Appendix talk:Australian English vocabulary

See also Wikipedia's Australian English vocabulary talk page.

• Archive I
• Archive II
• Archive III

• Related discussion: w:Talk:Australian English

Hotel

What about the Australian meaning of Hotel as being a bar, pub, or pub including restaurant?

Many Australian pubs are indeed called an Hotel by their name, for example my local pub is the 'Lomond Hotel', it would be referred to as 'The Lomond'. Indeed some such hotels still maintain rooms above them. However, most do not, and retain their hotel name from days past. Hotel, certainly, is not an accepted slang term for 'pub'. Joe Austin-Crowe

Under traditional liquor licensing laws, hotels were permitted to serve alcohol adjacent to the food service area. The counter had to have a metal bar separating the food service section from the alcohol service section, this is in fact where the term a drinking "bar" originated. Although most Australian hotels comprised a combination of accommodation, food and drink service, many focused on the latter. Legally, and moreover in name, these hotels retained to some extent the characteristics of an accommodation hotel, despite the bar being their main or exclusive raison d'etre. When going to such a hotel, the purpose of drinking would be implicit, and not confused with one's fellows as seeking accommodation - Francois McGill.

No Australian would use "Hotel" in conversation with any of those meanings to refer to such an establishment. Let's suppose there's an establishment called the Captain Cook Hotel that includes a "front bar", a "back bar", and a restaurant (and optionally rooms for accommodation). If going for a drink, locals would most likely say something like, "Are you going for a drink/bite after work?" "Yeah, I'm heading to the Captain Cook with a few mates." Or, more likely, the name would be further shorted to something like "The Captain" or "The Cook" or "The Cap" or "The Cappie", etc. If one or both interlocutors were rather unfamiliar with the place, they would likely use the full (formal) name. If giving a vague answer, they'd say "a local pub", "a nearby restaurant", and so on — not "a hotel". —DIV (1.145.2.202 09:58, 14 November 2022 (UTC))

Buckley's

The expression "You've got Buckley's" (or "You've got two chances; yours and Buckley's" and variants) meaning "You've got no chance" derives, so I understand, from an Australian department store called "Buckley's and Nunn's" as a form of rhyming slang; your chances are "none". I would appreciate confirmation (or otherwise) of this. Sbz5809 14:09, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

"Buckley's and none" may be a reference to the store, but it originated with "Buckley's chance", which is much older, see William Buckley (convict) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Buckley_%28convict%29. Grant65 | Talk 14:21, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

I appreciate the response, and, while I'm not disputing what you say, the page that you link says 'His name is often mistakenly associated with the traditional Australian phrase "Buckley's chance", which means "it's as good as impossible".' Sbz5809 14:34, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

I've seen more than one thing describing both as possible and neither as certain. I don't think anything can be confirmed! —Felix the Cassowary 15:21, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Is it worth adding the expression anyway, giving the etymology as "uncertain"? Sbz5809 15:30, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Most certainly! "Buckley's" really should be in this page! —Felix the Cassowary 01:02, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

OK, according to Fred Ludowyk of the The Australian National Dictionary Centre there is a slight chance (not Buckley's :-) that the term originated as a reference to the convict, but no one knows for sure.[1] Ludowyk offers stronger support for the idea that it originated with Buckley's Store (acquired by Crumpton Nunn in 1853). Grant65 | Talk 04:08, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

However, the Macquarie Dictionary (4th ed, 2005), p. 192, states: " ? from William Buckley, influenced by the pun on the name of the Melbourne department store Buckley and Nunn." Which seems slightly more positive about the William Buckley etymology. The "?" seems to mean "unknown" or "uncertain" in Macquarie entries. Grant65 | Talk 18:07, 26 January 2006 (UTC)

Bailey

Apparently, according to the Metroid Page, the word bailey is an English or Australian English term for swimwear. I'ver personally never heard of this, can anyone confirm? Riff 13:14, 1 February 2006 (UTC)

Personally never heard of it used anywhere in Australia. I use bathers but have heard of togs etc. Frances76 03:16, 27 February 2006 (UTC)

I belive they refer to the old style bathers when u had to covour up at the beach 1900's, 1920's, 3 you get the drify mate's. Enlil Ninlil 05:52, 12 July 2006 (UTC)

Never, ever heard of it. —DIV (1.145.2.202 09:59, 14 November 2022 (UTC))

Sprog

As well as meaning 'child', 'sprog' meant 'semen', at least in my highschool - one meaning probably derived from the other - same for 'spunk' maybe. Is it OK if I make the addition? Adambrowne666 11:27, 22 February 2006 (UTC)

I can't recall if "sprog" also means "semen", however, it seems that some people have equated sprog with semen:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=sprog

Whether these people are in Australia is not known though. Frances76 03:20, 27 February 2006 (UTC)

Yep, that's what it meant when I was at high school. Add it by all means. --Jimp 03:46, 20 July 2006 (UTC)

Gonk?

Never heard that one before - what part of Aus is it used in?Adambrowne666 20:50, 3 March 2006 (UTC)

Heard of it, although as a NZer I can't for the life of me at the moment recall what it means exactly. Mathmo 00:04, 24 September 2006 (UTC)

I was raised in Western Australia - where they are widely known, but in Victoria they certainly are unheard of.

A Gonk is a carnival or show prize similar to a pet rock in its triviality. It is a small hairy toy that looks similar to the character 'Cousin It' from 'The Adams Family' television show.

The toy is often brightly coloured, such as pink, has glued-on goggle-eyes and sometimes felt feet, depending on whether it is to adorn one's desk or to be hung up.

Their lifecycle is as follows: They are purchased or 'won', then are placed prominently for approximately 24 hours - such items seem to live for about a day generally - and then somehow disappear, or more likely, 'are disappeared' by maternal rationalists.

Joe Austin-Crowe

Wank/wanker

Are these terms Australian slang (wank = masturbate & wanker = pretentious tool)? 203.214.74.36 13:42, 4 March 2006 (UTC)

Looks like the term was British originally, http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=wanker

Yer its Aussie, used a lot for idiots or friends alike. Enlil Ninlil 05:55, 12 July 2006 (UTC)

Ummm. No, it is not Australian. It is from the UK. Used commonly in Aust, but it is UK slang. Asa01 07:00, 12 July 2006 (UTC)

:: Agree with that. the term was almost unknown here until relatively Albatross2147 05:51, 30 July 2006 (UTC)

Granted, though wanker is so deeply ingrained in Australian slang that it would seem wrong to leave it off. Actually it'd probbably fall in the list of the most insulting things you can call another aussie. Het

Barry Humphries' Contributions to the Vernacular

Should we mention that quite a few expressions were invented by Barry Humphries in his Bazza Mackenzie strips? I'm pretty sure the Map of Tasmania was one of his - and there are lots of others - heaps of euphemisms for vomiting, for example. Adambrowne666 08:18, 10 March 2006 (UTC)

Larrikin

(the following moved from top of page, added by 210.215.125.76) a larikin is not relbelious a larikn is a joker or sky larking i wood know as im a aussie

From the Macquarie Dictionary of Australian Slang: noun 1. a mischievous young person. 2. a good-natured but independent or wild-spirited person, usually having little regard for authority, accepted values, etc. 3. Obsolete a petty criminal or thug, especially as a member of a street gang; a hoodlum: larrikins of the push. [British dialect (Warwickshire and Worcestershire) larrikan mischievous youth]

Natgoo 12:16, 2 April 2006 (UTC)

Ass

"The North American spelling and pronunciation of ass is also used." claims the article. I've never seen nor heard this. An ass is a donkey. Jimp 03:17, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

Well practically all US slang gets used in Australia to some degree - it comes from all the US films and TV we have been dominated by for decades - that does not mean all instances of US terms being sometimes used here need to be listed in this article. Asa01 04:11, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

In Australian English the standard pronunciation is /a:s/ (note that Aussie English in non-rhotic), not the common US /æs/. Australian youth is currently adopting much North American slang, for example skanky ho, bro, and homie. But "arse" has a long history in Australia and has many slang uses the map to North American slang uses. Some compound using "arse" that originated in North American English have recently been adopted in Australian youth cutlure - as "asswipe" = dickhead. However, even though this word can be found in print spelt "asswipe", Australians will still say /a:swaIp/ ("arse-wipe"), unless they are consciously mimicking US pronunciation.

If ass is slang then so to is dat and wat for that and what, ass is basically a shorter for of arse used for informal messages or text.

There is nothing to stop anyone pronouncing a-s-s exactly the same way as arse ("ahse" insread of "airss" or whatever). However you spell it, the fact remains that few Australians pronounce it the same way as Americans. Grant65 | Talk 09:47, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

This is definitely occasionally used in Australia, by people too timid to speak properly, and unaware of the foolishness of swapping to US English to refer to an arse. Let's face it: "ass" is no longer a euphemism, it's US English for the bum. 1.145.2.202 10:04, 14 November 2022 (UTC)

Belting the bishop

slang for masturbating? or not. i dunno.

Australians are not that imaginative when describing 'wanking' - it is more like an extract from 'Rogers Profanisaurus', published by the makers of 'Viz' adult comic. Joe Austin-Crowe

Is "shits me" Aussie slang?

My bf is from NZ and we both live in Melbourne. He tells me off for saying "shits me" because it's Aussie slang and he doesn't like it(snob!). It hadn't occured to me that it was, I'm from NZ too but I've been in Australia a long time. Is it of Australian origin and only used in Australia? Or is it a British borrowing (which I'd just presumed)?

Also, is Woop Woop a real place or is my flatmate pulling my leg ^u^ Kitty 10:06, 27 June 2006 (UTC)

Your flatmate is pulling your leg if they're telling you it's real, although it was a town in the film Welcome to Woop Woop. The real-life equivalent is the 'back of Bourke'. 'Shits me' is indeed Australian (along with the variants 'gives me the shits' and 'shits me to tears'). These aren't known in Britain, except as used by Aussies afaik - I've had to explain myself several times when I've used such terms with my Brit colleagues. It may have come from elsewhere, but a quick google shows it's used predominantly by Aussies. Natgoo 10:03, 23 June 2006 (UTC)

Thanks Natgoo Kitty 10:06, 27 June 2006 (UTC)

A few clarifications

G'day all. Just a few points to bring up.

Acko - is this an Australia wide term or region specific? I've never heard it before, although I have often heard the word "prang" used instead ("I pranged my car / was in a bad prang"). Again could be an individual state thing.

Bree cake - come on - Big Brother terms in Aust. English vocab? Again have never heard this one used anywhere by anyone and I very much doubt it is used Australia wide.

Pregger - has anyon heard this used as a singular, as it's denoted here? Is it more Australian to say "she's preggers", rather than "there goes a preggger"?

Cheers guys. Citizen D 01:15, 25 June 2006 (UTC)

This list is full of words that are non-Australian in origin, are obscure and rare, and are recent and restricted to small sub-cultures... and worst of all, none of the words are verified. Clobber (clothing) is NOT Australian slang! Ripped meaning stoned was used to mean just that in 1970 US film Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, which was using already outdated slang at that time for camp effect. I doubt that Russ Meyer was checking Aussie language when he penned that dialogue! I'd delete a good deal of this list but I just know that any deletions will just be reverted. Asa01 08:55, 27 June 2006 (UTC)

No, please do give the list a good cleaning. A lot of words are added by anonymous users with no verification beyond personal usage, and they don't realise they're using slang from the US or UK. Just be careful not to remove too much, otherwise you probably will be reverted like you said. Imroy 09:33, 27 June 2006 (UTC)

Gander

Since when was Gander as "Australian" term, and why is it specifically listed here? The wikipedia DAB page listing it doesn't define it as an Aust term. Asa01 19:37, 18 July 2006 (UTC)

Shelia

So I noticed that 'sheila' had twice been misspelt 'shelia' and rectified the problem. ??? Come on, shelia? I'm wondering if the person responsible (whoever they are) has ever even heard the word 'sheila' pronounced...anyway, wasn't lending the article much credibility...peace--210.211.104.94 09:33, 30 July 2006 (UTC)

Dodgy

I'm not entirely sure that "dodgy" can be called an Australian-English word, as the exact same word is japanese for doesn't work (ie the same meaning as the "australia" word). I'm well aware that the word is in wide spread use in Australia, but I'm almost entirely certain that this word is Japanese (and therefore probably not eligible for inclusion in this list), but I was wondering if anyone could confirm this? Nicwright 07:23, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

dodgy does NOT mean does not work. Mathmo 00:13, 24 September 2006 (UTC)

i agree it does not mean it doesnt work. i believe it refers more the overall quality of the product/event not being of a high standard --Dan027 02:43, 24 September 2006 (UTC)

I think the root-word is the older British slang usage of dodge, meaning a scam or plot The first place I heard "dodgy" was on British TV shows of the early 1980s which were popular in Australia, such as Minder. It's difficult to see a Japanese influence on this and dodgy is definitely not Australian in origin. Grant65 | Talk 12:59, 1 October 2006 (UTC)

First time I ever heard dodgy was in the early 1980s, when UK TV Minder became popular. Dodgy was known then as UK slang; now it is common in Aust. But that does not make it Aust slang. Asa01 05:22, 22 October 2006 (UTC)

Dodgy is indeed originally British slang, but it has been used in Australia since at least the 1970s (Lance Peters, "The Dirty Half-Mile", 1979 (1989), II. xix. 188 - meaning shady, of disreputable character). It has been very common in Australian English since the 1980s. There is a famous Oz comedy duo called the "Dodgy Brothers". Certainly nothing to do with Japanese.

Billy

billy is also another term for bong, ive never heard it referenced in any other language, surely this is aussie

Declining Use

I wanted to say i think this page needs a serious update. shitloads of the words are nearly non-existent in normal conversation nowadays, and ive picked out many words in the nearly extinct section that are used alot more than they are made out144.139.143.202 09:34, 7 October 2006 (UTC)saammyyy

have heard this used a lot for bong. other Aussie bong terms: honga, Bill, beuge (pronounced be-you-ge), gatie (short for Gatorade bottle) and Springer.

krakcrook 05:02, 22 October 2006 (UTC)

ah me and thunder from downunda just made a kouple of like edits added words and stuff we use in our aussy lifehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Krakcrook talk about some stuuf editin pges. Thudna from downunda im a true blue aussie i use slang and i suprised that u have missed alot of words The Thunda From Downunda 05:03, 22 October 2006 (UTC)

Trimming

Splits

I'm in the process of splitting the article up into various smaller ones. We're down to 44 kilobytes. Jimp 08:18, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

Excessive examples

It seems this article is full of examples of these words in use. Few of these examples add anything to the reader's understanding of the words. I've removed a number of them. Here they are.

• "What an absolute bag!"
• "I've just bought a beaut new car."
• "They were having a blue."
• "Hey mate, can I bludge a smoke?"
• "I bludged 5th period last week!"
• "The price of fuel nowadays is bloody outrageous!"
• "That's a bodged paint job."
• "This computer is cactus."
• "I am feeling a bit crook after that curry"
• "That's a bit crook that they sacked you, Jim."
• "I'm really crook at you now mate."
• "After her mother died, she was totally devo."
• "What a devo."
• "Mum's gunna be crook that the window's broken." – "Well, der!"
• "Boonie is a dead set legend."
• "Do you know where I put that doover?"
• "Stevo went feral and punched a cop."
• "I'm running flat out."
• "I've got fuck-all beer left mate."
• "The lions have fuck-all chance of winning this season."
• "The lazy bludgers done three fifths of fuck-all."
• "That's one fugly dog you've got."
• "He's a gun footballer."
• "That was a gun match."
• "I can't go out, I have heaps of homework."
• "I was heaps pissed last night."
• "I've got to jet off mate."
• "He was being pez."
• "We piss-farted around for a couple of hours at the beach."
• "Stop piss-farting around and do your work."
• "I'm going to piss off soon"
• "This coffee's piss-weak."
• "That engine's piss-weak."
• "That was a piss-weak decision."
• "The engine's ratshit."
• "I'm going to the ripper's tonight."
• "What a rip-snorta."
• "The engine is rough as guts, mate."
• "This road is rough as guts."
• "Five minutes after the rain started I was completely satched."
• "I made some conversation, scabbed a fag, and then left."
• "He's a bit scabby."
• "My car's buggered." "Just a gasket, mate. She'll be right."
• "Cough up, Bill — it's your shout"
• "Let's go for a coffee: my shout".
• "That was a stella show."
• "I'll go to Fred's place and have a stickybeak around the back."
• "That food looks a bit sus."
• "I finally sussed out the crossword" = "I finally worked out the crossword."
• "I sussed out that James was smoking marijuana." = "I found out that James was smoking marijuana."
• "Don't worry, I've got it all sussed out."
• Person A - "What do we do to tall poppies?", Person B - "We cut off their heads."
• "Dude, I'm a bit toey!"
• Bloke A: "That Nicole Kidman's a top lookin' sheila." Bloke B: "Too right she is mate."
• "out past woop-woop"
• Luke passes a maths exam and yells "Yeah bebe."
• "You were absolutely off your titties last night. What did you drink?"
• "We're heading down the pub for a piss-up."
• "Piss-up at Jack's place tonight!"
• "He's really mungin' that burger!"
• "Wing us a smoke, mate."
• "What natio are you mate?"
• "We had to go bush bashing through the park to get to Mick's place."
• "What a ripper of a goal that was."
• "Check out the size of that donk, it's massive!!"

I've also removed the following hidden commentary from emu bob.

Was in common use in late 60's and early 70's. I suspect it would still be used, unless contract cleaners have taken over such things (eg. private security guards have replaced much of the guard duty on exterior gates). Someone with recent military experience can advise. If not used today please move to expired section. ADD: totally in use through my school-days in 80s/ early 90s (Natgoo)

Australian Colloquial Slang

I've tagged w:Australian Colloquial Slang for a merger here. All that article is is a piss-poor version of this one (crappily formatted & poorly named). The bulk of the article is duplication of stuff which already exists elsewhere. It should never have been created in the first place. Jimp 05:44, 22 November 2006 (UTC) Done. Jimp 07:04, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

:-) 1.145.2.202 10:08, 14 November 2022 (UTC)

To 'hang shit'

Is there a criteria for inclusion new phrases have to meet, or can we just bung them in? Hanging shit's had currency with Australian youth for years now. 60.224.65.29 08:21, 30 December 2006 (UTC)

Sure there are criteria but it don't reckon that these have stopped people in the past from just bunging stuff in. (Of course, much of this past was when the list was residing at Wikipedia with slightly different criteria for inclusion.) Jimp 00:24, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

Familiar

I'm from New Jersey and am extremely familiar with as if, bang (Smosh uses this a lot), cranky, bee's knees, nah, no sweat, okey-dokey, perv (think Home Alone 2), scab (non-union worker), shotgun, sick, sweet, and wing, and pretty familiar with aggro, beef, cat's pajamas, docket, no worries, reckon, righto, shitfaced, spew, true blue, whinge, and youse.--Simplificationalizer (talk) 23:29, 22 April 2017 (UTC)

RFM discussion: March 2017–November 2022

See Appendix talk:Australian English terms pertaining to money and wealth § RFM discussion: March 2017–November 2022

Beef

I would have thought "beef" was US English slang adopted into Australia, no? —DIV (1.145.2.202 09:36, 14 November 2022 (UTC))

c'arn

See C'arn the pies – and sauce - The Sydney Morning Herald and Means the same thing as carn, that is Australian slang for 'come on', especially at AFL matches.. —DIV (1.145.2.202 09:51, 14 November 2022 (UTC))