Down Under

[CW Tan]

Hi teachers,

What is the meaning of "Down Under" in the following snippet?

Company A has been in the Australian market for 5 years. The going was tough at first because it had to compete with the larger domestic players. However, since its success in clinching multinational customers in Australia, like Company B and Company C, the perception of the company Down Under has improved. It now finds it easier to secure new costomers.

Thank you very much in advance.

[Marius Hancu]

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The Wordsworth dictionary of idioms‎ - Page 88 (http://books.google.com/books?id=8C7k7ZW3dIEC&pg=PA88&dq=%22down+under%22+idiom&lr=)

by E. M. Kirkpatrick, C. M. Schwarz - Reference (http://books.google.com/books?q=+subject:%22Reference%22&lr=) - 1993 - 432 pages

down under (often facet) in or to Australia or
New Zealand: How are you enjoying life down under?

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[OddThomas]

Down under comes from the notion that on the globe Australia and New Zealand are down and under nearly everything else.