Australian Lingo/Slang

Australian slang is almost a language of its own. Aussies (as they’re also called) love to play with words, and to use shortened terms to explain things. Though some of them have roots in British English, Australian English has grown and changed into its own interesting type of language.

Many people recognize phrases like “shrimp on the barbie” (which isn’t actually said in Australia), and “roo” (for kangaroo), but there are many more phrases that you’d hear during a trip or English course in Australia.

Define:.

•Acca Dacca - rock band 'AC DC'

•ace – excellent

•ambo - Paramedic, Ambulance Officer

•‘ang on – wait a moment

•arvo – afternoon

•Aussie - person from Australia (pronounced: Ozzey)

•‘avago – have a go (usually ‘ya mug’ – you fool – is added); try harder

•barbie – barbecue or BBQ

•barra - a barramundi fish 

•bewdy or bewdy bottler – good; the best

•Beyond the Black Stump – far from the city; the outback

•bickie - biscut or cookie

•bingle – minor car accident

•bludger – layabout, one who wants something for nothing, person who does not work or works very little

•bluey – a swag or blanket roll

•bombed out – unsuccessful; also drunk

•bonza - excellent

•boys in blue - Police

•Brisbanites - people from Brisbane

•buckleys - no chance

•budgy smugglers - swimming atire, also referred to as 'togs'

•burl - 'give it a burl' give it a go; attempt something

•by crickey – an expression of surprise

•cactus – useless, broken

•cark it – to die

•cashed up – having plenty of ready money

•cheesed (off) – bored; fed up

•chewy – chewing gum

•chook – domestic fowl

•chook raffle – a lottery in which the prize is a chicken; usually held in a ‘pub’ (hotel)

•chuck a wobbly – go berserk

•cobber – friend

•cocky – know all; also a small farmer

•combo - combination 

•come a cropper – to fall heavily

•cot case – a drunk or exhausted person only fit for bed

•cracking - excellent / get cracking - start something

•Darwin stubby - 2 litre bottle of beer

•deadhead – a stupid person

•deadly - excellent ("The Deadlys" is an award program to recognise the contribution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders to their community and to Australian society) 

•dead marine – an empty beer bottle (also: dead soldier)

•dead set – certain; assured; used as an exclamation meaning ‘really!’

•dead set against it – uncooperative

•dinky-di – genuine

•do your lolly (mellon; nana; loaf) – to get very angry

•dob in – to betray or report someone to the authorities; also to nominate someone for an umpleasent task

•don’t get off your bike – calm down

•drongo – stupid person

•dry as a drovers dog – extremely thirsty

•dunny – an outside toilet

•esky – a portable icebox (brand name)

•fair crack of the whip – ease up (also: fair suck of the surf)

•fair dinkum – honest; genuine

•fair enough – alright; acceptable

•fair go – a chance; also an appeal for fairness

•flake (out) – to collapse; to fall asleap

•flat out like a lizard drinking – lying prone; also rushed; extremely busy

•flush – having plenty of money

•fossick – to search for something

•freak out – to have an extreme reaction (good or bad) to something

•full as a goog (tick; boot) – drunk; full of food after a big meal

•game as Ned Kelly – very brave (Ned Kelly was a daring bushranger [robber] in 1878)

•garbage – an exclamation meaning ‘what rubbish, I don’t believe you!’

•garbo - garbage collector 

•g’donya – good for you; well done; can also be sarcastic; or mean ‘I don’t believe you’

•go off like a bucket of prawns in the sun – to create commotion

•good one – an explanation of approval; or comment that someone is stretching the truth

•goodo – yes, alright

•goon - wine sold inside a bag and cardboard box

•gutful – more than enough (I’ve had a gutful of this – I’ve had enough)

•have tickets on yourself – to be conceited

•hit the deck – to duck; to put your head down

•hit the tin – put money in the kitty; to contribute to a collection of cash

•hoon – a stupid or uncultivated person; also a fast or wreckless driver

•hooroo – goodbye

•jackaroo - male working with cattle or horses

•joolaroo - female working as a jackaroo 

•kero - kerosene

•kick in – to help out with money

•knock – to criticise, find fault

•knocker – a person who makes derogatory remarks

•larrikin – mischievous, wild or carefree person

•lations - family relatives or 'relations'

•like a hornet in a bottle – furious

•like a possum up a gum tree – moving fast

•like a rat up a drainpipe – moving even faster

•lingo – language

•loaded – extremely wealthy; also very drunk

•local rag - local newspaper

•longkneck - 750ml bottle of beer (also: tallie)

•mackas - McDonalds

•main drag - main road or street through a town

•mate – good or best friend; also used to greet someone as in ‘G’day mate’

•matilda – a blanket roll carried by a swagman

•Melbournians - people from Melbourne

•metho - methylated spirits

•mexicans - people from the state south of yours

•milko - milk home delivery person 

•m’oath – my oath; on my oath. bloody oath - i agree

•mug – fool

•mulga – rough country (actually: a type of tree)

•muso - musician 

•no-hopper – incompetent person; social misfit

•nosh up – a good meal

•nick – to steal

•nicked – to be caught; (I got nicked – I got caught) go away; (get nicked)

•nick off – to go away; expression meaning ‘lose yourself!’

•nifty – stylish; clever; shrewd to the point of dishonesty

•ocker – the archetypal uncultivated Australian male

•outback – the inland country far away from large cities

•pint of beer - 570ml 

•prang – minor car accident

•prawn - shrimp

•pot of beer - 285ml (a 'one pot screamer' is someone who gets drunk off very little alcohol). Also known as a 'middy' or 'half pint'

•rack off – to go away

•ranga - person with red hair (Julia Gillard Australian Prime Minister - pictured right)

•rego - vehicle registration

•righto - alright

•ring-in – a substitute

•rissole - a type of meatball flattened out; or fat meat patty. (also: 'given the rissole' sacked or fired from employment.

•road train - a truck with many sections attached (some road trains are over a kilometre long)

•rort – a con

•sangers – sandwiches

•schooner of beer - 425ml 

•’scuse me - excuse me

•servo - a petrol station or gas station

•she’ll be apples, she’s sweet – it’ll be fine

•shoot through - to go somewhere else (or he shot through)

•shonky – poor quality

•shotgun - the front passenger seat of a vehicle

•shout – to buy drinks for everyone

•shrapnel - coins of a low denomination

•sickie – a day taken off work, but not necessarily because of illness

•skip – Australian-born (from Skippy the kangaroo [a TV show])

•skite – a bragger

•slack - work left over by a lazy person. To 'pull up the slack' is to do the work left over by others.

•a slash - to take 'a slash' or 'have a slash' - to urinate 

•smoko – a break from work (originally a cigarette)

•snags – sausages

•speedo - vehicle speedomoter

•stinker – an objectionable person

•stone the crows – exclamation of astonishment

•stubby - a bottle of beer (330ml) or stubbie / a brand of shorts

•stubby cooler - used to keep your hand warm and a beer cold

•swag – a blanket roll of light bedding

•swagman – a man who travels around the country on foot and takes odd jobs usually in the outback

•Sydneyites - people from Sydney

•ratbag – a rogue; an eccentric person

•rubbish – to criticice; to mock

•servo - petrol station

•ta - thank you 

•tall poppy (/syndrome) - a cultural tendancy to cutt people down to size - criticise people who excell or achieve significantly / or publicly above others. 

•ta-ta – goodbye

•Taswegins - people from Tasmania

•the ditch - water between Australia and New Zealand

•tinnie – a can of beer; a small aluminum boat

•too right – an exclamation meaning ‘I agree’

•top drop – a good beer or wine

•true blue – genuine

•twit – a fool

•ute – open backed pick-up truck

•veg out – relax

•wag – to play truant

•wheelie – a noisy skidding turn while driving

•whinge – to complain

•whopper – something surprisingly big

•woop woop - out in the middle of no where 

•wowser – a killjoy; a prudish teetotaler

•write-off – a total loss

•wuss – spoilsport; afraid to have a go

•yakka – hard or heavy work

•yank - American 

•yobbo – a loud or stupid uncultivated person

•yonks ago (or yonks and yonks ago) - a long time ago

•zonked (out) – tired out; exhausted

Australian Spoonerisms

•no wucking furries (or: no wuccas) - no worries

•cunny funt - a funny person

http://www.goingrank.com.au/glossary.html