{"id":419,"date":"2005-10-13T05:00:02","date_gmt":"2005-10-13T05:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hiptravelguide.com\/go\/hip-guide-to-australia\/australia-travel-tips\/australian-slang-how-to-get-by-down-under\/"},"modified":"2005-10-13T05:00:02","modified_gmt":"2005-10-13T05:00:02","slug":"australian-slang-how-to-get-by-down-under","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hiptravelguide.com\/go\/hip-guide-to-australia\/australia-travel-tips\/australian-slang-how-to-get-by-down-under\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian Slang \u2013 How to Get By Down Under"},"content":{"rendered":"

In America we all know an ankle-biter is an obnoxious child, and avos are avocados. These are just a couple of Aussie slang words we have picked up and use daily. Aussie being a prime example of Australian Slang, we also know that \u201cdown under\u201d is either Australia or New Zealand. <\/span><\/p>\n

Mozzies are definitely the disease-carrying mosquitoes, but a billy is something you boil water in. A wombat is someone who eats shoots and leaves, and is probably just a vejjo (vegetarian). <\/span><\/p>\n

Whatever you do in Australia, please don\u2019t whinge (whine), as it is unsightly. You\u2019d be better off getting a wobbly boot on (get drunk) than getting all wobbly (excited). Someone may be accused of having kangaroos loose in their top paddock if they appear a bit deranged.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

If you have caught a wog, it is either the flu or a cold, definitely not an Indian. A wog is as useful as an ashtray on a motorcycle. Tall poppies are not where heroin comes from, these are successful people who must be subjected to daily criticism (tall poppy syndrome). Not a tall poppy? Then you are a sook (soft, tame and weak). <\/span><\/p>\n

A schooner is a big beer in Queensland, and you would be called a banana bender if you lived there. If you\u2019re from Western Australia you might be called a sandgroper. If you live south of Queensland you could be referred to as a \u201cMexican\u201d oddly enough. But clearly, Tassies are Tasmanians, and if you don\u2019t like them you can call them Taswegians. But don\u2019t ask for a girl for a \u201cmappa tassie,\u201d she might slap you! A mappa tassie is a woman\u2019s pubic hair. <\/span><\/p>\n

Your mate (friend) may drive a ute (utility truck) in the outback, and I\u2019m sure he brings along a tucker bag and cooler filled with many, many cold cans of tinny (beer). In some situations without enough fourexes (XXXX brand beer), or on a walkabout (a walk in the Outback that lasts for an indefinite amount of time), you could \u201cgo troppo\u201d (escape to a condition of tropical madness). <\/span><\/p>\n

So in parting I offer an \u201cAussie salute\u201d (as I wave away the flies) and say, G\u2019Day to you too! Here is a short list I have complied of my more favorite and well-used slang expressions: <\/span><\/p>\n

Ankle biter <\/strong>– small child <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Aussie – Australian<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Aussie salute \u2013 to brush away flies with one\u2019s hand <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Avos – avocados <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Banana bender <\/strong>– a person from Queensland <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Barbie – barbecue <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Bastard – term of endearment <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Bathers – bathing suit<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Battler – someone working hard and only just making a living <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Bikkie – biscuit <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Billabong – an ox-bow river or watering hole <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Billy \u2013 pot for boiling water <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Bingle – motor vehicle accident<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Bities – biting insects <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Bitzer – mongrel dog<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Bizzo – business <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Bloke – man, guy<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Bog in – chow down<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Bog standard – simple, unadorned <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Bogged – stuck in mud or deep sand <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Boomer – male kangaroo <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Brekkie – breakfast<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Bush – the outback<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Bushie – bush resident<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

BYO – someplace where you have to bring your own booze<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Cab Sav <\/strong>– Cabernet Sauvignon wine<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Chokkie – chocolate<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Chook – chicken <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Chunder – vomit <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Click – kilometre – “it’s over 100 clicks from here” <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Cobber – friend <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Down under<\/strong> – Australia and New Zealand <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Drongo – Idiot<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Earbashing – nagging, non-stop chatter <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Fair dinkum<\/strong> – true, genuine <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Fair go – a chance
Feral – a hippie<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Footy – Australian Rules football <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Fossick – search <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Fossick – to prospect<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Fossicker – prospector<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

G’Day<\/strong> – hello! <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Get Stuffed! – Fuck You!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Give it a burl – try it, have a go <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Gobsmacked – surprised, astounded<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Good oil – a good idea <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Good onya – good for you <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Greenie – environmentalist <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Grog – liquor, beer <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Gutful of piss – drunk<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Jackaroo <\/strong>– a male farm hand <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Jillaroo – a female farm hand <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Joey – baby kangaroo <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Jug – electric kettle<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Jumbuck – sheep <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Knocker<\/strong> – somebody who criticises <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Liquid laugh<\/strong> – vomit <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Maccas <\/strong>– McDonald’s burgers <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Mappa Tassie – map of Tasmania – a woman’s pubic area <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Mate – buddy, friend <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Mate’s rate – friend’s discount <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Matilda – sleeping bag<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Mexican – a person from the south of Oz<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Milk bar – corner shop that sells takeaway food <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Mozzie – mosquito <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Muddy – mud crab <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Mull – grass (cannabis) <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Muster – round up sheep or cattle <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Mystery bag – a sausage<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Nasho<\/strong> – National Service (compulsory military service) <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Naughty, have a – have sex <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Never Never – the Outback<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Nipper – young one <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

No drama – same as ‘no worries’<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

No worries! – no problem, covers everything <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Not the full quid – not bright intellectually <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Nuddy – nude <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Nut out – hammer out or work out <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

O S<\/strong>– overseas <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Off one’s face – drunk <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Offsider – an assistant, helper <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Oldies – parents <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Outback – interior of Australia <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Oz – Australia! <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Piece of piss<\/strong> – easy task <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Piker – a loner <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Piss – beer<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Plate, bring a – Instruction on party or BBQ invitation to bring your own foodIt doesn’t mean they’re short of crockery! <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Plonk – cheap wine <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Polly – politician <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Pom, pommy – an Englishman <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Pommy bastard – an Englishman <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Pommy shower – using deodorant instead of taking a shower <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Quid <\/strong>– money<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Reckon!<\/strong> – you bet! <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Rego – vehicle registration <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Ridgy-didge – original, genuine <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Road train – big truck with many trailers <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Rollie – a cigarette that you roll yourself <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Roo – kangaroo <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Roo bar – stout bar fixed to the front of a vehicle to protect the car from damage when hitting kangaroos (or any wildlife) in the outback<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Root – fuck (that turkey was rooted to death)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Root rat – somebody who is constantly looking for sex <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Sandgroper<\/strong> – a person from Western Australia <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Schooner – large beer glass in Queensland; medium beer glass in South Australia <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Servo – petrol station <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Shark biscuit – somebody new to surfing <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

She’ll be right – it’ll turn out okay <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Sheila – a girl<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Shout – your turn to buy a round of drinks <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Slab – a carton of 24 bottles or cans of beer <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Sleepout – house verandah converted to a bedroom <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Sook – person or animal who is soft or tame<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Station – a big farm\/grazing property <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Stoked – very pleased<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Stonkered – drunk<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Strine – Australian slang and pronunciation <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Stubby – a 375mlbeer bottle <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Stubby holder – polystyrene insulated holder for a stubby <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Stuffed – fucked<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Sunbake – sunbathe <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Sunnies – sunglasses <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Surfies – people who go surfing – usually more often than they go to work! <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Swag – sleeping bag <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Swaggie – swagman (person carrying a sleeping bag)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Swagman – tramp, hobo (person carrying a sleeping bag)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Tall poppies<\/strong> – successful people <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Tall poppy syndrome – the tendency to criticize successful people <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Taswegian – derogatory term for a person from Tasmania <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Technicolor yawn – vomit <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Tinny – can of beer <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Togs – swim suit <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Top End – far north of Australia <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Troppo, gone – to have escaped to a state of tropical madness; to have lost the veneer of civilisation after spending too long in the tropics <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Tucker – food <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Tucker bag – food bag <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

You little Ripper<\/span><\/span>! – a reaction to good news<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Useful<\/p>\n

<\/strong> as an ashtray on a motorbike (do you need an explanation?)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Ute – utility vehicle, Aussie-style pickup truck <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Vedgies<\/strong> – vegetables <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Vegemite – Salty Aussie food spread, a by product of beer<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Vejjo – vegetarian <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Walkabout <\/strong>– a walk in the Outback by Aborigines that lasts for an indefinite amount of time <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Whinge – complain <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

White pointers – topless (female) sunbathers <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Wobbly – excitable (she got all wobbly when I askedor drunk (he’s got a wobbly boot on…)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Wog – flu or trivial illness <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Wombat – somebody who eats, roots and leaves (see also root) <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Woop Woop – fabricated name for any unknown place (they live in Woop Woop) <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Wowser – straight person, a prude, puritan, or spoilsport <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Wuss – coward or nervous person <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

XXXX<\/strong> – pronounced Four X, brand of beer made in Queensland <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

~Martin Trip<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In America we all know an ankle-biter is an obnoxious child, and avos are avocados. These are just a couple of Aussie slang words we have picked up and use daily. Aussie being a prime example of Australian Slang, we … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[144],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hiptravelguide.com\/go\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hiptravelguide.com\/go\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hiptravelguide.com\/go\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiptravelguide.com\/go\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiptravelguide.com\/go\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=419"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiptravelguide.com\/go\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hiptravelguide.com\/go\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiptravelguide.com\/go\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiptravelguide.com\/go\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}