Like the strange animals that roam this continent the Australian language has broken away from the rest of the world and evolved (devolved?) over time to become a unique subset of the English language. Well ... kinda ... I don't think the Queen would be too impressed :smile:
The nature of Aussie slang reflects the harsh land and the no-nonsense "let's just get on with it" attitude as well as humor of Aussie ppl, which is why a lot of words and phrases are often shortened - "good day" became "g'day", "barbecue" became "barbie", etc, and a lot of words are introduced simply because they're more amusing than their original - why say eggs when you can say bumnuts?
When I'm in icmag chat I often end up saying things that none of my American friends understand so I thought I'd help bridge the culture gap and post some Aussie slang definitions. Happy reading!
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spaz - behaving weirdly/eratically
Example - "no need to chuck a spaz!" or "he was behaving like a bit of a spaz"
bumnuts (or simply 'bummos') and cackleberries - chicken eggs
Example - "mmm, bacon and bummos on toast for brekkie"
brekkie - breakfast
Example - "mmm, bacon and eggs for brekkie"
fair dinkum - is it true/genuine
Example - "I won lotto!" "fair dinkum?"
thongs - flipflops
Example - "the beachsand will be hot, put some thongs on your feet"
ankle biter - small child
Example - "my auntie and her little ankle biters will be over for dinner"
g'day - good day
Example - "g'day mate, how they hangin?"
sheila - a woman
Example - "you should've seen the knockers on this sheila at the beach"
root - sex
Example - "did ya root her?"
bottleshop (or simply 'bottle-o') - liquor store
Example - "im going to the bottle-o, anyone want anything?"
pissed - drunk
Example - "he shouldnt have had that last beer, look how pissed he is"
pissed off - annoyed
Example - "that drunk guy was starting to piss everyone off, he certainly pissed me off"
grog - alcohol
Example - "We're just about out of grog, will have to go to the bottle-o soon"
tucker - food
Example - "mmm, bacon ... good tucker that"
dunny or loo or thunderbox - toilet
Example - "back in a minute, just gotta go to the dunny"
shithouse - crap
Example - "geez they played some shithouse football today"
footy - Australian Rules Football (not soccer)
Example - "can't wait till February when the footy starts again"
arvo - afternoon
Example - "I'll come over later in the arvo"
corker or cracker or ripper - great, awesome
Example - "geez he scored a corker of a goal!"
goon - cheap wine, usually in a cask
Example - "ewww, i can't believe Davo is on the goon"
sanga/sanger - sandwich
Example - "anyone up for a ham salad sanga?"
snags - sausages
Example - "wow, skinless snags, that's a bit different"
barbie - barbecue
Example - "i'll just go light the barbie so we can put those snags on"
Oz - Australia
Example - "welcome to Oz! here, put some sunscreen on"
outback - the bush and desert, basically everything but coastal areas of Oz
Example - "won't see Davo for a while, he's gone to the outback"
postie - the postman who delivers mail
Example - "i hope the postie brings me those beans today"
bees knees - the absolute best
Example - "try this beer mate, it's the absolute bees knees"
blowie - either a blowjob, or a blowfly (depending on context!)
Example1 - "anyone got any flyspray? there's a few blowies around"
Example2 - "did she give you a blowie?"
Tall poppy - a successful achiever who as a result is a target of jealousy by people who have "tall poppy syndrome"
Example - "he's the CEO now, a bit of a tall poppy"
bonza - excellent
Example - "last nights game was pretty bonza"
chunder - vomit
Example - "dont drink any more mate or you might chunder"
digger - an Aussie soldier, named for their WW1 tenacity of digging in both literally and emotionally
Example - "anyone know when theyll start sending the diggers home from Iraq?"
dimwit or drongo - a person of low intelligence
Example - "you'd think that crazy drongo would've seen the red light"
stunned mullet - a blank "huh?" expression
Example - "he didnt know what I meant, just looked at me like a stunned mullet"
dogs breakfast - a mess
Example - "we're gonna lose this game, it's an absolute dogs breakfast"
elbow grease - implies hard work/effort
Example - "come on, harder! put a bit of elbow grease into it"
esky - portable insulated container for keeping food/drinks cool
Example - "the beers are in the esky, help yaself"
shonky or dodgy - suspect or of low quality
Example - "that beer's been in the fridge for months now, looks a bit shonky"
ps. and for the record Aussies throw PRAWNS on the barbie, not SHRIMP!
The nature of Aussie slang reflects the harsh land and the no-nonsense "let's just get on with it" attitude as well as humor of Aussie ppl, which is why a lot of words and phrases are often shortened - "good day" became "g'day", "barbecue" became "barbie", etc, and a lot of words are introduced simply because they're more amusing than their original - why say eggs when you can say bumnuts?
When I'm in icmag chat I often end up saying things that none of my American friends understand so I thought I'd help bridge the culture gap and post some Aussie slang definitions. Happy reading!
--
spaz - behaving weirdly/eratically
Example - "no need to chuck a spaz!" or "he was behaving like a bit of a spaz"
bumnuts (or simply 'bummos') and cackleberries - chicken eggs
Example - "mmm, bacon and bummos on toast for brekkie"
brekkie - breakfast
Example - "mmm, bacon and eggs for brekkie"
fair dinkum - is it true/genuine
Example - "I won lotto!" "fair dinkum?"
thongs - flipflops
Example - "the beachsand will be hot, put some thongs on your feet"
ankle biter - small child
Example - "my auntie and her little ankle biters will be over for dinner"
g'day - good day
Example - "g'day mate, how they hangin?"
sheila - a woman
Example - "you should've seen the knockers on this sheila at the beach"
root - sex
Example - "did ya root her?"
bottleshop (or simply 'bottle-o') - liquor store
Example - "im going to the bottle-o, anyone want anything?"
pissed - drunk
Example - "he shouldnt have had that last beer, look how pissed he is"
pissed off - annoyed
Example - "that drunk guy was starting to piss everyone off, he certainly pissed me off"
grog - alcohol
Example - "We're just about out of grog, will have to go to the bottle-o soon"
tucker - food
Example - "mmm, bacon ... good tucker that"
dunny or loo or thunderbox - toilet
Example - "back in a minute, just gotta go to the dunny"
shithouse - crap
Example - "geez they played some shithouse football today"
footy - Australian Rules Football (not soccer)
Example - "can't wait till February when the footy starts again"
arvo - afternoon
Example - "I'll come over later in the arvo"
corker or cracker or ripper - great, awesome
Example - "geez he scored a corker of a goal!"
goon - cheap wine, usually in a cask
Example - "ewww, i can't believe Davo is on the goon"
sanga/sanger - sandwich
Example - "anyone up for a ham salad sanga?"
snags - sausages
Example - "wow, skinless snags, that's a bit different"
barbie - barbecue
Example - "i'll just go light the barbie so we can put those snags on"
Oz - Australia
Example - "welcome to Oz! here, put some sunscreen on"
outback - the bush and desert, basically everything but coastal areas of Oz
Example - "won't see Davo for a while, he's gone to the outback"
postie - the postman who delivers mail
Example - "i hope the postie brings me those beans today"
bees knees - the absolute best
Example - "try this beer mate, it's the absolute bees knees"
blowie - either a blowjob, or a blowfly (depending on context!)
Example1 - "anyone got any flyspray? there's a few blowies around"
Example2 - "did she give you a blowie?"
Tall poppy - a successful achiever who as a result is a target of jealousy by people who have "tall poppy syndrome"
Example - "he's the CEO now, a bit of a tall poppy"
bonza - excellent
Example - "last nights game was pretty bonza"
chunder - vomit
Example - "dont drink any more mate or you might chunder"
digger - an Aussie soldier, named for their WW1 tenacity of digging in both literally and emotionally
Example - "anyone know when theyll start sending the diggers home from Iraq?"
dimwit or drongo - a person of low intelligence
Example - "you'd think that crazy drongo would've seen the red light"
stunned mullet - a blank "huh?" expression
Example - "he didnt know what I meant, just looked at me like a stunned mullet"
dogs breakfast - a mess
Example - "we're gonna lose this game, it's an absolute dogs breakfast"
elbow grease - implies hard work/effort
Example - "come on, harder! put a bit of elbow grease into it"
esky - portable insulated container for keeping food/drinks cool
Example - "the beers are in the esky, help yaself"
shonky or dodgy - suspect or of low quality
Example - "that beer's been in the fridge for months now, looks a bit shonky"
ps. and for the record Aussies throw PRAWNS on the barbie, not SHRIMP!
