wait-a-while

English

Etymology

Originally after South African Dutch wacht-en-beetje; compare wait-a-bit.

Noun

wait-a-while (plural wait-a-whiles)

1. (South Africa) Synonym of wait-a-bit. [from 19th c.]
2. (Australia) Any of several thorny Australian vines or shrubs which impede passage, especially Acacia cuspidifolia of Western Australia, Smilax australis of eastern Australia and the Northern Territory, and lawyer vine.
   • 1979, Thea Astley, Hunting the Wild Pineapple, Nelson, page 136:

     In the new clearing by the creek where he had felled most of the big stuff, she attacked the landscape with anger, grubbing out the wait-a-while and bush-sword that was still guzzling round the stumps.