The Travellers Guide to Aussie Slang

The Travellers Guide to Australian Slang

By The Graphoid

As a student of the English language (and an ex-patriot Englishman myself) and as a service to the traveller to our marvellous country from lands foreign I though I would put together this 'dictionary' of Australian words, expressions and sayings in an attempt to help the unwary traveller from putting his foot in it during polite conversation with the natives here. The version of 'English' spoken here is sufficiently different so as to get the unwary into a lot of trouble.

The Australian language could be described as a lazy version of English. It is very common for Australians to shorten names (to extremes in some cases), use acronyms wherever possible and generally try to say as much a possible using as little sound as possible. Names get shortened, David could become 'Davo' for example, quite a common type of 'bastardisation'. The Australian dialect is also spoken with intonation and exaggeration on words by raising the pitch, particularly at the end of the word. This tends to make it sound a 'singing' language.

So here we go, this is by no means an exhaustive list, but these are (really!) common use phrases and expressions. There are some variances as you go around the country but by and large they are universal.
It may even help you understand what the hell we are talking about!

Just a WARNING to those of a sensitive disposition, Australian slang is a very 'colourful' language, there are some words in common use here that are considered very obscene in other parts of the world. Therefore some of this may be offensive to some people. Probably not the sort of things you would say to your maiden aunt or a 5 year-old. You have been warned.

(Sorry these are not in alphabetical order, they just get added as I get them) If anyone has any others I do not have here or wants to correct the meaning of any here already email me at graphoid@mindless.com and put me straight!

General Aussie Slang:

Bluey - someone with red hair
blue - red haired person, also a fight ("they had a blue")
Sheila - a girl
Bruce - a man
Bonzer (also bonza) - very good
Ripper - very good also
claytons - something of questionable integrety ( a fake)
goose - a silly person ("what a goose!")
Dunny - the toilet
Whinge - to complain incessantly, usually used as "whinging Pomme" (a whineing englishman)
wog - a virus like flu etc. ("I've got a wog in the guts" - not feeling too well)
tucker - food
yakker - work ("that was hard yakker")
"she'll be right mate!" - everything will be fine
strewth - exclamation of surprise ("strewth mate!")
"shoot through" - to run away, disappear ("I'm going to shoot through now")
scrub or bush - the desert/outback where nothing much grows
ratbag - not a nice person
raw prawn - telling lies ("don't come the raw prawn with me") = you are lying
kick in - starting or joining in something ("I'll kick in ten bucks")
galah - silly or stupid person (after the parrot of the same name)
gidday, gu'day or g'day - hello, (good-day)
"fair go" - everyone having an equal chance (the Australian philosophy)
"fair suck of the sav", "fair suck of the sauce bottle" - giving someone an equal chance (sav = savaloy, a sausage)
crook - not feeling well ("I'm a bit crook today")
dag - someone with poor dress sense. An idiot. ("What a dag!") Also the dried remnants of faeces found on the rear of sheep!
daggy - not the best ("That's a bit daggy")
bludge or bludging - being lazy, slacking off work
barbie - a barbequeue. Traditional Australian cooking method usually outdoors
beauty or beaut - something good ("she's a beaut mate")
"lower than a snakes belly" - very dishonest person or act
"quicker than a cut snake" - very fast
speedos - swimming trunks (a brandname)
Stubbies - a brand of hardwearing cotton shorts (brandname)
thongs - sandals held on by a single strap and a post between the first two toes of the foot
dacks - trousers or shorts
brown-eye - to show ones bottom, mooning ("I chucked a brown-eye")
dinkum - true and accurate, ("Fair dinkum") exactly right.
dinkie-di - absolutely true, in the Australian spirit of things ("He's a dinkie-di Aussie!")
jackaroo - a male farm hand
jillaroo - a female farm hand
ute - open backed 'station wagon' with a front cab and an open tray back
chook - a chicken
jumbuck - a sheep
sook - someone very sensitive or in need of comforting (usually maternal) ("You big sook!")
floater - a meat pie floating in pea soup served at football games in Victoria (and roundly hated everywhere else)
bung - to put ("Bung another steak on the barbie Mate!")
grouse - really good
smoko - a tea break (mid-morning or mid afternoon)
arvo - the afternoon ("Cricket's on the TV this arvo")
sticky beak - to take a look, to be nosey ("Hey sticky beak, mind your own business!")
perv - to look, usually lustfully ("I'm off to the beach to perv the shielas!")
"flat out like a lizard drinking" - taking it easy, slacking off or resting.

Names for foreigners: (derrogatory)

Pomme or Pommie - English people
Wogs - Italians
bubbles - Greeks (from Cockney rhyming slang, bubble and squeak = greek)
dropkick - a slovak
Slopes or Smacks - Orientals
Septics - Americans (from rhyming slang, septic tank = yank)

Names for fellow Australians:

Aussie - all Australians
Sand Groper - someone from Western Australia
Crow Eater - someone from South Australia
Banana Bender - someone from Queensland
Top Ender - someone from the Northern Territory

Sexual references:

Map of Tazzie - pubic hair area (usually on females) after the shape of The State of Tasmania, an Island south of the Mainland
Stuffing - to have sex
rooting - to have sex (rooting for your team has a VERY different meaning over here!)
rooted - very tired
stuffed - very tired also
buggered - very tired
poofter (or poofta) - effeminate or gay man
whacker, wakka - someone silly, someone who masturbates
mattress pumper - someone who masturbates
"crack a fat" - to have an erection

Relating to the national pastime, drinking:

a slab - pack of 24 cans of beer ("I drank a couple of slabs last night")
stubby - short, squat bottle of beer, usually around 300ml or just over half a pint
Darwin stubby - a 2 pint bottle of beer bought only in Darwin hence the name
"off your face" - very drunk
shout - buy a round of drinks ("it's your shout mate!")
"pissed as a parrot" - very drunk!
coldie - a cold beer
grog - alcohol, usually beer ("We've drunk all the grog!")
"drinking piss" - having a few beers
tinnie - A can of beer

The following are a little more obscure but they can be heard nonetheless. They are more humourous (and ficticious, used especially for tourists!) than everyday words and expressions

bum nuts - (chickens) eggs
maggot bag - a meat pie

So to put all this into context. An 'ordinary' Australian conversation might well go something like this:

"G'day Mate, Howyagoin'?"
"Not too foul Bruce, Not too foul!"
"Wann'a kick in 10 bucks for a couple of slabs, me and Bluey 'ere are goin' down the pub for a coldie or two then going back to my place to get off our face"
"Yeah, I'll be in that! Might even pick up a couple of Sheilas on the way eh? Mind if I get me mate Kevin on the way?"
"Gee Bruce, all you ever think about is gettin' a root, ya little mattress pumper!"
"Ok, we'll get that poofta Kevin on the way if you like."
"Bloody Kevin, strewth! Well if that poofta starts eyeing me up then I'll be shooting through faster than a cut snake I can tell you!"
"Hey how about fireing up the barbie and chucking on a few steaks?"
"Yeah, and cricket's on the TV this arvo too, we can sit and watch that and sink a few tinnies at the same time."
"Bonza idea! I'll be in that. Let's jump in the Ute and we'll get to the bottle shop before it shuts."

and so it went on......

And if you thought this page was a bit rude you DEFINATELY won't want to go here, this is downright disgusting. This is the Aussie dictionary page of one of our <R> rated comedians Kevin 'Bloody' Wilson (Yes that really is his name) Adults only please, enter here at your own peril!

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