australian english vocabulary
TRANSCRIPT
This list is not intended to be comprehensive. Note that a number of the words listed are very
localised or almost obsolete today.
A
• ace - excellent, very good • aggro – (adj) aggressive; (n) aggravation • 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
Australian-English Vocabulary
B
• 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 • bang sexual intercourse (hence "she bangs like a dunny door in the wind") • 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, occuring 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 o a fight, brawl or heated argument o an embarrassing mistake (for example, "I've made a blue.") o a nickname for someone with red hair (also "Bluey")
• bluey o formerly, a bundle of belongings wrapped in a blanket carried by
swagmen. Also called a "swag" o a traffic ticket, o a nickname for a redheaded person (also "Blue") o a blue heeler (cattle dog). o a blue singlet typically worn by Australian workers
• 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)
• bodgy - of inferior quality • 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.
• 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 influence by two important historical elements, both of which occured 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.
• buggered (1) - tired. "I'm feeling buggered." • buggered (2) - broken, not in working order. "That hose is buggered." • buggered (3) - 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 o originally a stopper in a cask; a synonym for "put" or "place"; as in "bung
it in the oven" (also used in British English) o 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
o woodland, generally called bushland o 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
• bushfire - wild forest fire • bushie - a person living in remote rural areas, simailar to a swagman • bush oyster - a gob of expelled nasal mucus • 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
C
• cackleberry - egg • cactus - dead, non-functional, not functioning • cark it
o to die o to cease functioning
• carn – 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 many years
• clucky - feeling broody or maternal • cockie - farmer (hence cow-cockie - dairy farmer); also short for 'cockatoo', an
Australian bird. • come a gutser - make a bad mistake, have an accident • compo - workers' compensation pay • cossie, cozzie - swimming costume, bathers • cranky - in a bad mood, angry • crikey - an exclamation of surprise • crook
o angry, in the phrase "go crook at" o sick or unwell o 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
• dag o an unfashionable or uncool person, equivalent to "geek" or "dork". "Did
you see her Dad's shirt? He's such a dag." o excrement hanging from the wool around a sheep's backside
• daggy – unfashionable, uncool, "nerdy", "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 – ((Aus) IPA: ˈde.vəʉ), devastated
• devo - ((Aus) IPA: 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 has done something ridiculous. '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. The term double-dink is
used in Northern and Western NSW. • 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
(Sometimes referred to as the • 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 • dunny - toilet • dux - top of the class (n.); to be top of the class (v.)
E
• earbashing - nagging, non-stop chatter • 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 emubob is still used among Australian Army Cadets to describe the duty of moving through an area in extended file to pick up rubbish.
F
• 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 sav - exclamation of wonder, awe, disbelief • FBT - a large truck, "fucking big truck" • feral
o a derogratory term for variety of modern day "hippies", commonly stereotyped as unclean in habits and living rough in the bush
o disgusting; unhygenic; rotten o 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:
o to sell something o to steal something o to treat something roughly (driving too fast and carelessly is to "give it a
flogging") o 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
G
• 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" Template:cite sources. 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 – 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 • give it a burl - try it, have a go • gobful, give a - to abuse, usually justifiably ("The neighbours were having a
noisy party so I went and gave them a gobful.") • 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
o cheap cask wine, also can mean the bag containing the wine also know as a goon bag, or a goon sack.
o another name for a man, woman, or animal with an ape appearance • grouse – (adj.) great, terrific, very good; common in Victoria • gun – (adj) of excellent ability; above-average; derived from shearing – the fastest
shearer in the shed was the gun-shearer;
H
• 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.
• hooly dooley - a term used when something out of the ordinary happens, an exclamation of surprise; similar "good heavens", "my goodness", "good grief", 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
• idiot box – a television set
J
• jet – to go somewhere in a hurry • jaded- feeling hungover or suffering the after effects of drugs
K
• kangaroos loose in the top paddock - intellectually inadequate • kenoath - 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
L
• 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
• 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 rate or mate's discount - 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. 'Mole' can be
attributed to both males and females - "God she annoys me. She's such a moll." Usually
mistakenly written as 'mole'
• mozz or to put the mozz on - jinx
• mungin' - ((Aus) IPA: maŋ.ɪn) to eat veraciously; 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
• 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
• norcs - tits
• 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
• occy strap - Elastic strap with hooks on the ends for securing items • 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 • op shop - opportunity shop, thrift store, place where second hand goods are sold
P
• 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)
• 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 or a fag
• poofteenth - a minuscule amount, a smidgen
• 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
• 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
• 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 - to be generally disagreeable. Can also be used to describe
someone's behavior "You're carrying on like a raw prawn"
• reckon - you bet, absolutely. Giving your opinion. ("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 rippa - Japanese (りっぱ), 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
• satched - to be extremely wet, usually from being caught in the rain; from saturated
• scab
o to take something with no direct recompense, somewhat like bum or cadge
(UK),
o to dob someone in
o a union worker who goes to work when the company is on strike
o a non-union worker that breaks picket lines to work when the normal workers
are on strike
o one who is tight with money or possessions
• scrag
o an unattractive woman. A rough or unkempt woman, e.g. "She's a scrag moll"
o holding someone back by the neck or garment. To wring someone's neck.
• scrag fight - a fight between two women, usually physical.
• scratchy - 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
• 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
• 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.
• 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 - derivative of 'bags', used to claim ownership. "I shotgun the front seat"
• sick – very good; usually intensified in the phrase fully sick
• sickie – a day of absence from work, sometimes 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".
• 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 intimination 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.
• stella - good, pleasing, thanks
• sticking out like dog's balls - very obvious
• stickybeak – to nose around
• 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
o suspicious; suspect
o to figure something out, to uncover something/someone
o to have something worked out, to have a plan
• swag - rolled up bedding etc. carried by a swagman
• sweet – fine, good
T
• ta - thank you, derived from infant speech
• taking 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
• 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, distracted; horny
• togs - swimming costume, bathers
• too right – definitely; that is correct
• 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
• turps - turpentine, alcoholic drink
• two up - a gambling game played by flipping two coins simultaneously
U
• 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
V
• veg out - relax in front of the TV (like a vegetable)
W
• 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 - "Have you prepared a speech?
Nah, I'll just wing it."
• What do you think this is, bush week? - disbelieving response to some one 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" 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 your 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 ("I complained about the food and the waiter threw a
wobbly.")
• wog - flu or trivial illness, also used as a term to describe Australians of Southern
European descent.
X
Y
• 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?'
Z