baked, and hopefully not by me!" she said.
"My mother-in-law actually makes a really good pumpkin scone, and they are great, they last a while, it is our go-to."
For those who enjoy baking, like Lachlan Smith of McKinley, north-west Queensland, the world is your oyster when it comes to the delicacies you can treat yourself with.
"My favourite smoko is raspberry friands," he said.
But not all rural Australians stick with the classic cup of tea and treat formula, with some, such as grazier Adam Coffey from Miriam Vale, in central Queensland, opting for "one big cup of coffee" on his break.
"I'm a bit of a coffee snob now and I cop a fair bit of flack for it, but I bought a coffee machine like six or seven years ago," he said.
"I just crank out that flat white for smoko and it has to be good coffee, not instant."
