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Australian Words and Phrases |
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Australian Words and Phrases |
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Aussie words and phrases in common use arvo fridge tele and video mobile Let's go to the pictures joggers see you later Words meant to be typical Australian but rarely used cobber g'day mate bonzer don't come the raw prawn with me, mate. downunder Slang, invented by Barry Humphries and others, but in regular use point Percy at the porcelain technicolour yawn Invented Aussie slang but not actually used pavement pizza curbside quiche shake hands with the wife's best friend siphon the python don't come the raw prawn with me, mate Words known in Australia but not actually used by Australians sidewalk elevator trainers runners trunk of car fender of car hood of car cell phone write a person (instead of saying write to a person) we are going to the markets Saturday (without an 'on' before markets) gas, gas station, gasoline etc: sorry, it's called petrol here jumbo shrimps aligators beaver hurricane shopping cart flip-flops carousel - Australians usually say merry-go-round I'm going to the mall diapers lorry the interstate home boy underground metro transit system tubes - American word for radio valves, as used in guitar amplifiers ground beef - Australians say mince Old fashioned words gradually going out of use transistor radio radiogram (up to 1958) stereogram (1958-1975) trannie - it used to mean transistor radio gay (it used to mean happy, light-hearted and cheerful 50 years ago) theatre, flicks or pictures meaning cinema expressway wireless mantel radio record player Walkman cassette tape reel-to-reel tape recorder LP EP VCR brown bombers silent cops soap saver egg slice one armed bandits radio dial trafficators petrol bowser chip heater clothes props milko rabbitoh running board milk bar, sandwich shop coffee lounge soda fountain pineapple crush lime spider six o'clock swill swaggie frenchie frigidity sissy blouse dacks laundromat and laundrette cafeteria front stalls and back stalls at the pictures theatrette your shout - to buy a round of drinks Happy and gay, the Laxette way - old slogan for laxatives reporter - what a journalist used to be called before they wrote opinions instead of facts. New Words and Wacky Acronyms CBD - this shocker has replaced "the shops" or "down town" or "up town" Centrelink - a euphemism used to disguise the dole office metro - a modern-sounding but bogus word for a smaller than average train transit lane - a place where cars move slowly during the peak hour 24/7 - we never close, except when we are not open 365 - we are open every day except when we are closed convenience store - corner store, corner shop, general store hoodies emo anorexia nervosa - unheard of 50 years ago heritage - unheard of 50 years ago convict ancestors - utterly taboo until 1988 celebs WAGs - Wives and Girlfriends nimby wi-fi hotspot BYO - Bring your own wine to a restaurant shock-jock - the smear word for a radio announcer when you don't agree with them. gutter press or Murdock press - word for a newspaper when you don't agree with them. having a dining experience - eating out. living your chosen lifestyle - what more can I say? Words not generally known in Australia the tube tube station underground (railway station) overground chav chavette scrubber chavvy pikey tannoy off licence zimmer frame electric fire - wonderful British word for radiator scarf and barf replacing chew and spew beltway streetcar interstate the tri-state area granola cantaloupe subway metro (although the NSW government is desperate to have one) jelly (meaning jam) tractor-trailer - horrible American word for semi-trailer Slang words and phrases in fairly common use see you later there you go stone the crows flat out like a lizard drinking even Blind Freddie could see that you've got Buckley's chance thongs - footwear not undies chunder dunny loo furphy dead ringer skinny dipping hoons, hooning around mate she'll be right youse (the plural of you) middle of nowhere fair dinkum 
The Furphy was a mobile water tank used on farms and during the 1914-1918 World War. Nowadays a furphy is a rumour, a piece of misinformation, or story that is unlikely to be true. Old fashioned slang rarely used sheila bodgies and widgies (also mods and rockers) sharpies dilly bag up the duff never never Woop Woop back of beyond a bun in the oven French letter franger mad as a two bob watch it's had the pork sword Mrs Kafoops housie or housie-housie - alternative Australian word for bingo drive-in pictures getting off at Redfern. Overseas words best not said in Australia fanny pack cheerleaders rooting for their home team brownies it's better to say draughts instead of checkers making jokes about everything being upside down in Australia down under - nobody actually says this in Australia New Zealand slang and especially the accent New Zealand pronounced New Zillund his pronounced hez guest pronounced gust fish and chips pronounced fesh and cheps jandals - called thongs in Australia six, as in this story.... Aussie boy on first date: What time shall we go out to eat? Homely NZ girl: After six. chilly bin - an Esky in Australia tramping - known as bushwalking in Australia kiwi - word used by Australians to describe everything from New Zealand Note: There are lots of shortened words in New Zealand like in Australia. Creeping Americanisms Train station instead of railway station Saying zee instead of zed for the last letter of the alphabet Thinking the emergency number is 911 not 000 Licence plate instead of rego number Railroad or railroad track instead of train track or railway track Convenience store instead of corner shop (what's convenient about being overcharged) Numbering the floors in buildings where Level 1 is the ground floor. restrooms or bathroom instead of toilet (this one has to be the worst, especially at Westfield) Confusion between alligators and crocodiles Saying vacation instead of holiday. 
bathroom tissue instead of toilet paper diaper instead of nappy crib instead of cot training bras for little girls shopping mall instead of shopping centre Anything off TV, for example words like mall-rat saying Emergency Room instead or Emergency or Outpatients or Casualty American trends reaching Australia for example saying 24/7 and 9/11 which is actually 11/9 Saying write someone instead of write to someone fire truck instead of fire engine saying checkers instead of draughts for the board game saying college when you mean University or TAFE calling a railway carriage a car saying streetcar or tramcar or light rail instead of tram calling a flat or a home unit an apartment or a condo rush hour instead of peak hour thinking that thongs are a type of underwear instead of footwear cookies instead of biscuits (they don't have Tim Tams, so there) jelly instead of jam trash can instead of garbage bin spelling the word centre as center saying stocks when you mean shares saying wildfire when the Australian word is bushfire liquor store instead of bottle shop mom instead of mum hurricane instead of cyclone thinking that school buses should be painted yellow and have flashing lights talking about cattle ranches after watching a western movie saying happy holidays instead of merry christmas. 
American spellings unacceptable in Australia fiber, center, specter color, favor neighbor dialed should be dialled, and many more that are similar eg travelled realized instead of realised and many, many more of these z words organized aluminum maneuver Note: This spelling fiasco was created by just one American who thought he knew what was best for everybody. British words and slang not often used in Australia lorry articulated lorry cooker rubber johnnie chav - the new peasant urban underclass chavette pikey scrubber gritter off-licence betting shop council house electric fire ASBO - Anti Social Behaviour Order DOGBO - Same, but for your pit-bull Regional Words in Australia (these are surprisingly few) poloni, devon, salami, windsor sausage, german sausage pie floater port, suitcase gibber peanut butter or peanut paste bogan, westie, yobbo - it's usually westie in Sydney and bogan in Melbourne, but the Sydney Morning Herald used the word 'boganism' in March 2010. cossies, togs, bathers, swimmers - slight regional variations. Shortening of Words and Terms of Affection It seems appropriate that the leader of the opposition is Bill Shorten.
Mysterious Sightings tee nanegels the woo worse foo fairies at Miranda I'm going to the Erko Bowlo this arvo. I'm off to the Sando to see Chris and Lucy do their stuff. the Meccano Set at Lansvale the blinking light at Frenchs Forest the 'Number 96' block of flats in Woollahra the Map of Tasmania Shoot through like a Bondi tram. Political Correctness, especially from Government Departments The Spot - All locals know where this is, basically it's South Randwick. And all the buses used to say "Via The Spot" on the front, but now they say "Via Carr Street". Worse still, Australia Post says the post office at The Spot is called "St Pauls". Beach Inspectors renamed to Lifeguards. Holiday - this frightful new word for Christmas is a worst possible case of political correctness and is occasionally seen in Australia. Indigenous Australia - all derogatory words have been banished. Team Leader - the original word was ganger Bus Operator - whatever happened to bus driver Construction Workers - a more up-market term than Builder's Labourers Administrative Assistant - junior clerk Circular Quay - Sydney buses used to go to Circular Quay, but now they go to City. Ambulatory toilet - I haven't figured this one out yet. Customers instead of Passengers - a special prize to Cityrail, whose new name 'Sydney Trains' is deservedly detested. The 'Spastic Centre of NSW' has been renamed. Restooms - A special prize to Westfield Shopping Centres for renaming the toilets but not providing any beds. Chair person instead of chairman - complete tosh because the 'man' refers to the Latin word for hand Wait person - the gender-neutralists keep trying, don't they. Person hole cover instead of manhole cover - only joking, the feminists have not achieved this one yet. Huntsperson Spiders - An example from Macquarie Uni, coming soon to your back verandah. Basic references Let Stalk Strine and Nose Tone Unturned, two books by Professor Afferbeck Lauder Wikipedia Article on Australian English - anomyous experts know the topic well Paul Hogan and the Crocodile Dundee movies Barry Humphries and the film character Bazza McKenzie Macquarie Dictionary - Book of Slang (1996, revised in 2000) The Penguin Book of Australian Slang by Lennie Johansen (1988, 1996) Prizes Prize: A special tribute to the compilers of the Australian English word list, as used in the Firefox and Chrome browsers, a massive effort completed without thanks or credit. Booby Prize: The collaboration between Microsoft, News Corporation and Macquarie Dictionary to produce a list of Australian words that tolerated American spellings such as color, fiber and organization and which introduced pretentious French accents on words such as cafe, facade and deja vu. Special Booby Prize: All the shopping centres, especially Westfield-owned, where the signs say restrooms instead of toilets. 
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