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Beyond Tourism
Basics
’Strine is ’stralian for “Australian.” The main thing to remember when speaking Australian slang is to abbreviate everything: Oz for Australia, brekkie for breakfast, cuppa for cup of tea, uni for university. Australian pronunciation is harder to learn than the lingo—with Aboriginal words especially, but even with English-derived proper nouns, it’s difficult to pin down any definite “rules.”
ablution block: shower/toilet block at a campground
abseil: rappel
ace: awesome
aggro: aggravated
ANZAC biscuits: honey-oat cookies
arvo: afternoon
Aussie: Australian (pronounced “Ozzie”—thus, Australia is “Oz”)
backpackers: hostel
bagged: criticized
barbie: barbecue (BBQ)
bathers: bathing suit (primarily Western Australia)
beaut: positive exclamation, as in “You beaut!”
beetroot: beet, a common hamburger filling
belt bag: known to Americans as a “fanny pack”
billabong: a water hole
biro: pen
biscuit: cookie
bitumen: a rough, black asphalt used to pave roads
bloke: guy, man (familiar), “chap”
bludger: malingerer
bluey: someone with red hair (um..)
bonnet: hood of a car
boofhead: fool
to book: to make reservations
boot: trunk of a car
bottle shop: liquor store
bottle ’o: a drive through liquor store
brekkie: breakfast
Brizzy: Brisbane, QLD
bugger: damn
Bundy: Bundaberg, QLD, as in the rum
bush: scrubby countryside
bush tucker: traditional Aboriginal wild foods
bushwalking: hiking
BYO: bring your own (booze)
campervan: mobile home, RV
capsicum: bell peppers
caravan: a trailer; term for any sort of cabless campervan
carpark: parking lot
Central Business Distict (CBD): a city’s commerical center or “downtown”
chap: guy, man, “bloke”
chemist: pharmacy
chips: thick french fries, often served with vinegar and salt
chock-a-block: crowded
chook: chicken
chunder: vomit
coldie: a cold beer
concession: discount; usually applies to students, seniors, or children, sometimes only to Australian students and pensioners
cordial: concentrated fruit juice
cossie: swimsuit, primarily NSW
crook: sick
crow eater: South Australian (a tad disparaging)
D&M: deep and meaningful talk
dag: often used in familial context as an affectionate version of “daggy”
daggy: unfashionable, goofy
damper: a term for traditionally unleavened bread
dear: expensive
dill: silly person (affectionate)
dobber: tattle-tale
dodgy: sketchy
doona, duvet: comforter, down blanket
drink driving: driving under the influence of alcohol
drongo: idiot
dunny: toilet, often outdoors
ensuite: with bath
entree: appetizer (not a “main”)
esky: cooler
excess: deductible (i.e. car insurance)
fair dinkum: genuine
fair go: equal opportunity
fairy floss: cotton candy
to fancy: to like, as in “would you fancy..?”
feral: wild, punky, grungy
flash: fancy, snazzy
free call: toll-free call
full on: intense
full stop: period (punctuation)
furphy: tall tale, exaggerated rumor (as in, “tell a furphy”)
g’day: hello
to give it a go: to try
good onya: good for you
glasshouse: greenhouse
grommet: young surfer
ground floor: American first floor (“first floor” is second floor, etc.)
grog: booze
to hire: to rent
hitching: hitchhiking
hoon: loud-mouth, show-off
icy-pole: popsicle (any sweet frozen treat on a stick)
jackaroo: stationhand-in-training
jersey: sweater, sweatshirt
jillaroo: female “jackaroo”
journo: journalist
jumper: “jersey”
keen: enthusiastic
Kiwi: New Zealander
knackered: very tired
lad: guy, man, “chap”
licensed: serves alcohol
like hen’s teeth: rare
lollies: candies
magic: really wonderful, special
mate: friend, buddy (used broadly)
milk bar: convenience store
Milo: chocolate product in bar and drink varieties
mobile: cell phone
moke: an open-air, golf cart-esque vehicle
mozzie: mosquito
nappy: diaper
narky: annoyed
newsagent: newsstand
nibblies: snacks
no worries: sure, fine, or “you’re welcome”
ocker: boorish hick, Crocodile Dundee type
ordinary: bad; an “ordinary” road is full of potholes
’Ow yer goin’?: How are you?
Oz: Australia
pavlova: a creamy meringue dessert garnished with fruit
pensioner: senior citizen
perve: a pervert, also used as a verb, “to perve”
petrol: gasoline
piss: beer (usually)
pokies: gambling machines
polly: politican
Pom, pommy: person from England
powerpoint: power outlet
prawn: jumbo shrimp
raging: partying
ratbag: corrupt, unethical person
rego: car registration papers
return: round-trip
’roo: as in kanga-
roobar: bumper protecting your car from ’roo damage
roundabout: traffic rotary
rubber: eraser
sauce: usually tomato sauce; closest equivalent to ketchup
serviette: napkin
sheila: woman
shout: buy a drink or round of drinks for others; also a noun, as in an evening’s worth of everyone buying rounds for each other
side: team
singlet: tank top or undershirt
skivvie: turtleneck sweater
sook: crybaby
spider: ice cream float; or, arachnid (pay close attention to context)
squiz: a look, as in “take a squiz at something”
sticky beak: nosy person
’strine: Aussie dialect (from Australian)
’straya: Australia
swimmers: swimsuit
sunnies: sunglasses
to suss: figure out, sort out
ta: short for thank you—said softly
TAB: shop to place bets, sometimes in pubs
takeaway: food to go, takeout
Tassie: Tasmania (TAZ-zie)
tea: evening meal
thongs: flip-flops
throw a wobbly: get angry
Tim Tams: chocolate-covered cookie
togs: swimsuit, in Queensland
torch: flashlight
tucker: food
uni: university (YOU-nee)
unsealed: unpaved roads, usually gravel, sometimes dirt
ute (yute): utility vehicle, pickup truck
upmarket: upscale, expensive
Vegemite: yeast-extract spread for toast and sandwiches
veggo: vegetarian
wanker: jerk (rude term)
winge: to whine or complain
yakka: hard work
yobbo: slobby, unthinking person
zed: Z (American “zee”)
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