The Macquarie Australian Slang Dictionary James Lambert, 2004 Sydney: Macquarie Library Introduction The words Aussie and slang go together like swagman and billy, like bloke and sheila, like fair dinkum and true blue. cleanskin = Someone without any criminal convictions, or in other circumstances someone with a clean sheet. schoolies = The school leavers end of year celebrations, as in Schoolies Week. Look here, kiddo, youd better not do that. = A line from the chorus of the song Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again, by The Angels; in public performances, it is common practice for the crowd to follow the line by jumping in with the response No way, get fucked, fuck off!, chanted in tune with the music. BYO = An acronym for Bring Your Own, originally regarding alcoholic drinks but now also used for other items. sus = Suspicious; something worthy of suspicion; someone or something thought to be a bit dodgy, e.g. Timeline of Australian history and culture Fuck Off, Were Full sign on a fencefuck off, were full = A nationalistic slogan against immigration, often depicted upon a map of Australia. he build the shed, but its a bit of a bodgy job; similar to the term dodgy, and possibly related to the term botched (to carry out a task badly, or carelessly; to botch up a job). You should have seen the way those soldiers charged the enemy, they were as game as Ned Kelly!, gander = To look, e.g. The Gabba = A reference to the cricket ground in Wooloongabba, Queensland. not bad = Something which is good, e.g. Australian English (or Aussie slang, really) is a language of subtle poetry. shout = To buy drinks for others; to buy a round of drinks, especially in a pub, e.g. Of course, it may well be that the variation has no connection with Strachan, and that it was just a rhyming variation of the original phrase somewhat similar in style to Hello Jack, hows your back?, And then there is Spew-manti the usual reference for the cheap alcoholic bubbly Asti-Spumante of the 1970s, What does Dont be an Uncle Willy mean please? A lot of Australian slang is inspired by beach and surf culture. You stay there, Ill get the drinks, its my shout. In army slang, a kilometer is called a click, e.g. This is part of the Australia tradition of giving various names an o suffix, e.g. Im going to the bottle shop to get some grog. Everyone turns up in their vehicles, there's a raging party and they sleep/pass out in their swags, alone or if the night has worked out well, with company. Hes a fair dinkum Aussie. Henry Kendall pissed to the eyeballs = Very drunk, e.g. Also rendered as Cabbage Staters or Cabbage Patchers. fuck truck = A panel van, often laid out with carpet, and with curtains fitted over the windows of the back compartment, so as to make it a suitable place for intimate couplings. Go on, give it a burl. faffing around = Wasting time, dawdling, mucking about, doing little of nothing. sweet as = Awesome, fantastic, really good, terrific, e.g. Synonym of Spunk-rat: Australian Slang Spunk-rat sexually attractive person Translation. the car is not much chop, but it gets you from A to B. battler = Someone who is not rich, battling against lifes odds. Similar to knackered, shattered, stonkered. Get the root rat mug. On the other side of the coin, a man is known as a bloke. Can also be used regarding non-human subjects. done like a dogs dinner = To come a cropper; also rendered as done like a dinner. give it a burl = To have a go at doing something, to attempt to do something, e.g. crawler = Someone who sucks up to authority figures, e.g. A divvy vandivvy van = Divisional van; a police vehicle, based upon a utility vehicle design, with a lockable rear section, used to transport prisoners (sometimes referred to as a paddy wagon); can also be spelt as divvie van. Gumsuckers = People from the state of Victoria. Bogans or just some blokes having a good time?bogan = Someone who is perceived as being uncouth, uncultured, and of a lower socio-economic class (excepting cashed-up bogans); stereotyped as someone who wears flannelette shirts, smokes cigarettes (especially Winnie Blues, i.e. if someones car breaks down in the middle of nowhere, they might exclaim Bugger! The term is used in the same way as Damn! Overseas visitors should take note that the term bugger is distinct from the original meaning of the terms bugger and buggery, regarding anal intercourse. He got the bullet from work (i.e. kangaroos loose in the top paddock = Someone who is not all there, a bit mad, crazy, loony, e.g. relo = Abbreviation for relative (i.e. loo = Toilet (crapper, dunny, shitter, water closet). 70. The phrase was made up by Australian comedian Barry Humphries, to use in his Barry McKenzie cartoon strip in Private Eye (UK), e.g. Shes up the duff. pash = Passionate kissing of a long duration. nana = A banana. City of Churches = Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. blue = [2] Feeling down or depressed, e.g. Drain the dragon? My TV wont work anymore, its cactus! (its cactus is similar to its carked it). Shes a couple of lamingtons short of a CWA meeting (CWA refers to the Country Womens Association). spunk-rat Australian Slang sexually attractive person When that idiot crashed into my car, I was spewin. For example, when it comes to fashionable clothing, Big blokes have always had the rough end of the pineapple [ref.]. Now youve broken it; good onya, idiot. Sheila. hlphoto/Shutterstock All about Australia Back o'Bourke Outback. Mate is what we say here. Thank you for pointing that out. Similar to Take a hike. boozer = [2] Someone who drinks a lot of alcoholic drinks, especially beer. Also rendered as Send er down, Hughie! or Send it down, Hughie!. Pig's arse! I just bought a new car, its sweet as!. 1b. He really thinks hes the bees knees, doesnt he?. Singular: snag, e.g. A ute, doing some burn-outsute = A utility vehicle, being a vehicle with a tray behind the seating section (can be an open tray, or a tray with sides and a tailgate at the back). dingos breakfast = No breakfast at all. chink = A Chinese person; usually considered derogatory. Pozzy : position. its a boomerang = Used in reference to loaning an item (making it clear that it is not a present to keep, but a loan that is to be returned; like a boomerang, it is meant to come back), e.g. Then there was the spunk rat, meaning a sexually attractive person. Derived from the story of the convict William Buckley, who escaped from his jailers and fled into the bush, who was never caught and was considered to have very little chance of surviving (ironically, William Buckley survived by living with a tribe of Aborigines, but gave himself up about thirty years later; so, as it turned out, he had a good chance of survival, after all). He took off like a brides nightie. The knowledge of Aussie slang would help international students studying in Australia in various way. Under the Southern Cross I Stand [the Australian cricket teams victory song], E. J. Brady Sangers come in all shapes and sizes for all occasionsthere are gourmet sangers, steak sangers, veggi. Also spelt little Johnnie. dirty on = To be unhappy with someone, e.g. lolly = A piece of confectionary, a candy, a sweet (an abbreviation of lollypop). Whoever complied this list has never been north of Victoria.. so much great stuff not included, this needs a complete overhaul. bees knees = Something very good. hollow legs = A reference to someone who is very hungry, or someone who is eating a lot, e.g. I havent seen Dave for ages, I think hes gone walkabout. dinky di = Truly Australian, e.g. Shazza = Sharon. Go on, get outta here. grumblebum = A complainer, a whinger, a whiner. brolly - umbrella. Also rendered as parmi or parmo. If your brains were dynamite they wouldnt part your hair = Derogatory phrase, inferring that someone is not very smart. bikkies = Biscuits (cookies in American terminology); can also be spelt as bickies. Australian Slang True blue, fair dinkum, ridgy-didge; the Australian vocabulary is chockas with random terms and phrases that essentially mean very little. Definitely used as an expression of luck vs skill as in that was pure arse. he missed crashing into the truck by a bees dick, he was a bees dick away from being sacked. Hi, what about stick your beak in or nosey parker and knackers & knackered, One correction and one addition Aerial pingpong : Australian Rules football Amber fluid : beer Ambo : ambulance, ambulance driver Ankle biter : small child Apples, she'll be : It'll be all right Arvo : afternoon Aussie (pron. It's like my Australian Slang Dictionary! Perhaps due to the cultural dominance of the United States, Australia borrowed much of its slang from the Reagan-era USA. bog = Toilet (crapper, dunny, loo, shitter, water closet). 2) Drop bears target tourists, study says, Australian Geographic He donged him on the head. rack off = A phrase used to tell someone to go away, usually while in a dispute or disagreement, e.g. dead horse = Rhyming slang for sauce, usually regarding tomato sauce. Derived from the term Cabbage State, referring to the state of Victoria; the term infers that, because the state is quite small (compared to the other states of Australia), Victoria is about the size of a cabbage garden. true blue = Someone or something that is genuinely Australian or very Australian. Core of My Heart [My Country, poem by Dorothea Mackellar, 24 October 1908] These eleven short adventures see him take on a negligent Mauritian building worker, a young twink he picks up in the gutter, the hottest man in the universe, a wank caller when he's trying desperately to get to the airport, a nubile young sex . blue = [1] A disagreement or fight, e.g. First Fleeter = Someone who arrived in Australia on the First Fleet, or one of their descendants. grog = Alcohol, an alcoholic drink, e.g. She is a "root rat" She's a bit of a "root rat" That chick is a "root rat" by David Clarke February 2, 2005. hes an arsey bastard. Have a decko at that!. Jesus H. Christ! Up a gum tree = In dire trouble, in a quandary. vomiting). = A phrase used against someone using an item too much, e.g. The Newcastle song [music video, sung by Bob Hudson] Based upon the fanciful notion that a person is eating so much that the food is filling up not only their stomach, but also their legs. Go on mate, choof off, get going. theyre living out in the back blocks. Bush week?. You know, unbutton the mutton? She bottled her boyfriend in a spat, He seems really angry, it looks like hes going to bottle someone. chong = A Chinese person; usually considered derogatory. Banana Benders = Queenslanders; as Queensland is the state where a lot of bananas are grown, being located in the tropical area of Australia. Our survey of 2300 Australians has given us a tremendous amount of information about the words and phrases we use. 3) Dropbear Warning, Cowra Guardian snags = Sausages. shattered = Very tired, exhausted. theyre a bunch of arseholes. He was stoked when he won the raffle. Heritage, history, and heroes; literature, legends, and larrikins. This is part of the Australia tradition of giving various names an o suffix, e.g. Similar to a rooster one day, a feather duster the next. See: IAC list on Trove. Made famous by the ill-fated former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who enjoyed using Australian slang to speak to the . block. Whilst buggery does not specifically mean hell, it serves the same function as hell as used in common phrase Go to hell. Similar to get off the grass, get out of town. Put another snag on the barbie, will ya love?. Top Enders = People from the Northern Territory; Territorians. iffy = Not very good, suspect, suspicious, e.g. Derived from the taste of beer. 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