Results of the noun–verb pair comprehension and production tests from the Test Battery for Auslan Morphology and Syntax (A. Schembri et al., 2000) are presented, reanalyzed, and compared to data from 2 other cases dealing with noun–verb pairs: the Auslan lexical database and a comparison of Auslan and American Sign Language (ASL) signs. The data confirm the existence of formationally related noun–verb pairs in Auslan in which the verb displays a single movement and the noun displays a repeated movement. The data also suggest that the best exemplars of noun–verb pairs of this type in Auslan form a distinct set of iconic (mimetic) signs archetypically based on inherently reversible actions (such as opening and shutting). This strong iconic link perhaps explains why the derivational process appears to be of limited productivity, though it does appear to have 'spread' to a number of signs that appear to have no such iconicity. There appears to be considerable variability in the use of the derivational markings, particularly in connected discourse, even for signs of the 'open and shut' variety. Overall, the derivational process is apparently still closely linked to an iconic base, is incipient in the grammar of Auslan, and is best described as only partially grammaticalized. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)