# Australian slang...



## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

i thot its a great idea to understand this side of AU as well.. no one mentioned this ever but from what I have been reading in blogs, AU english/slang is different from everywhere else in the world..  

example
Afternoon is Arvo

Barbie is Bar-B-Q

...... comments people....


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## kaz101 (Nov 29, 2007)

Manchester = bed linen and towels


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

manchester..hehehe.. i cud hv never imagined tht..


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## Martinw (Jan 2, 2009)

anj1976 said:


> i thot its a great idea to understand this side of AU as well.. no one mentioned this ever but from what I have been reading in blogs, AU english/slang is different from everywhere else in the world..
> 
> example
> Afternoon is Arvo
> ...



I am not a big fan of slang. My children are in a private school and was a bit amazed that my daughter has to learn slang words as part of school. 
She had to learn a number of words. Now all of them would be classified as slang allthough I must admit some are more"acceptable" than others( especially when take that I have 2 girls and not boys)
Their words were:

Arvo
Yakking
Sticky beak
footy
These appear to be OK( I prefer and teach them to use proper language), but here come the ones that sounds like rural miner "tradie talk" and not words I would like my daughters to learn,

Sango - (think its sandwich)
dunnie - (this one especially - imagine putting that one on realestate .com - 2 dunnies)
servo
dob in 
etc. lots more

Chrissy, pressie, Brizzy, and then all names become
Smitho, Johno, Graigo, and the list continues

I know each country has their own slang, but it feels like Australians have a lot more than maybe they should. Any way I do not think it is something that you make a point of teching kids though at school. Isnt it like knowing something is bad for you so you at least try to avoid it. If children pick it up, which we all will, one would have to accept, but to try and teach it is something else. Like all the children that cant even talk and spell correctly because of mobile phones beacause every thing is CUL8TR, BBFN OMG( which I think is a horrible phrase to use, but appears to be the norm in English speaking culture - disgusting),etc. Do people even care that their children are growing up like that.
I know that my kids will at least learn to speak and write properly.


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

Yakking
Sticky beak
footy
servo
dob in 

these wud mean?


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

and ofcourse they cant add ie after names for men.. i mean john or smith will sound soo girlie if they make it smithie or johnie.. (johnie aint thtt bad though).. so 'o' after male names and ie after everything else is so convenient


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## abhiria (Jul 31, 2008)

there are many hotels in Australia which has this "BYO" in their menu which i guess is Bring your own drink ... correct me if I am wrong


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

u r right.. BYO is so super cool.. i mean the entire concept.. here in india we pay a bomb at a median restaurant cos the license fee is so high..so they inflate the liq rates..


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## abhiria (Jul 31, 2008)

I have some friends in Melbourne and they have cut-short name Abhijeet to "Ab"  sounds good though


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

freak.. i did not realise, i hv seven stars under my name and about 1200 posts.. holy C*w


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## sgilli3 (Mar 23, 2008)

anj1976 said:


> Yakking Talking
> Sticky beak Not minding your own business
> footy Football- Aussie Rules - NOT soccer
> servo Service Station/Petrol Station
> ...


Hope this helps a little Anj.


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

how do u think anj came into being. hehehe


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

wow.. i will hv to save these words in a word file for reference when i come.


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## abhiria (Jul 31, 2008)

anj1976 said:


> how do u think anj came into being. hehehe


May be when you migrate there they will chage it to anjie


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## amaslam (Sep 25, 2008)

Tall Poppy - worker with high opinion of oneself
Sparky - Electrician
Chippy - Carpenter
Brickie - Bricklayer
Budgie Smuggler - Men wearing 'small' swimwear (therefore smuggling a budgie (small bird)
Banana Bender - Queenslander
Sunnies - Sunglasses
Seppo - American


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

oh yeah some call me tht too.. but u wont like it if they call u abo


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## kaz101 (Nov 29, 2007)

anj1976 said:


> u r right.. BYO is so super cool.. i mean the entire concept.. here in india we pay a bomb at a median restaurant cos the license fee is so high..so they inflate the liq rates..


For BYO there may still be a charge as 'corkage' which meant to remove the cork. In some places this can be $4 or more.


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

i cant stop laughing after the Budgie Smuggler and sparky.. hehehe.. did tht come from spark tht one gets from electricity.. wherever these names came from.. they r great


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## abhiria (Jul 31, 2008)

anj1976 said:


> oh yeah some call me tht too.. but u wont like it if they call u abo


Abo sounds horrible  

And if you go on this link there is a full Oz slang dictionary Australian slang dictionary


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

Aussie salute : brushing away flies with the hand
hehehehehe


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

and a politician is a Polly


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## scottishcelts (Aug 5, 2007)

Tazmania is 'Tazzy' - even the weather reporters on tv call it Tazzy!


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## ellisa (Jul 3, 2008)

This post has been so amusing...my hubbys name is mark and i can't stop calling him marco..its so getting on his nerves..great slot keep them coming!!!!!!!


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## kaz101 (Nov 29, 2007)

Yakking is speaking but yakka is work


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## amaslam (Sep 25, 2008)

Esky - Cooler
ankle-biter - small child/baby
hoon - car crazy idiot (racers)
Big Smoke - big city
Telly - TV
Sickie - Take a sick day from work
Cozzie/Cossie - Swimwear/swimsuit
Fairy Floss - Cotton Candy
Lippy - lipstick
Maccas - McDonalds (burger place)
Servo - Petrol station



ellisa said:


> This post has been so amusing...my hubbys name is mark and i can't stop calling him marco..its so getting on his nerves..great slot keep them coming!!!!!!!


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## matjones (Jan 30, 2009)

kaz101 said:


> Yakking is speaking but yakka is work


Don't forget 'Tukka' too.... 

Tukka = Food


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## scottishcelts (Aug 5, 2007)

Don't forget 'thong' 

Thong - flip flops 

Thongs to me are a pair of knickers!


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## scottishcelts (Aug 5, 2007)

Oh and 'singlet'

Singlet - vest & vest type t.shirt.


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

hehehehehehe.. this is so funny.. but y call mc'd macca??? and thong.. OMG


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## scottishcelts (Aug 5, 2007)

anj1976 said:


> hehehehehehe.. this is so funny.. but y call mc'd macca??? and thong.. OMG


I know - i was wondering why everyone was going on about thongs for their feet, until i realised they weren't talking about underwear


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## Sono (Feb 1, 2009)

This is hysterical!!!


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## scottishcelts (Aug 5, 2007)

Then there's the 'whipper snipper'!!!


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

whipper snipper..whats that?


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

this is like going back to school .. wen we were told which word means what heeheehee


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## scottishcelts (Aug 5, 2007)

anj1976 said:


> whipper snipper..whats that?


It's a garden strimmer or edger blade thingy


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

woops... i think i will have a difficult time understanding all of this..


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## scottishcelts (Aug 5, 2007)

anj1976 said:


> woops... i think i will have a difficult time understanding all of this..


I wouldn't worry about it - we are all in the same boat


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

imagine.. speaking to someone in english and then wondering wut the othr guy is saying when u cant make a word of what he is blabbering


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## ayashe (Apr 10, 2009)

scottishcelts said:


> It's a garden strimmer or edger blade thingy


In the States we'd call it a weed wacker! That cracks the Aussies up because to them a whacker is an idiot. I asked my husband how he defined whacker, and he said _someone who's a dill_... right, so what's a dill? Ha 

I learned the other day that most people with red hair are nicknamed Bluey... according to the Aussie Slang dictionary, Bluey can also mean a pack, equipment, or traffic ticket, a blue cattle dog, heavy wool or felt jacket worn by mining and construction workers, or a bluebottle jellyfish! What the? But to have an argument with someone, you have a blue...

I don't mind aussie slang, I think it's funny and pretty descriptive in its own way. I just find that a lot of it doesn't really make sense and you have to accept it that way. Trying to analyse how it makes sense or how it developed will drive you nuts!


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

I am keen to know.. how something like a thong is used for flip flops or for that matter so many others.. I am sure no flip flops will resemble a thong.. anywhere in teh world.. then how


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## Aussiejock (May 26, 2007)

anj1976 said:


> I am keen to know.. how something like a thong is used for flip flops or for that matter so many others.. I am sure no flip flops will resemble a thong.. anywhere in teh world.. then how


The word thong means strap, therefore it seems much more sensible, to me, to use the term for something that you wear on your feet rather than on your backside.


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## Aussiejock (May 26, 2007)

I have just thought of something else. When I left Scotland there where no items called thongs or flip flops, but when I arrived in Australia there were things you wore on your feet called thongs! So I recon the footwear having been named first has every right to be the thing that has the name!


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

Yeah right.. I guess we accept what we hear first.. what comes later is always compared to what we accepted/learnt/heard first..


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## British Kiwi (Jul 5, 2008)

Here are a few for any Brits who are buying a house (they're not necessarily slang, but certainly not what we expected!)
Bungalow - a small glorified shed with electricity in the back garden. Could even be a small 1 bedroom studio. It is not a one level house! A UK bungalow is an Aussie house!
Hydronic heating system - radiators!! (This was advertised as a feature! Go figure!)

Then a few others:
Moo bar - convienence shop

Actually that's all I can think off now, very tired after seeing the Saints smash West Coast. So night all


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## kaz101 (Nov 29, 2007)

Op shops (opportunity shops) - these are known as charity shops in the UK


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## Dolly (Feb 17, 2008)

Going troppo...> going crazy
Ariel ping pong > aussie rules footie
Fossick > rummage for something
Grundies > undies
Rip snorter > great, fantastic
Sanger > sandwich
Rack off > get lost
Bathers > swimming costume

and my favourite

Banana hammock > speedos

Dolly


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

hmmm interesting.. I have now started feeling conscious for my english skills


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## MyDearBoy (Apr 1, 2008)

What i find interesting is that most of these slang words are in common use in the UK. There have been very few mentioned yet that are not used in the UK!!


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## kaz101 (Nov 29, 2007)

MyDearBoy said:


> What i find interesting is that most of these slang words are in common use in the UK. There have been very few mentioned yet that are not used in the UK!!


But it may depend on where you were in the UK since there are a few recognise but most I don't.


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

I dont know about Uk but except for Mate, nothing else is used here in India.. its all relatively new to me


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## Sono (Feb 1, 2009)

Molly Dooker= Left handed person


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## wineboss (Apr 13, 2009)

Well I for one since I am preparing to move to Oz likes the slang. As a yank and coming to Australia for the first time I thought hey they speak English and I would have very little problem comunicating. Damn was I wrong....not long after stepping off our plane in Sydney we ran into a true blue Aussie counrty boy that was a bus driver.....I could not understand a word.

Keep the slang and the heritage, I'll adapt.


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## maggiegirl (Oct 3, 2007)

Here are a few more:

uni - university
technicolour yawn - vomit
dag - uncool person
op shop - second hand clothes shop
wally - an idiot (in a loveable sort of way)


As for the private school teaching kids slang, it sounds more like the kids in the private school are doing it and not the teachers.


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## scottishcelts (Aug 5, 2007)

Dolly said:


> Going troppo...> going crazy
> Ariel ping pong > aussie rules footie
> Fossick > rummage for something
> Grundies > undies
> ...


Banana hammock - nice


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## maggiegirl (Oct 3, 2007)

scottishcelts said:


> Banana hammock - nice


Actually, budgie smugglers is more commonly used for speedos.

I think banana lounge is more American. Or am I wrong?


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

my head is spinning nw aftr all this 
technicolour yawn - vomit...not kool


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## scottishcelts (Aug 5, 2007)

anj1976 said:


> my head is spinning nw aftr all this
> technicolour yawn - vomit...not kool


Technicolour yawn is a cracker hee hee hee

another good un, here goes;

i'll have to go point Arnie at the armitage


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## cdnmartinigirl (Mar 6, 2009)

Okay, so I've been reading this whole thread and love the tips on Aussie slang. It's going to take a bit to get used to the lingo when I get there, I think.

One question. I my Top 10 Sydney book, it mentions that thongs, sandals, shorts and singlets are generally not acceptable in bars there.

What the hell is a singlet?


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## amaslam (Sep 25, 2008)

Singlet - Sleeveless T-shirt (kinda like a camisole).

Pic: http://bubbaearth.com.au/store/images/singlet.jpg

I think it depends on the bar (or maybe if the bouncer thinks you're hot and look good in a singlet and shorts  )



cdnmartinigirl said:


> Okay, so I've been reading this whole thread and love the tips on Aussie slang. It's going to take a bit to get used to the lingo when I get there, I think.
> 
> One question. I my Top 10 Sydney book, it mentions that thongs, sandals, shorts and singlets are generally not acceptable in bars there.
> 
> What the hell is a singlet?


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## scottishcelts (Aug 5, 2007)

cdnmartinigirl said:


> Okay, so I've been reading this whole thread and love the tips on Aussie slang. It's going to take a bit to get used to the lingo when I get there, I think.
> 
> One question. I my Top 10 Sydney book, it mentions that thongs, sandals, shorts and singlets are generally not acceptable in bars there.
> 
> What the hell is a singlet?


Vest top!

I think they also call vests singlets here too!


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## Aussiejock (May 26, 2007)

scottishcelts said:


> Vest top!
> 
> I think they also call vests singlets here too!


Singlet is what you call a vest. A tank top is what I think you mean when you say vest top.
Here's another expression to add to your vocabulary - as dry as a dead dingo's donger.


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

Been listening to live AU radio.. not that they use the slangs but it helps understand their way of conversing..
Australian Live Radio - Listen Online


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## cdnmartinigirl (Mar 6, 2009)

So basically it's a spaghetti strap tank top? Eeks - I live in those things!!!

Perhaps my cleavage will convince the bartenders otherwise!  Hee hee!


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## phat-dave (Nov 19, 2008)

anj: i'd say if you want to listen to live casual aussie radio - try nova (brisbane's version is nova1069.com.au) but if you visit dmgradio.com.au it'll give you the others around the country


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

thankx PD will try this as well


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