The Basics of Aussie Slang

Australian culture and customs are unique, but not as unique as the Australian language. Our
own style of English is so full of colloquial expressions, slang words and slang phrases it is
enough to confuse other speakers of English quite easily.

So just so you don't look like a complete drongo, here are enough Aussie words to help you get
by in Australian society! Now, the accent, well thats another story...

The really basic basics.

• G’day is hullo, pronounced Gidday which is a shortened form of Good Day, and
used mostly in informal situations. More formally we would say Hullo, Good Morning,
Good Afternoon, or the likes.
• Goodbye is, um, er, Goodbye. Although some people say Hooroo, pronounced
‘ooroo.
• Bloke is an Aussie male who generally is a hard worker and does the right thing.
Eg., "Bill’s a Good Bloke".
• Mate is Friend, mainly for males. Everyone in Australia is mate, so we would
often say "G’day mate" or "Thanks mate".
• Onya means Well Done, a shortened form of Good On You. The best "Aussieism"
in my opinion.

Abbreviations

For some reason Australians shorten words wherever possible, particularly peoples names.
They are generally shortened to one syllable if possible, and then have a suffix added to the
end. Here are a few examples:-

• "a" A Cup of Tea or Coffee becomes a Cuppa.

• "ie" Angela becomes Angie. Elizabeth becomes Lizzie

Australian becomes Aussie
Barbecue become Barbie/ Football becomes Footy, pronounced with a soft "T"
somewhere between T & D/ mushie:- a mushroom.

• "o" Burgess becomes Burgo/ Johnathon becomes Johnno

Smoko means a break from work for a smoke, which now means a tea break even if you
don’t smoke/ garbo:- the garbage man

• "zza" or just "z’ Marion become Mazza or Maz

Sharon become Shazza or Shaz
Warwick (me) becomes Wozza (which I hate) or Woz.

drongo? a stupid, inept, awkward or embarrassing person, a dimwit

A Adam's ale:- Water / aerial ping pong:- Australian Rules Football, description usually used
derogatorily by Rugby Fans/ after dark:- shark RhS/ ANZAC
B baccy:- tobacco /back of Bourke:- a long way away from wherever you are, specifically inland and
away from civilisation. Bourke is an inland town, hence.../ bad case of the trots:- diarrhea /banana
bender:- a resident of Queensland, perhaps a little derogatory/ barbie:- Barbecue. Similar to a cook out, a
barbie is a popular way to get together with friends in the warmer months of the year. (Not to be confused
with Ken's girlfriend)/ barney:- an argument or fight/ barrack:- to cheer for your team or player in sport, or
to take sides in an argument.
C chook : chicken, old chook= old woman, /henpecked ?
D Dad 'n Dave:- a shave, RhS/ dag:- bits of manure that stick to the long wool around a sheep's
bottom forming small dangling balls. Also a term for a funny person, nerd, goof, loser. In this respect it can
have either an endearing or disparaging meaning, although is usually used for a likable fellow/ dead cert:- a
certainty beyond doubt, a sure winner, especially when referring to horse or dog races/ dead
horse:- tomato sauce/ decko:- a look or glance/ Deli:- Delicatessen, a small local shop that sells assorted
foods and other daily necessities. Called a Milk bar in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia/
didjeridoo, didgeridoo:- An Australian Aboriginal musical instrument made from a hollow log. It is used in
Corroborees, religious ceremonies, and thus has great spiritual significance. Traditionally a man (never a
woman!) would walk in the bush asking for the spirits to point out "the tree" to use. The hollow log or limb is
then treated with hot coals to clean out the hollow, and decorated with appropriate designs. Playing a
Didjeridoo is difficult, requiring a combination of vibrations from very loose lips, vocal sound to imitate birds
and animals, and circular breathing, blowing and breathing at the same time, for continuous sound/
dingo:- The Australian wild dog, that howls but does not bark. Brought to Australia thousands of year ago by
the Aborigines, the scientific name is "canis lupus familiaris". It can also be used to describe an ugly woman/
dinkum:- real, honest or genuine. Can also be used to question validity, e.g.., dinkum? See also fair dinkum.
E entree:- starter or appetizer in a meal before main course ≠US
F fag:- a cigarette. Not a homosexual man. faggot:- a homosexual man/ fair crack of the whip:- to
give some one an equal opportunity or equitable treatment. See also "Fair Go".
G gab : to chatter or gossip, Ir. Gift of the gab
K kangaroo:- The larger marsupials of the family Macropodidae. It has short forelimbs but long feet
and powerful legs with a tail for support and balance, and moves around by bounding and leaping. Legend
has it that when the white man first came to Australia he asked an Aboriginal the name for the funny looking
creature bounding in the distance. Apparently the Aborigine replied "Kangaroo" which in the Aborigine
language means "I don't understand you". So now we have an animal called "I don't understand you".
Dinkum? Dunno, but an amusing story nonetheless/ Kelpie:- a sheep dog or cattle dog. The kelpie bloodline
comes from dogs imported from Scotland, and indeed kelpie is Gaelic for water sprite
M mystery bags:- sausages. So named because you don't really know what the ingredients are. Snags
N no worries!:- typical Aussie attitude that everything will be OK, there will be no problems/ nong:- a
silly person or fool
O ocker:- pronounced ocka, a stereotyped uncultivated or uncultured Aussie male who exhibits
excessive drinking of alcohol, womanising, chauvinism, and worships the God called Footy! To call a female
ocker is to suggest that she is somewhat butch. Similar to the US redneck. See also yobbo
P plonk:- cheap wine, perhaps a contraction of vin blanc. Also to put something down
unceremoniously/ pooped:- tired, exhausted
Q Quids : lots of money
R rake : comb/ Razoo:- a fictitious coin made from brass. The term is usually used to indicate that
someone has no money. "I haven't got a brass razoo!"/ Roo:- short for Kangaroo
S sanga, sanger:- a sandwich/ schoolie:- a teenager of school age or just graduated. Schoolies week
is now quite a tradition where High School graduates celebrate the end of the academic year with a week of
revelry in southern Queensland. There is concern however that the celebrations are getting somewhat out of
hand/ scorcher:- very hot day. In capital cities a schorcher would be 35c and up, in the bush 40c and up/
seppo, septic, septic tank:- a derogatory term for an American, "septic tank" rhyming with "yank", RhS/
sickie:- a day off work, although often the reasons for taking a sickie have nothing to do with sickness or
health but rather with recreation and enjoyment. On a very hot day, it is amazing the number of people who
take a sickie/ Stubby : a 375ml. beer bottle
T ta:- thank you, GB/ Thongs:- rubber sandals, called flip-flops in New Zealand on account of the noise
they make when walking/ thunder box:- dunny, toilet/ tingle, to give someone a
noun:- to give someone a telephone call/ tinnie:- a can of beer, or a small boat in the Northern Territory,
even though they are both made of aluminium.
U uni:- contraction of university. US = college/ up north:- Queensland according to New South Wales,
which is up north according to Victoria/ up yourself:- having a large ego/ ute:- a utility vehicle, invented in
Australia. US = pickup truck.
W Waltzing Matilda:- to walk or wander aimlessly in the bush or country. Immortalised in the song
"Waltzing Matilda", the unofficial Australian National Anthem. Matilda, the old term for a swagman's bedroll,
swag, pack, or sack which contained essentials (sometime complete belongings) when traveling in the bush
by foot / the Wet:- the rainy season during Summer in northern tropical Australia