Phraseology and Culture in English

6. “T.G.I.F.” 
The G in the abbreviation T.G.I.F., which is used in Australia but also widely 
known elsewhere, stands for either God or for the noun goodness (but see 
also below). Instead of the abbreviation, both Thank God it’s Friday and
Thank goodness it’s Friday are heard. 
Come Friday, what do Australians do? Judging by a 1944 photograph of 
three young females in the washrooms of a factory in Marrickville (New 
South Wales), they wash their feet (they may have been too busy to do it 
earlier). The picture has been included in an album published more than 
forty years later (Raymond 1988: 127), complete with a title no doubt se-
lected by the compiler, viz. “Thank God it’s Friday”. But there are other 
activities as well. 
ʊ
University lecturers, doctoral and other students, and sometimes even 
members of the public attend seminars which are commonly organised 
late on Friday afternoon. In several Australian universities (Charles Sturt, 
Macquarie, Sydney) there are (or have been) weekly seminars called 
Thank God it’s Friday. They are usually the initiative of a department 
or a school, and combine serious scholarship with a relaxed atmosphere. 
There is often a drink and a nibble to start off with, then the speaker 
takes over. In the process, friendships are forged that go well beyond 
traditional links of collegiality. Afterwards, in many cases, the biggest 
devotees go for a meal together – or for more drinks.
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ʊ
A number of parishes and religious movements, in several Australian 
states (Victoria, New South Wales), capitalise on the fact that, in a lit-
eral interpretation of the phrase Thank God it’s Friday, it is their God 
who is being thanked. On Friday evenings, they open their doors to the 
homeless, young and old, to the poor who are in need of a little warmth 
or attention, and provide them with a meal and with a few moments of 
compassion. In some instances, the programme is much more religious 
and includes prayers and / or bible classes. As for the name of these Fri-
day meetings, quite often it is Thank God it’s Friday. Bearing in mind 
the resumption of classes or the start of the new working week, and the 
need to get up early on Mondays, fewer people nowadays attend Sun-

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Australian perceptions of the weekend
95
day evening church services. But more and more volunteer to help out 
with the Friday meetings, thus giving themselves the opportunity to 
spend the last evening of the weekend with family, or in front of the 
television.
ʊ
Those who don’t feel the need to either continue to learn or open their 
hearts to the less privileged often tend to go out: they meet friends or 
colleagues in cafés, bars, restaurants etc., many of which organise eve-
nings called Thank God it’s Friday. Such evenings are held throughout 
Australia, in all the regions. Many Irish pubs, for instance in Queen-
sland (Brisbane and Cairns), in South Australia (Adelaide), in Victoria 
(Melbourne) and in Tasmania (Hobart), choose a slightly different name: 
in Thank Guinness it’s Friday, the word God (or perhaps goodness,
which in Australian English is phonetically close to Guinness) has to 
make way for the name of an Irish beer exported and much loved all 
over the world. Whatever they are called, these evenings are supposed 
to “kickstart” the weekend. They usually begin at about 5 or 6 pm, 
sometimes later, and last for at least two hours. Some go on until after 
midnight. Alcoholic drinks (wines and beers) are often offered at re-
duced price, there are performances or there is live music with or with-
out dance, and occasionally there are free snacks, lucky draws, tastings, 
even sporting events.
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ʊ
Those who prefer to go home to listen to the radio or watch television 
with other members of the family may be drawn towards one of the 
many broadcasts called Thank God it’s Friday. These broadcasts, which 
last from half an hour up to several hours in a row, either round up the 
week’s events, or play music, or are religious in nature. Their success 
has been mixed: starting on 17 August 2001, a lighthearted summary of 
the week’s current affairs was broadcast on ABC TV under the title The
Glass House, one week after it had been launched as Thank God it’s 
Friday.
Finally, if neither radio nor television have anything on offer that is likely 
to be of interest to the teaching staff of the University of Adelaide, the lat-
ter are able to borrow a staff training video, made available to them by their 
Human Resources department, and which bears the title Thank God it’s 
Friday. After a week mainly spent in front of a computer screen, leaning 
over books, fiddling with test tubes in a lab, or in class rooms, this is obvi-
ously exactly the sort of thing they need. 

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Bert Peeters