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Jan 14, 2010

Aussie education

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Since I've just returned from a fantastic two weeks in Western Australia, I want to share some Australian lingo I've picked up. The slang and rhymes are hilarious and the sayings are totally outrageous. I can't get enough. Oh, btw, Aussies never say "throw another shrimp on the barbie" and get pissed off when foreigners cry out with a fake accent "the dingo ate my baby." So, if you're heading to the Land Down Under, please avoid those terms. But, certainly slip the following lingo into your vocab:
  • A few Kangaroos loose in the top paddock — this is used to describe someone who may not mentally be all there
  • A over T — to fall "arse over tits"
  • After dark — another word for shark
  • Airy fairy — vague
  • Any tic of the clock — very soon
  • Apples, she'll be — every thing will be OK
  • Arvo/evo — afternoon/evening
  • Bathers — swimsuit
  • Barney — a fight or argument
  • Bathroom — has the sink, tub and/or shower. The toilet, as it's called, is in a separate room.
  • Biscuit — a cookie. Novice surfers are called "shark biscuits"
  • Blowy — windy
  • Brekky — breakfast
  • BYO — is bring your own and can be followed with booze (even to a restaurant) or meat (to a barbie)
  • Chemist — a pharmacy
  • Cheesed off — annoyed
  • Chips — french fries. Common expression used is "cheep as chips" to imply a good price for something
  • Chook — chicken
  • Chuck — is used often for a number of reasons, like "chuck a leftie" to go left or "chuck a spaz" to get angry. Also, people can chuck a Uey or wobbly or up.
  • Dads and Dave — is a shave
  • Dogs eye — a meat pie, which Australians love to eat
  • Dunny — a toilet
  • Ear basher — someone who talks a lot
  • Esky — a food or drink cooler. Also called a "chilly bin"
  • Fag — a cigarette
  • Fanny — a vagina. Note: Fanny packs is not a term used; it's called a "bum bag"
  • Flat out like a lizard drinking — to be very busy or going very fast
  • Franger — condom
  • Galah — a kind term for a fool. It's also a really cool-looking bird
  • Garbo — garbage man. In Canada, we say "throw trash in the garbage" and in Oz, they say "tip rubbish in the bin"
  • Have a burl or crack or go or lash at — to try
  • Heaps — is used a lot of mean a lot of something
  • Hollie — holiday
  • In a tic — just a minute
  • In the altogether — in the nude; of which there are many beaches
  • Kark it — to die
  • Kip — nap
  • Lay by — to put on hold at a store
  • Lippie — lipstick
  • Lolly — sweets
  • Macca's — McDonalds
  • Make a quid — earn a living
  • Off one's face — really drunk
  • Plonked — really drunk
  • Pom, pommy — a person from England
  • Poofter — a homosexual man
  • Postie — a mail carrier
  • Pram — a baby stroller
  • Rellies — relatives
  • Salvo — Salvation Army
  • Sanga — sandwich
  • Sauce, tomato — ketchup
  • Seppo or septic tank — derogatory term for Americans (septic tank rhymes with yank)
  • Servo — gas station where you buy petrol
  • Sheila — common term for a nice looking Australian woman
  • Sparkie — electrician
  • Stickybeak — to look at
  • Stubbie — small, short-necked bottle of beer
  • Sunnies — sunglasses
  • Tinnie — can of beer
  • Torch — flashlight
  • Trannie — transistor radio
  • Uni — university
  • Ute — utility vehicle
  • Vegemite — strong spread made from yeast and eaten on toast
  • Whinge — to complain
These are just the terms I heard — there are so many more. Just remember: Shorten everything, add "ie" at the end of words and make everything rhyme. Do this and you'll fit right in.