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Australian words
According to stereotype, spoken Australian English is thought to be highly colloquial, possibly more so than other spoken variants. Whether this idea is grounded in reality or not, a substantial number of publications aimed at giving an overview of Australian English have been published.
Many books about Australian vocabulary have been published, beginning with Karl Lentzner 's Dictionary of the Slang-English of Australia and of Some Mixed Languages in 1892. Several similar books soon followed, including a relatively modest but authoritative work by E. E. Morris : Austral English: A Dictionary of Australasian Words, Phrases and Usages (1898).
After a long period of disinterest and/or antipathy, the first dictionaries of Australian English began to appear. In 1976, the Australian Pocket Oxford Dictionary was published, the first dictionary edited and published in Australia, by Graeme Johnston . In 1981, the more comprehensive Macquarie Dictionary of Australian English was published, after 10 years of research and planning. Updated editions have been published since and the Macquarie Dictionary is widely regarded as authoritative. A fuller Oxford Dictionary of Australian English has also been published.
Various publishers have also produced "phrase books" to assist visitors. These books reflect a highly exaggerated and often outdated style of Australian colloquialisms and they should partially be regarded as amusements rather than accurate usage guides.
Australian vocabulary
A to D
A
- arse – as elsewhere in English, slang for buttocks (sometimes also the anus). In Australia the derivation arsey means someone showing daring, audacity, and/or cheekiness. However the North American spelling, ass is increasingly common, as is the accompanying pronunciation. Comedians Roy and H.G. have also managed to popularise the use of the date to mean "anus".
B
- bag – criticise (for example "Stop bagging me.")
- bludge – to shirk, be idle, or waste time either doing nothing or something inappropriate; also to borrow (for example "Hey mate, can I bludge a smoke?").
- bloody – "the great Australian adjective" (for example The price of beer nowadays is bloody outrageous!) Also common in British English.
- bottle shop – a shop selling alcoholic drinks (for external consumption).
- bottlo – (pronounced bottle oh) diminutitve from of bottle shop
- buggered – broken (for example it's buggered, mate or steve buggered it); or exhausted, tired out (for example I'm buggered).
- buggerise – see "piss-fart around"
- bushwalking – hiking in the bush.
- bushranger – a highwayman.
C
- cactus – non-functional
- carn – Assimilation of "Come on!" Usually used to either goad someone "Carn, have another" or to cheer on a sporting team "Carn the 'Doggies!"
- chook – a chicken, also used in New Zealand.
- Clayton's – not the real thing, ersatz (from a brand of zero alcohol mixer).
- cut – angry or upset.
D
- dob – to inform on; dibber dobber is commonly used by children.
- doona – cf. British duvet. Doona is a brand name, originally the generic term was continental quilt . (Except in South Australia, where the word quilt is used.
- doover – a placeholder for an object whose name is unknown or forgotten, perhaps from "it'll do for now".
- dummy – cf. American pacifier (also common in British English).
- dunny – a toilet, the appliance or the room - especially one in a separate outside building.
E to K
E
- Eastern States – term used by West Australians and South Australians to refer to the rest of Australia; a common derivation is Eastern Stater.
F
G
- garn – assimilation of go on or short for going, e.g. garn y'mongrel (i.e. go on you mongrel). See carn.
- goon – cheap cask wine.
- grouse – great.
H
- Hills Hoist – a type of rotary clothesline; Hills is a popular clothesline manufacturer.
L to P
L
- light globe – although "light bulb" is sometimes also used, most Australians don't realise that "globe" is not used in this sense outside Australia.
M
- Manchester – household linen.
N
- nature strip (or verge in Western Australia) – a lawn or plantation between a footpath (see above) and street. Known as a tree lawn in American English.
- no wuckin' furries – a spoonerism of no fuckin' worries used in place of you're welcome, no problem, that's all right, etc.; also shortened to no wuckers.
O
- Oz – shortened form of Australia (see also "Aussie"). Also known as Down Under because of Australia's geographical location on a globe, this term was made popular due to the song "Down Under" by Australian band Men at Work.
P
- peanut paste – at one time the term used for peanut butter. Rarely heard today with the term peanut butter universally used.
- piss-fart around – to waste time (for example we piss-farted around for a couple of hours at the beach; Stop piss-farting around and do your work.).
Q to Z
R
- root – to have sex. (This can cause embarrassment for Americans in Australia who innocently declare that they "root" for a particular sports team, though due to imported US culture and televison programs most Australians are aware of the US meaning of the term.)
- rooted – broken or tired; see buggered.
- rort – a scam, especially the exploitation of rules or laws; used mostly to describe the actions of politicians. (Also lurk as a noun.)
S
- shopstealing – in some official circles the term shopstealing has replaced the more familiar shoplifting in an attempt to emphasise the criminal nature of the act. Nevertheless in everyday speech Australians continue to use the term shoplifting.
- smoko – a short break from work (even though smoking is banned in most inside workplaces).
- spanner – cf. American wrench.
T
- thingo or thingamajig – a placeholder for an object whose name is unknown or forgotten.
U
- ute – short for utility. A car-like vehicle with a tray back, possibly with sides, a rear gate and/or a removable cover. Any small truck. Generally cognisant with pickup truck in most countries.
W
- wag or wagging – to skip school or work to do something else on someone else's time.
- woop-woop or the back of Bourke or beyond the Black stump – a generic far-off place (for example out past woop-woop – with the short oo sound used in 'cook').
Old, declining or expired slang
Many distinctive Australian words have been driven into extinction or near extinction in recent decades, under the homogenising influence of mass media and imported culture. Those who like or use these words regret their passing but informal vocabulary is by nature ephemeral.
Some examples:
- beauty – exclamation showing approval, for example "You beauty!" (sometimes reduced to "beaut").
- blue – a brawl or heated argument (for example "they were having a blue"); or an embarrassing mistake (for example "I've made a blue").
- bonzer – excellent (almost extinct). Often in the exclamation bonzer beauty. Probably from the Spanish word bonanza, by way of American English. Also spelt bonza.
- chunder – to vomit, made famous by Barry Humphries. Falling out of use as the more common synonyms such as "throw-up", "chuck me guts up" and "be sick" persist. Less common is "puke/puked/puking" although it is on the increase due to the influence of American TV programs and music.
- crook – unwell, also unfair.
- digger – originally used to denote a soldier, particularly for World War I ANZAC veterans. Still used in military circles to denote an enlisted soldier without rank.
- drongo – an idiot, from the name of a very slow racehorse (survives, but in decline).
- dinkum – genuine (still used but in decline), used as "fair dinkum"; dinky-di also means genuine, usually to do with Australia.
- flamin' – an exclamatory term, usually with bad connotations for example "You flamin' mongrel!" (This phrase is famously used on Australian soap opera Home and Away, but is not unique to Australia and is also common in British English).
- galah – a fool (survives, but in decline), from the bird. This word has been used in commercials against drunk driving; Don't be a galah!
- struth! (sometimes spelt streuth) – expression of shock or dismay (replaced by stronger expletives such as "fuck!" or "shit!"). Possibly of Shakespearean origin, "God's Truth".
- wowser – a killjoy, the term is still sometimes used but is in decline.
Rhyming slang
A common feature of traditional Australian English was rhyming slang, based on Cockney rhyming slang and imported by migrants from London in the 19th century. Rhyming slang consists of taking a phrase, usually of two words, which rhymes with a commonly used word, then using the first word of the phrase the represent the word. For example "Captain Cook" rhymes with "look", so to "have a captain cook," or to "have a captain," means to "have a look."
Rhyming slang was often used to create euphemistic terms for obscene words. In recent years this feature of Australian English has declined under the impact of mass popular culture.
Some of the more colourful examples:
- Adrian Quist : "pissed" (i.e. drunk, rather than the US English sense of annoyed or angry). Now rarely heard. Named after a well-known Australian tennis player of the 1930s and 1940s.
- barry: a "shocker" (as in a poor performance), from the Australian crooner and actor Barry Crocker .
- chunder: "spew" (in the sense of vomit), from a fictional cartoon character in The Bulletin called Chunder Loo.
- A dropkick: originally "cunt", from "dropkick punt", a kick used in various codes of football. Since the "punt" has now been forgotten, "dropkick" usually just means a stupid person.
- frog and toad: "road", usually in the phrase "hit the frog 'n 'toad" (i.e. depart)
- Harry Holt: "bolt", as in depart quickly. (Harold Holt was an Australian Prime Minister, who disappeared while swimming in the sea, in 1967.)
- Joe Blake: "snake".
- septic or seppo: "American", short for septic tank, which rhymes with Yank.
- A snakes: "piss", from snake's hiss, as in "I'm busting for a snakes."
- steak and kidney: The city of "Sydney".
Terms for people
- bastard – "the great Australian endearment" (for example Come and have a drink with me, ya bastard!), but can also be used as an insult; interpreted according to context.
- battler – a socially-respected, hard-working Australian who is struggling to "make ends meet", because their income is only just enough to survive off.
- bloke – generic term for a man (also common in British English).
- bogan – a term used for a lower class white Australian, similar in meaning to the US term trailer trash. Seems to have originated in Melbourne before spreading throughout the country after being used in Melbourne-produced television programs. Westie is the term favoured in Sydney. Other alternatives include bevan (in Queensland) and booner in Canberra.
- Cadbury (sometimes Cadbury's) – someone who gets drunk very quickly. From a series of commercials for Cadbury milk chocolate claiming each block contains "a glass and a half of full-cream dairy milk", the implication being the "Cadbury" can't hold more than a glass and a half of beer.
- dag – originally a lump of fæces-encrusted wool dangling from a sheep's posterior; also an unfashionable person.
- derro – a hobo or wino. Short form of derelict.
- dole bludger – a person living on welfare who is disinclined to work or exertion.
- garbo – a garbage collector.
- mate – a friend. A term that is used affectionately to address friends and acquaintances ("How's it going, mate?"), to address strangers ("Excuse me, mate..."). Also used as a noun ("He is a good mate"). Sometimes deliberately used as an obscenity (hostile overfamiliarity) directed towards a hostile or indifferent stranger. The term is also common in British English in all these respects.
- poofter or poof – homosexual man (Offensive) (also common in British English).
- root rat – someone who sleeps around a lot.
- sheila – a (young) woman (being driven out by the American word "chick").
- tall poppy – someone who (through hard work, natural ability, or simply luck) rises above the average, and so attracts the resentment of others.
- two pot screamer – someone who gets drunk very quickly. "Pot" is the term used in Victorian pubs for a 285 ml (10 ounce) beer glass. See also Cadbury.
Nick names by state or territory
- Banana Bender – a Queenslander (due to the fact that Queensland is where bananas are grown).
- Cockroach – a New South Welsh person.
- Crow Eater – a South Australian (possibly from the piping shrike, the crow-like faunal emblem of that state, and found on South Australian registration plates). - disagree - it might have something to do with the piping shrike in that they were eaten but the reason why South Australians are called Croweaters, so I was told was because of the poverty the first settlers to the state endured and they ate crows (and maybe shrikes) - Frances 19/4/05
- Mexican – a Victorian (due to the fact that Victoria is south of the border from NSW, Queensland and the territories. Strangely South Australians also use this term to refer to Victorians, even though Victoria is east of the border from SA).
- Sandgroper – a Western Australian. - because gold mining was prevalent and the must have "groped sand" to find gold - eg the stil operative mining town of Kalgoolie - Frances 19/4/05
- Territorian or Top Ender – a Northern Territorian.
Nick names by ethnicity
- Anglo-Celtic – media/academic term for an Australian of English, Scottish, Welsh or Irish descent.
- Asian – usually East or Southeast Asian (rather than South Asian, as in British usage).
- Aussie – an Australian, pronounced "ozzy". Also "Australia" (for example "I'm going back to Aussie"), although this usage is now rare (see also "Oz"). Often incorrectly pronounced as "ah-see" by North Americans, sounding like arsey (see above).
- boong – an Aboriginal Australian. (Derogatory.)
- New Australian – 1950s term for immigrant, usually from continental Europe, becoming obsolete.
- Pom – (also pommy) a mildly derogatory word for an English person. The true origin of this term is somewhat obscure, and several erroneous theories abound. The Macquarie Dictionary (which published the first ever dictionary of Australian English in 1981) states that it is a contraction of pomegranate, rhyming slang for immigrant ("imme-granate"). (see also fake etymology).
- skippy – a (sometimes derogatory) term for an Australian of Anglo-Celtic descent. Chiefly used in large cities by young people of Southeast European or Asian descent. Probably a reference to the famous 1960s television program Skippy which featured a predominantly Anglo-Celtic cast. Also skip.
- wog – derogatory (but increasingly reclaimed) term for Italian, Greek or other southern European immigrant. (Contrast with British usage, where the word usually refers to people of Middle Eastern or South Asian descent).
Clothes
- dacks – trousers, most likely derived from the London clothier Daks (founded in 1894).
- flannie – A shirt made from flanelette , most often with a check pattern. Favoured by bogans and westies
- thongs – flip-flops, cf. NZE jandals . The undergarment is called a g-string in Australia.
- ugg boots – sheepskin boot. This word has been trademarked by Deckers Outdoor Corporation in some countries, however, it has always been regarded as a generic word in Australian English.
Swimwear
Swimwear is known by different names throughout the country. Here are some common terms.
- bathers – used in several states to mean a swimsuit (from 'bathing suit'). (See also cossie, swimmers and togs). - in Sa they are called bathers - Frances 19/4/05
- budgie smugglers – mens brief-style swimwear (also known as speedos, dick stickers, sluggos or dick togs (DTs for short).
- cossie – used in some states to mean a swimsuit or swim trunks (from 'swimming costume'). Use of this term is generally restricted to New South Wales. (See also bathers and swimmers).
- swimmers – used in some states to mean a swimsuit or swimming trunks (from "swimming costume"). (See also bathers and cossie).
- togs – in Queensland used to describe any type of swimsuit or bathers.
Food and drink
With foodstuffs Australian English tends to be more closely related to the British vocabulary, for example the term "biscuit" has always been favoured over the American terms "cookie" and "cracker" (However as had been the case with many terms, cookie is recognised by Australians, and occasionally used, especially among younger generations; this is due to high levels of American film and television programs being seen in Australia).
In a few cases such as zucchini, snow pea and eggplant Australian English uses the same terms as US English, whereas the British use the equivalent French terms courgette, mangetout and do not care whether "eggplant" or aubergine is used. This is possibly due to a fashion that emerged in mid-19th Century Britain of adopting French nouns for foodstuffs, and hence the usage changed in Britain while the original terms were preserved in the (ex-)colonies.
There are also occasions when Australians use words or terms which are not common in other forms of English. For example, Australia uses the botanical name capsicum for what both the British and the Americans would call (red or green) peppers. Perhaps this is in order to contrast table pepper (berries of genus Piper) from so-called "hot peppers" (larger fruits of genus Capsicum).
"Tomato sauce" is the name given to ketchup in Australia, and other sauces made from tomatoes are generally referred to by names related to their uses, such as pasta sauce.
Coffee is also worthy of mention, since Australians have devised unique terms, such as flat white or white coffee, in reference to a standard (brewed) coffee with milk. Since the mid-1980s other varieties of coffee have also become popular, although these have generally adoped names used in North America and/or Europe.
Beer glasses
Not only are have there been a wide variety of measures in which beer is served in pubs in Australia, the names of these glasses differ from one area to another. However, the range of glasses has declined greatly in recent years. One of the most noteworthy measures was the 425ml (15 fluid ounce) "pint" glass formerly used in South Australia, which was technically equal to only 75% of a pint (568ml or 20 fl. oz.).
| Names of beer glasses in different areas
|
| Capacity | Sydney | Darwin | Brisbane | Adelaide | Tasmania | Melbourne | Perth |
|
115ml
(4 fl. oz.) | - | - | - | - | small beer | - | shetland* |
|
140ml
(5 fl.oz.) | pony* | - | small beer | pony | - | pony | pony* |
|
170ml
(6 fl.oz.) | - | - | - | - | six | small glass | bobbie* |
|
200ml
(7 fl.oz.) | seven* | seven | beer* | butcher | - | glass | glass |
|
225ml
(8 fl.oz.) | - | - | - | - | eight | - | - |
|
285ml
(10fl.oz.) | middy | handle | pot | schooner | ten/pot/
handle | pot | middy |
|
425ml
(15fl.oz.) | schooner | schooner | schooner | "pint" | - | schooner | schooner |
|
568-575ml
(1 pint) | pint | - | - | - | - | pint | pint |
|
* = rare/extinct
bold = common
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