Aussie Slang
SPEAKING AUSTRALIAN SLANG OR "STRINE"
G'day,mate..how are you, to-die? (pronounced "Good-die, mate. how are you, to die?) which means "Good-day, my friend...how are you doing today ?" (in BBC English) is how you'll often be greeted in Australia.... and it's not someone rudely asking how you are going to pass away.
Aaaahh....the refinements of Australian English or "Strine" as it is known. Australians also tend to speak with a rising intonation which makes their sentences sound like questions. So, please don't think you are always being questioned !
The term "Strine" derives from saying the word "Australian" through both closed teeth and the nose - a local accent that some "scholars" claim arose from the need to keep the mouth ("trap") shut against blow flies ("blowies").
Below's a "quickie" Survivor's Guide to Aussie slang...
"amber fluid" beer
"arse over tit"fall over
"arvo"afternoon
"award wage"minimum rate of pay
"avago"Have a go
"barbie"Barbecue
"ankle biter"young child
"banana bender"Queenslander...because they grow lots of bananas in Queensland
"bail up"hold up, rob
"back o'Bourke" back of beyond, middle of nowhere
"barbie"barbecue
"battler"One who struggles for a living
"boomerang" a curved flat wooden instrument used by Aborigines for hunting
"boozer"pub
"brumby"wild horse
"bushbash"to force your way through pathless bush
"bushranger"Australia's equivalent of the outlaws of the American Wild West (some goodies, some baddies) - Ned Kelly was the most famous
"bushwalk" to walk or hike through the bush
"beaut"beautiful
"billy"Tin container used for boiling water to make tea
"billabong"Waterhole in semi-dry river
"bickie"biscuit
"bloke"Man, used like "guy" in the US
"blowie"Pesky Australian blow fly
"bludger"scrounger
"BYO"Bring Your Own drink to a restaurant
"Bonzer"Terrific
"Bottle Shop"Liquor shop
"Bull dust"Bullshit
"Bunyip"The Australian equivalent to the mythical "Yeti/Bigfoot". Lives in a billabong.
"bush"The countryside
"bushranger"Outlaw, highwayman
"cask"Boxed bag of cheap wine
"chook"Chicken
"chunder"To vomit
"crooked"Sick
"Crissie"Christmas
"dag/daggy"Mild term for fool or unfashionable person
"daks"trousers
"Digger"Australian soldier, or any old male character
"dinkie die"The truth
"dingo"Australian native wild dog
"dinkum"Genuine or honest
"dunny"Toilet
"esky"Cooler
"footy"Australian football
"garbo"Garbage collector
"good on ya"Well done or "Good for you" in the US
"greenie"A conservationist
"grog"Alcoholic drink
"Kiwi"A New Zealander"
"knackered"Tired
"mate"Friend (does not mean spouse"
"milk bar"Small general store
"mozzie"Mosquito
"ocker"Australian male of crude manners
"oodles"Plenty
"Pom/Pommie"English person
"Pissed"Drunk (not angry, as in American)
"poof/poofter"Male homosexual (derogatory)
"ratbag"Trouble maker
"Sheila"Female (derogatory)
"sickie"Sick day off work
"she'll be right"It will all be o.k
"stingers"Jellyfish
"stubby"Small bottle of beer
"stunned Mullet"Someone who looks shocked
"tall poppies"High achievers
"Tassie"Tasmania
"trap"Mouth
"tucker"Food
"uni"University
"ute""Utility" truck - a pickup truck
"Vegemite"Brown yeast sandwich spread which Australians grow up on, but is regarded by most foreigners as "semi-toxic".
"whinge"Complain
"wog"Someone who comes from the Mediterranean countries (derogatory)
"wowser"Killjoy, prude
"yack"To talk
"yonks"A long time
"yabbie"An Australian shrimp-like sized lobster with claws
