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Appendix:Australian English vocabulary

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Table of contents

  1. General vocabulary
  2. Body parts
  3. Money
  4. See also
  5. External links

General vocabulary

[edit]

This list is not intended to be comprehensive. Note that a number of the words listed are very localised or almost obsolete today.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

[edit]
  • ace - excellent, very good
  • AF - (adj) abbreviation for "as fuck", exclamation after an adjective e.g. "Hot as fuck"
  • aggro – (adj) aggressive; (n) aggravation
  • air-con – (n) short for

air-conditioning

  • ambo - (n) Ambulance; ambulance paramedic
  • al-foil – (n) short for aluminum foil
  • apples, she's - everything is all right; often modified with will as in she'll be apples
  • arsey - someone showing daring, audacity, and/or cheekiness or experiencing extremely good luck, particularly if this involves a near-miss to injury. In use since the 1950s. Derived from "tin arsed".
  • not being arsed - lack of interest, as in "I couldn't be arsed to do it". Also British English.
  • arvo – short for afternoon; in use since the 1950s
  • as if – Exclamatory rejection. "As if they're real tears!" or "The case was dismissed? As if." Commonly contracted to 'sif.
  • Aussie salute - brushing away flies with the hand

B

[edit]
  • B & S - in full Bachelors' and Spinsters' Ball - a party/function held for young single people
  • bag - (v) to denigrate; (n) an ugly woman; both senses in use since the 1960s
  • bags - to reserve, as in "(I) Bags the last frosty fruit (ice block)" or "Can someone do the dishes?" "Bags not!". Also used in UK English
  • bail (somebody) up - to corner somebody physically
  • barbie - barbecue
  • barkers eggs - dog poo
  • beaut – (adj) great, fantastic, terrific; in use since the 1910s (n); great thing; for example, "What a beaut!"; in use since the 1890s
  • beauty – exclamation showing approval, often spelt as bewdy (to represent Australian pronunciation). For example: "You bewdy!", which is roughly equivalent to "Great!", "Fantastic!" or "Wonderful!". In use since the 1850s.
  • beef to have a problem with someone/ to have an issue with another, occurring in the past. eg: "i have beef with him"
  • bickie
    • biscuit
    • sometimes also used as a word for a cigarette lighter, after the manufacturer Bic
    • More recently this has become a slang word for the drug ecstasy, from the slang disco biscuit.
  • big bickies – lots of money
  • big-note oneself - to brag or boast
  • bizzo - business ("Mind your own bizzo.")
  • biff or biffo - a brawl or fist fight. Also in UK English
  • bitser - dog of mixed parentage, mongrel ("Bits of this, bits of that")
  • (your) blood's worth bottling - you're an excellent, helpful person
  • blow - a rest, especially after physical work
  • bloody - very (bloody hard yakka). Also in other varieties of English, but formerly extremely common in Australia. Known as the Great Australian Adjective
  • bloody oath - that's certainly true; used as an affirmative to a statement, often when something has been understated; an intensive form of my oath
  • blue
    • a fight, brawl or heated argument
    • an embarrassing mistake (for example, "I've made a blue.")
    • a nickname for someone with red hair (also "Bluey")
  • bluey
    • formerly, a bundle of belongings wrapped in a blanket carried by swagmen. Also called a "swag"
    • a traffic ticket,
    • a nickname for a redheaded person (also "Blue")
    • a blue heeler (cattle dog).
    • a blue singlet, typically worn by Australian labourers (especially in the second half of the 20th century)
  • bludge – to shirk, be idle, or waste time either doing nothing or something inappropriate; to live off others efforts rather than providing for one's self, to receive welfare payments; to deliberately skip school classes (used mainly by adolescents)
  • boardies – abbr. of board shorts. Medium-long bathing shorts originally for use while surfing, see 'Swimmers', 'Togs'
  • bodgy - of inferior quality ("dodgy")
  • bog in - commence eating, to attack a meal with enthusiasm
  • bog standard - basic, unadorned, without accessories (a bog standard car, telephone etc.)
  • bomb - an old mechanically unsound car. "That car is a bomb."
  • bonzer - great, ripper
  • boogie board - a hybrid, half-sized surf board
  • boong - a term lately considered highly derogatory, used for Australian Aboriginals, perhaps derived from binghi, once used more frequently (see [1]) "derived from the term for elder brother" (also "bung" in Indonesian dialects). in the languages once spoken between Kempsey Newcastle, viz. Ngamba, Birbai and Wanarua. More like the Cadigal word for 'bum', as recorded by Watkin Tench in his book 1788.
  • bottler - something excellent
  • brumbie - wild (as in undomesticated) horse
  • buck's night - stag party, male gathering the night before the wedding
  • buckley's, "buckley's chance" "buckley's hope", "buckley's odds", "two chances: buckley's, and none", "buckley's-and-none" - something which has little or no chance of success; origin uncertain, probably influenced by three important historical elements, both of which occurred in the Melbourne vicinity.
    • The first, and most frequently used explanation, that the term is a reference to escaped convict, William Buckley, who was believed dead in 1803 (survival on the run in Australia being said to be impossible for the British convicts, due to unfamiliar and hostile surroundings and peoples), but he in fact lived in an Aboriginal community on the outskirts of present-day Melbourne for more than 30 years.
    • The second likely etymological influence a now defunct Melbourne department store "Buckley's", later bought by a Phillip Nunn.[2] Expression of this phrase often also implies a resignation on the part of the conversing parties as to any perceived ability to influence the determined character who is being ascribed said odds of success, and also implies some risk to the adventurer should they fail.
    • In reference to the department store Buckley & Nunn (see separate article).
  • budgie smugglers - tight, form-fitting swimwear worn by men.
  • buggered
    • tired. "I'm feeling buggered."
    • broken, not in working order. "That hose is buggered."
    • in trouble, or caught out. "I was caught speeding, I'm buggered!"
  • built like a brick shithouse - being strongly built; from the chunky look of well-made backyard dunnies of pre-70's and rural housing
  • Bundy - a nickname for a brand of rum (Bundaberg Rum)
  • bung
    • originally a stopper in a cask; a synonym for "put" or "place"; as in "bung it in the oven" (also used in British English)
    • not working, broken, impaired, injured or infected. From the Jagara (Aboriginal language) word for "dead".
  • bung it on - to put on a show of pretence
  • bush
    • woodland, generally called bushland
    • rural Australia (not necessarily the Outback) and those who live in it
  • bush bashing - to force a path through the bush either by bushwalking or driving a 4WD (SUV) or the like;
  • bush bash - a long competitive running or motorcar race through the bush; a difficult walk through the bush
  • bush doof - a rave or music festival held in a rural area
  • bushfire - wild forest fire
  • bushie - a person living in remote rural areas, simailar to a swagman
  • bush oyster - a gob of expelled nasal mucus OR a bull or rams testicle roasted over an open fire
  • bush telly - campfire
  • bushman's hanky - emitting nasal mucus by placing one index finger on the outside of the nose (thus blocking one nostril) and blowing
  • bushwalking – hiking in the bush
  • busker - street musician. Also "to busk".
  • buttsucker - someone who smokes cigarettes

C

[edit]
  • cackleberry - egg
  • cactus - dead, non-functional, not functioning
  • canary - Vehicle defect notice issued by the police, usually yellow in colour
  • cark it
    • to die
    • to cease functioning
  • carn & c'arn – Assimilation of "come on!" or "Go on!"; usually used to either goad someone, "Carn, have another.", or to cheer on a sporting team "Carn the Doggies."
  • cat's pyjamas or cat's whiskers - something great or perfectly suited, as in "It was the cat's pyjamas, mate!"
  • cattle duffer - a cattle rustler
  • chook - a chicken
  • Chrissie - Christmas
  • chuck a sickie - take the day off sick from work when you're perfectly healthy
  • chunder - vomit. "I had a chunder."
  • Clayton's – fake, substitute, not the real thing, ersatz; (from a brand of zero alcohol mixer, advertised as "the drink you have when you're not having a drink") less widely used than in New Zealand; declining as the commercial has not played in several decades
  • clucky - feeling broody or maternal
  • cockie
    • farmer (hence cow-cockie - dairy farmer);
    • short for 'cockatoo', an Australian bird.
  • cold one - a beer
  • come a gutser - make a bad mistake, have an accident
  • compo - workers' compensation pay
  • cooee
    • a call made out in the bush
    • within earshot of such a call
  • cooked - heavily under the influence of alcohol and or drugs, "that cunt is absolutely cooked"
  • cop it sweet - to accept criticism with humility
  • cossie, cozzie - swimming costume, bathers
  • cranky - in a bad mood, angry
  • crikey - an exclamation of surprise
  • crook
    • angry, in the phrase "go crook at"
    • sick or unwell
    • unfair
  • crunk - to get drunk
  • culosis - a resigned expression of frustration, whatever - heard since early 2008 on the east coast
  • cut – angry or upset

D

[edit]
  • dacks - pants/trousers/shorts/underwear (also spelled 'daks')
  • dag
    • an unfashionable or uncool person, similar to "dork". "Did you see her Dad's shirt? He's such a dag."
    • excrement hanging from the wool around a sheep's backside
  • daggy – unfashionable, uncool, "dorky"
  • darl - term of endearment usually used for one's spouse: shortening of darling.
  • dead set – (adj) certain; indisputable; (adv) completely "You're dead set right about that."
  • deadly – excellent (from Australian Aboriginal English)
  • devo – ((General Australian) [ˈde.vəʉ]), devastated
  • devo - ((General Australian) [ˈdiː.vəʉ]), deviant
  • der – that's obvious, duh; an exasperated acknowledgement common in Victoria and New South Wales, especially among children.
  • derro - a term for idiot, someone who is stupid, or homeless person, i.e. 'derelict'. 'What a derro'
  • deso - the designated driver on a night out, someone boring, someone who does not consume alcohol. 'Sorry mate I can't, I'm the deso'
  • dekko - a look, to inspect something
  • dink – to give somebody a lift on the back of a bicycle, or via the handlebars. The term double-dink is used in Northern and Western NSW (often shortened to "double" – "Give us a double will ya?").
  • dick sticker - tight, form fitting swimwear worn by men.
  • dinger - condom, also "dirty dinger" (used condom)
  • dinkum – honest, genuine, real (OED). Probably not, as is often claimed, from the Cantonese (or Hokkien) ding kam, meaning "top gold". Most scholars believe dinkum was a dialect word from the East Midlands of England, where it meant "hard work" or "fair work", which was also the original meaning in Australian English.[3] The derivation dinky-di means a native-born Australian or "the real thing". Fair dinkum means "fair and square", i.e. honest; true; real; genuine; can be shortened to dinks
  • dinky-di - the real thing, genuine
  • dirty - (adj) bad, when applied to weather "It's going to get dirty later this afternoon"; or when applied to mood "man, he was dirty on me after I stole them ciggies!"
  • division – electoral district, equivalent to constituency in UK, electorate in New Zealand, riding in Canada (This term is formally used in the parliament but in general use the term 'electorate' is most common).
  • dob – to inform on. To "dob (somebody) in" is to inform on somebody. If this occurs one has been "dobbed in" and a person who does this is a "dobber" sometimes called a "dibber-dobber" (a tell-tale), though the latter term is usually restricted to use by children. Adult dobbers for real crimes (as opposed to telling Mum or a teacher) are commonly called dogs or mongrels.
  • docket - a bill, receipt
  • doco - documentary
  • doona – cf. British duvet. From the brand name Doona; cf. dyne with same pronunciation in Scandinavian languages. Originally the generic term was continental quilt. In South Australia and, to a lesser extent, Queensland the word quilt is used, and the term eiderdown (from the name of the eider duck) is also used.
  • dreamtime – in the mythology of most Indigenous Australians, a "golden age" when the first ancestors and living things were created; a calque of the Arrernte word alcheringa
  • drongo - foolish person
  • drum - information, tip-off ("I'll give you the drum.") Becoming obsolete
  • duchess - sideboard
  • duck's nuts, duck's guts or bee's knees - something that is perfectly suited
  • dummy – a device, usually plastic, for babies to suck. cf. American pacifier (also common in British English); or cf. American mannequin. Also an idiot.
  • dummy, spit the - get very upset at something (particularly something of little consequence)
  • dunny - toilet
  • dux - top of the class (n.); to be top of the class (v.)

E

[edit]
  • earbashing - nagging, non-stop chatter
  • Ekka - the Royal National Association (RNA) agricultural show in Brisbane held in August each year, a term well known in South-East Queensland and Northern New South Wales.
  • emu bob – the duty given to enlisted men in the military, of picking up cigarette butts lying around barracks and parade grounds. The term arose by the similarity between a person bending over to pick up litter and the distinctive bob that emus make when picking at the ground. The term is primarily used in military circles but in recent years its usage has broadened. It was also used up until at least the last 5 years by Scouts and Cub Scouts for the same activity. The term emu parade, meaning the collection of all types of litter, enjoys wider usage. The term emu bob is still used among Australian Army Cadets to describe the duty of moving through an area in extended file to pick up rubbish. It has also spawned the derogatory term emu for someone, usually of poor means, who loiters on racecourses and betting establishments picking up discarded betting slips in the hopes of a payout from one mistakenly dropped.
  • eo-evening

F

[edit]
  • fair dinkum – true, genuine; see dinkum
  • fair enough – I don't see a problem with that; OK
  • fair go or fair crack of the whip - (request for) a chance or a reasonable opportunity to complete a task;
  • fair suck of the sauce bottle - a request to cut the speaker some slack, used as a preface to a statement. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd famously tripped on this expression, mistakenly saying "fair shake of the sauce bottle", to much derision.
  • fair suck of the sav - exclamation of wonder, awe, disbelief
  • FBT - a large truck, "fucking big truck"
  • feral
    • a derogatory term for variety of modern day "white trash", commonly stereotyped as unclean in habits and living rough in the bush
    • disgusting; unhygenic; rotten
    • of a person's behaviour, out of control
  • flat chat, flat out - moving as fast as possible; hence, busy
  • flick - to "give (something or somebody) the flick" is to get rid of it or him/her
  • flog:
    • to sell something
    • to steal something
    • to treat something roughly (driving too fast and carelessly is to "give it a flogging")
    • to beat some up
  • fly wire - gauze flyscreen covering a window or doorway
  • footpath – any well-used walkway, but in particular a paved walkway running parallel to a street or road, and known in other countries as a sidewalk or pavement.
  • fossick - to prospect, for example for gold; hence to search, to rummage, for example "fossicking through the kitchen drawers"
  • franger - condom
  • Fremantle doctor - the cooling afternoon breeze that arrives in Perth from the direction of Freeo
  • fuck truck - a panel van fitted out with mattress in the back for amourous liaisons (also shaggin' wagon, sin bin)
  • fugly - fucking ugly; usually a term of astonished admiration, often applied to unattractive dogs but it can be used of people in a derogatory sense
  • furphy - false or unreliable rumour; from the name of the manufacture of World War I watercarts, Furphy, around which many false and unreliable rumours were spread
  • firey - a firefighter, in N.S.W, at least

G

[edit]
  • gammon or gammon job (mainly used in the Northern Territory and Far North Queensland) – A word derived from a similar sounding Aboriginal word meaning "invented" or "not true". As in "that's gammon mate" or "no mate, that's a gammon job there", or commonly "eh! gammon!"; "I was only gammon you!". Also probably related to the phrases 'hamming it up', and 'pulling your leg', through the english word which means a leg of ham.[4]
  • garn or g'arn – go on; going; for example "Garn y'mongrel."; see carn
  • ganda or gander - to take a look at something. As in "Let's go take a gander next door.'
  • g'day – good day, hello; the typical Aussie greeting generally used by Broad Australian English speakers, the working class and blue collar workers
  • get jack of - to become fed up with something (eventually I got jack of working at the supermarket and went back to uni)
  • give it a burl - try it, have a go
  • gobful - essentially a mouthful of abuse/criticism (gob = mouth)
    • give a ~ - to abuse, usually justifiably ("The neighbours were having a noisy party so I went and gave them a gobful.")
    • get a ~ - to be told off
  • gobsmacked - surprised, astounded
  • going off - used of a night spot or party that is a lot of fun - "The place was really going off."
  • good oil - useful information, a good idea, the truth
  • good onya - good for you, well done
  • goon
    • cheap cask wine, also can mean the bag containing the wine also know as a goon bag, or a goon sack.
    • another name for a man, woman, or animal with an ape appearance
  • grouse – (adj.) great, terrific, very good; common in Victoria (especially circa the 1980s & 1990s)
  • gun – (adj) of excellent ability; above-average; derived from shearing – the fastest shearer in the shed was the gun-shearer;

H

[edit]
  • hang shit – to mock, sully, denigrate, slander; to "pay out". "Nah, you're just hanging shit on him, now." or "Don't hang shit, it's a great book."
  • Hills Hoist – a type of rotary clothes-line; Hills was the designer and original manufacturer of the rotary clothes-line.
  • heaps - a lot; very. To "give someone heaps" is to pour mockery and/or abuse on them.
  • heaps good- South Australian term to mean "very good". Often used in place of "very" or "lots".
  • hooly dooley - a term used when something out of the ordinary happens, an exclamation of surprise; similar "good heavens", "my goodness", "good grief", "holy moly", etc.
  • hoon - to drive fast, loudly, and irresponsibly, or one who does so.
  • hooroo - goodbye[5]
  • hottie - hot water bottle
  • how ya gahn - how have you been/how are you doing
  • humpy - small Aboriginal shelter, or any temporary outdoor shelter

I

[edit]
  • idiot box – a television set

J

[edit]
  • jet – to go somewhere in a hurry
  • jaded- feeling hungover or suffering the after effects of drugs
  • jangers- a tablet of the drug ecstasy
  • jar- an alcoholic beverage or a container to consume alcohol from e.g. "Smash a couple of jars" or "Have a jar in the safeway carpark"

K

[edit]
  • kangaroos loose in the top paddock - intellectually inadequate
  • ken oath - contraction of "fucking oath"
  • kero - kerosene
  • kick on – partying on after a discotheque or night club has finished, usually involving more drinking and/or drug taking
  • kindie - kindergarten
  • knackered – tired, exhausted
  • knock - to criticise
  • knock back - (noun) refusal, (transitive verb) refuse
  • knock up
    • make pregnant (from the U.S.)
    • wake up in the morning (from the U.K.)
    • hit on the side (or back) of the head
  • knocked up - (adjectival expression) tired or winded from physical exertion.

L

[edit]
  • lend of, to have a - to take advantage of somebody's gullibility, to have someone on ("He's having a lend of you.")
  • light globe – an incandescent light bulb; globe is no longer commonly used in this sense outside Australia; bulb is sometimes also heard in Australia.
  • lingo – language or dialect
  • lippy - lipstick
  • lob or lob in - drop in to see someone
  • London to a brick - absolute certainty for example "It's London to a brick that taxes won't go down."
  • long paddock - the side of the road where livestock is grazed during droughts
  • lunch box, open one's - to fart
  • lurk - illegal or underhanded racket

M

[edit]
  • manchester – household linen
  • mangkin - a common, often Western Australian expression used to describe the behaviour of someone on drugs, usually magic mushrooms, which are native to Western Australia
  • mate's rates - cheaper than usual for a friend
  • matilda - swagman's bedding, sleeping roll
  • metho - methylated spirits
  • Mickey Mouse - excellent, very good; inconsequential, frivolous, not very good. Whether it has the positive or negative meaning depends on context and where you are in Australia
  • milk bar - a shop where milk-shakes and other refreshments can be bought. In Victoria and New South Wales is a local shop where basic groceries such as bread, milk, and other everyday household goods can also be bought. Known as a deli in South Australia and Western Australia and as a corner shop in Queensland (also a "convenience store") and Tasmania. (In States other than SA and WA, "deli" retains the usual international usage of delicatessen.)
  • moll – Used to describe a person or persons who have perpetrated an act, spoken words, or generally just 'done something' to annoy the user of this word. 'Moll' can be attributed to both males and females - "God she annoys me. She's such a moll." Usually mistakenly written as 'mole'. Can also be used to describe a slut.
  • mountain oysters - bull's testicles after castration, sometimes cooked on a barbie, often eaten by the drover's dog
  • mozz or to put the mozz on - jinx
  • mozzie - mosquito
  • mungin' - ((General Australian) [maŋ.ɪn]) to eat voraciously; to perform oral sex, for example, "I was mungin' on her."
  • munted – either broken, mangled or state of inebriation, generally from drugs
  • muntyhead – one who likes to get munted
  • muster - round up sheep or cattle

N

[edit]
  • nah - no. "nah, im too busy"
  • natio - nationality
  • nasho - National Service (compulsory military service)
  • nature strip (or verge in Western Australia) – a lawn or plantation in the road reserve between the property boundary and the street
  • no drama - same as no worries
  • no sweat - same as no worries
  • no worries or nurries – you're welcome; no problem; that's all right; expression of forgiveness or reassurance; etc.
  • nong (or ning-nong) - an idiot
  • noon – as opposed to the British English midday; also used in American English
  • norks - breasts
  • not the full quid - not bright intellectually
  • no wuckin' furries – a spoonerism of no fuckin' worries, has the same usage as no worries. Used where the original version might be regarded as offensive. Sometimes shortened to no wuckers.
  • nut out - hammer out; work out

O

[edit]
  • occy strap - Elastic strap with hooks on the ends for securing items. (Short for octopus strap.)
  • okey-dokey – OK
  • on ya bike – as in get on your bike. A way to tell someone to leave - "Off you go, on ya bike."
  • onya - a congratulatory term, short for "(good) on you".
  • op shop - opportunity shop, thrift store, place where second hand goods are sold.

P

[edit]
  • paddock - see 'long paddock'
  • paro/parro - drunk
  • pearler – an excellent example of something (e.g. mate, that new car of yours is a pearler.).
  • perv - short for pervert ("That old fella's a bit of a perv") it can also mean having a look, often but not always, at a member of the desired sex.
  • pez – something of poor value or perceived to be less worthy than others; someone who acts in a negative way; derived from peasant
  • piece of piss - easy task
  • pig's arse – I don't agree with you
  • pinged – caught doing something wrong, esp. by an umpire in the game of Australian rules football when penalised for holding the ball.
  • pink slip, get the - get the sack (from the colour of the termination form)
  • piss - beer
  • pissed - drunk (the American use of 'pissed' to mean angry is known, however).
  • pissed off – angry.
  • pissing into the wind - futile efforts. A task or undertaking with little or no chance of success; something not worth doing.
  • piss in the woods - simple, easy
  • piss-fart around – to waste time
  • piss off – to get lost; to leave
  • piss-weak or piss-poor – weak; ineffectual; pathetic; unfair: a general purpose negative
  • pissing down – raining heavy
  • pissing myself laughing - to be greatly amused. figurative.
  • pokies - poker machines, fruit machines, gambling slot machines; also known as "mincers" for the way they chew your money up
  • Poof, poofter - homosexual, gay man
  • poofteenth - a minuscule amount, a smidgen
  • "poo tickets" - toilet paper
  • porcelain bus, driving the - vomiting into a toilet (due to excess consumption of alcohol)
  • porker - a lie, "he's tellin porkers" or "its just porkers"
  • port – any form of hand luggage, especially a school bag, only used in Queensland and to some extent in New South Wales; from portmanteau
  • pov or povo – cheap looking; from poverty
  • pozzy - position
  • preggers, preggo - pregnant
  • prezzy - present, gift

Q

[edit]
  • quack - a doctor. "I have to visit the quack."
  • quid, make a - earn a living
  • quid, not the full - of low IQ; quid is slang for a pound, £1 became $2 when Australia converted to decimal currency

R

[edit]
  • rack off - push off! get lost! get out of here! also "rack off hairy legs!".
  • rage - party
  • rage on - to continue partying - "we raged on until 3am"
  • rapt - pleased, delighted
  • ratshit – broken, not working properly; extremely drunk
  • raw prawn, to come the' 'Unpalatable'. - Apparently first dictionaried in 'The Australian Pocket Oxford Dictionary', 1976. A raw prawn is less edible than a cooked one.. Also 'Don't come the raw prawn with me.' 'don't try to hoodwink me'. Can also be used to describe someone's behavior "You're carrying on like a raw prawn"
  • reckon - to think, to believe, to have the opinion. Depending on context, it could be more or less confident, implying maybe or definitely. ("It's hot, don't you reckon?" "Mate, I reckon it's bloody hot!")
  • rego - vehicle registration
  • ridgy-didge - original, genuine
  • righto - okay or that's right. Can also be said as rightio.
  • right, that'd be - Accepting bad news as inevitable. ("I went fishing but caught nothing." "Yeah, that'd be right.")
  • rip snorter - great, fantastic, excellent
  • ripper - (n) something that is excellent, great, fantastic; similar to beauty; for example, "You little ripper." (an exclamation of delight or as a reaction to good news); possibly from Japanese りっぱ (rippa), meaning splendid, fine or elegant. Possibly through contact with Japanese pearl divers living in Australia during the late 19th century.
  • the ripper's - the stripper's
  • rock up - to turn up, to arrive
  • root - slang term for sex
  • ropeable - very angry
  • rort - (verb or noun) cheating, fiddling, defrauding (expenses, the system etc.); a scam, especially the exploitation of rules or laws; used mostly to describe the actions of politicians. (Also lurk as a noun.)
  • rough as guts - (adj) rough, bumpy, of poor quality
  • rubbish - (verb) to criticise

S

[edit]
  • sanga - sandwich
  • satched - to be extremely wet, usually from being caught in the rain; from saturated
  • scab
    • to take something with no direct recompense, somewhat like bum or cadge (UK),
    • to dob someone in
    • a union worker who goes to work when the company is on strike
    • a non-union worker that breaks picket lines to work when the normal workers are on strike
    • one who is tight with money or possessions
  • scrag
    • an unattractive woman. A rough or unkempt woman, e.g. "She's a scrag moll"
    • holding someone back by the neck or garment. To wring someone's neck.
  • scrag fight - a fight between two women, usually physical.
  • scratchie - instant lottery ticket
  • sealed road – a road covered in bitumen, equivalent to paved road in British English.
  • servo - service station (i.e. petrol station / gas station)
  • shame or shame job – based on Aboriginal culture, where shame is a major factor, the word and phrase has been adapted in to general English in areas with a large Aboriginal population. As in "oh shame job man" and "shame, shame". Usually used by school-aged children.
  • sheila - woman.
  • she'll be right - it will be okay, it'll turn out all right; a general pacifier
  • sheltershed, lunch shed, weather shed or undercover area – in most States a simple detached building for the protection of school children from hostile weather
  • sherbet - beer. As in "going to the pub for a couple of sherbets"
  • shirty - polite version of shitty or pissed off, commonly when the person is getting angry or upset over something trivial, something against their plans or is being contradicted. ie "Don't get all shirty at me just because you bought the wrong beer"
  • shitfaced - inebriated.
  • shit-hot – exclamation, excellent, talented "He's a shit-hot BMXer".
  • shits - can be used in several expressions including: shits me (or more strongly shits me to tears) and gives me the shits all meaning a combination of "annoys me" and "makes me angry."
  • shout – to treat someone or to pay for something, especially a round of drinks
  • showbag - full of shit, coming from the showbags sold at the Sydney & Melbourne Easter Shows, the Brisbane RNA Show, and other agricultural shows throughout the country.
  • shower in a can - deodorant, particularly when used in lieu of actual bathing.
  • shonky – poorly made, of low quality; dishonest, dubious, underhanded;
  • shoot through - to leave
  • shot - abandoning some venture one has become sick of, "I'm shot of this, let's shoot through"
  • shotgun - to 'bags' something, to claim ownership. "I shotgun the front seat". May be used on its own as an exclamation, if the context is obvious.
  • sick – very good; usually intensified in the phrase fully sick
  • sickie – a day of absence from work due to feigned illness. To "chuck a sickie" or "Pull a sickie" is to partake in such a day.
  • skite - boast, brag
  • slapper - easy or loose female
  • slaughtered - either extremely tired or drunk
  • sledge - to insult members of the opposing team in a sports match, usually cricket
  • sleepout - house verandah converted to a bedroom
  • slurry - a promiscuous young woman, similar to slut or skank. Can be used affectionately among close friends "Come over here, you slurry".
  • snag - a sausage
  • spare – very angry or upset e.g. "He went spare."
  • spew - vomit
  • spewin – (short for spewing) angry/disappointed eg. "I can't believe I missed the footy last night, I was spewin!".
  • spiffy, pretty spiffy - great, excellent
  • spit the dummy – get very upset at something, to throw a temper tantrum; in reference to a baby who becomes so angry, that he spits the dummy out of his mouth
  • spruik – to promote or sell something; cf. British flog
  • sprung - caught doing something wrong
  • squiz – a look, as in "Take a squiz at the new house."
  • standover - using intimidation or threat of violence to coerce others into submission or compliance eg. 'Chopper Read had a notorious career as a standover man'
  • station - a big farm/grazing property
  • steak - a story irrelevant to the current line of conversation.
  • stellar - good, pleasing, thanks
  • sticking out like dog's balls - very obvious
  • stickybeak – to nose around
  • stiff bickies – bad luck
  • stiff cheddar – tough luck
  • stoked - very pleased
  • strewth! - exclamation, mild oath. Abbreviation of "God's truth" ("Strewth, that Chris is a bonzer bloke.")
  • strike! - exclamation. Abbreviation of "strike a light!"
  • Strine or Strayan – Australian spoken English. From the Broad Australian pronunciation of "Australian". is an alternative. In the same vein, Straya is an attempt to express the pronunciation of "Australia".
  • stuffed – exhausted, tired
  • stuffed, I'll be - expression of surprise
  • stung - hung over; disappointed
  • sunbake - sunbathe
  • super – short for superannuation, the Australian term for a private retirement pension, equates to the US 401k
  • suss
    • suspicious; suspect
    • to figure something out, to uncover something/someone
    • to have something worked out, to have a plan
  • swag - rolled up bedding etc. carried by a swagman
  • sweet – fine, good
  • swimmers – abbr. of swimming trunks. bathing trunks, see 'Boardies', 'Togs'

T

[edit]
  • ta - thank you, derived from infant speech
  • take the piss, making fun of (cf. taking the mickey)
  • tall poppy syndrome - the attitude taken by common people of resenting those who, due to social, political or economic reasons act egotistical and flaunt their success without humility; the tendency to criticise these people
  • tea - evening meal, dinner
  • technicolour yawn, to have a - to vomit
  • tee-up - to set up (an appointment)
  • tickets, to have on oneself - to have a high opinion of oneself
  • tight - thrifty with money
  • tinny
    • small aluminium boat
    • a can of beer
  • tinny, tin-arsed - lucky
  • Tits on a bull, as useful as - Something completely useless, can be used in relation to a person
    "Darren, you're about as useful as tits on a bull"
  • toey
    • on edge, nervous, anxious, keyed up (the original sense, from the idea of fidgeting on one's toes)
    • horny (by extension)
  • togs - swimming costume, bathers
  • too right – definitely; that is correct
  • tracky dacks - tracksuit pants
  • troppo, gone - to have escaped to a state of tropical madness; to have lost the veneer of civilisation after spending too long in the tropics
  • true blue - completely loyal to a person or belief
  • tuckerbox, tucker box - lunch box, lunch pail
  • turps - turpentine, alcoholic drink
  • two up - a gambling game played by flipping two coins simultaneously

U

[edit]
  • U-ey (chuck a U-ey, hang a U-ey) - perform a U-turn in a vehicle
  • un-Australian – considered to be an example of unacceptable behaviour or policy in Australia or undertaken by Australians particularly when it violates cultural or traditional values, rarely used outside of politics or current affairs shows
  • unco - clumsy, uncoordinated
  • uni - university
  • unit - flat, apartment
  • up oneself - have a high opinion of oneself
  • up somebody, get - to rebuke somebody
  • up the duff - pregnant (i.e., my sheila's up the duff)

V

[edit]
  • veg out - relax in front of the TV (like a vegetable) - not uniquely Australian.
  • Veggies - Short for vegetables.

W

[edit]
  • wag – to skip school or work to do something else on someone else's time; to play truant
  • walkabout - meaning to take a journey of significant duration with no specific destination. Originally a reference to the migration of indigenous Australians living a traditional hunter-gatherer lifestyle. Hence it's gone walkabout meaning it's lost, it can't be found.
  • wing - to pass(?), to give(?); to undertake a task unprepared, to ad lib - "Have you prepared a speech? Nah, I'll just wing it."
  • What do you think this is, bush week? - disbelieving response to someone you think is trying to con you. Predominately used in Queensland. eg. "The car's in a great condition." (obviously it's not) "What do you think this is, bush week?"
  • Whatever you reckon - a dismissive to indicate that a person is lying or talking rubbish. Sometimes shortened to "whatever", or (particular in states on the east coast) further shortened to "evz", co-existing with American usage and meaning of the same term.
  • whinge - complain; similar to crying, but more commonly used for adults. In particular a "whinger" is someone who disagrees in an annoying fashion.
  • whiteant - (verb) to criticise something to deter somebody from buying it. A car dealer might whiteant another dealer's cars or a real estate salesman might whiteant another agent's property
  • wrap one's laughing gear - to eat something. Often used in the context of offering food to someone; "Here, wrap your laughing gear round this"
  • wobbly - excitable behaviour. To vocally and emotionally express dissatisfaction or disappointment. ("I complained about the food and the waiter threw a wobbly.")
  • wog

Y

[edit]
  • yabber - talk (a lot)
  • yakka - (noun) usually preceded by hard, (hard) work; also the grasstree Xanthorrhoea.
  • yarn - (verb) to talk
  • yeah-no/yeah-nah - non-commital expression with various applications, including: denotation of conclusion of cursory difference(s) of opinion between speakers ("yeah-nah, he's a top bloke at the end of the day"), and/or perceived escalations of discord ("yeah-nah, I can, however, see where you're coming from")
  • youse – you (plural)pronounced like the English word 'Use'. eg: 'can youse come over here?' 'how are youse?'

Body parts

[edit]
  • arse – as elsewhere in English, slang for buttocks (sometimes also the anus). American English spelling of ass is also in use.
  • Boomer - penis
  • bot – either the buttocks (an abbreviation of bottom), or to ask for an object (without any obligation to return), as in "can I bot a cigarette?". (Compare bum.)
  • bum – shares both meanings of bot (see above). Can also mean someone who is lazy.
    • to be lazy or unproductive, similar to bludge ("I bummed around home all day"). "A bum" is usually a lazy, unproductive and often cheap person (commonly used in the term "uni bum", i.e. a university student). Not usually a homeless person, as in the North American usage of bum, but the term "homeless bum" is gaining popularity.
  • cans - breasts
  • choppers - teeth
  • clacker - anus. (From Latin cloaca meaning sewer, which is also the single orifice of birds and monotremes (platypus and echidna) used both for reproduction and for the elimination of body wastes.)
  • cock - penis. Can also be used as an insult "He's a cock". Also cock-head.
  • date - anus: popularised by comedians Roy and H.G. Date-roll can be substituted for toilet paper
  • dial - the face
  • donger or donga – penis
  • doodle - penis (childish)
  • fanny – vulva (childish). (Sometimes refers solely to the vagina, but commonly used for female genitalia in general.) Has the same meaning as in British English — unlike in North America, where it means buttocks. (The item known to Americans as a "fanny pack" is a "bum bag" in Australia.)
  • family jewels - testicles
  • wedding tackle - male genitals (not used for children)
  • junk - penis and scrotum
  • freckle - anus
  • headlights - women's nipples (generally when erect). The term high beam is sometimes used.. e.g her headlights are on high beam
  • jugs – breasts
  • knockers – breasts
  • laughin' gear - mouth
  • mappa Tassie - a woman's pubic area; from "map of Tasmania"
  • moot – a vagina (rhymes with foot)
  • muffin-tops - hips
  • norks – breasts
  • nuts - testicles
  • old fella - penis
  • pie-hole - mouth
  • snag - penis
  • snoz - nose
  • schlong - penis
  • ticker - the heart
  • tool – penis; also used as a general insult e.g. Mate, you're a tool.
  • tuck-shop lady arms - flabby arms, usually found on elderly woman
  • wad - a vagina
  • wang – a male's member or genitalia
  • willy – penis (childish)

Money

[edit]
  • big bickies - a large sum of money, expensive, well-remunerated
  • exy - expensive
  • he hasn't got a brass razoo - he's very poor
  • zack - sixpence (5 cents)
  • monkey - $500
  • gorilla - $1,000

Banknotes

[edit]

Nicknames for Australian banknotes, derived from their colour:

See also

[edit]

Wikipedia

[edit]
[edit]
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