Obviously I'm living in a country that speaks English, but quite clearly its not the same tone, dialect, or even vernacular that we, as Americans, are used to. So therefore I wanted to take a quick break from "status update" posts and outline some of my favorite slang words that are used around the great country of Oz. For those of you that watched Summer Heights High or Angry Boys... a lot of these should seem familiar:
- Mate - Australians LITERALLY couldn't have been any more stereotypical in their use of this word. It equates to: dude, man, bud, bro, buddy, guy, babe, even sir in some situations. I was, and still am, shocked how much this country loves using this word. Zac told me that when the military colonized Australia, they decided to refer to everyone as "mate" so as not to create a class system or any social hierarchy. I'll buy it.
- Keen - This one is hard to describe. In America, it means "sharp" or "quick-witted" but here, it's used with much more variety; meaning "eager" or "willing" essentially. ["Are you keen to join us?" or "I think he was keen to take advantage of you!"] This word will inevitably follow me back home.
- Legend! - Legendary; a very satisfying term of endearment... like if I get off a strong sales call and the dude says "Legend, mate! Talk to you soon." I'm feeling quite accomplished!
- Good'onya - Another term of endearment or congratulations (e.g. "way to go" or "well done"), but also synonymous as a sign-off, similar to "have a good one" or "take it easy" in American. I still don't understand this phrase... where is the "good" coming from and who, exactly, is putting it on me?!
- No worries or No dramas - No problem... also a sign-off that signifies there being no ill feelings between two parties, used all the time and EVERYWHERE!
- Ow’ya going? - "How's it going?" or "How are you doing?" -- the phrase can be reciprocated with "I'm going well," this clearly also makes no sense to me still, despite hearing it every day.
- Reckon – suppose (e.g. “You reckon?!” or “I reckon that…”) however, it's very commonplace and not considered redneck, in stark opposition to it's usage in the South.
- Flat out - tired, spent, overworked. ["I tried to call her but she was flat out all week"]
- Cooked or cooked out - another synonym for tired... but moreso meaning wasted, exhausted, or hammered. I like this one.
- Skull - Chug. ["Let's skull these beers and make moves!"]
- Arvo - Afternoon. ["Meet me tomorrow arvo at the station"]
- Sesh - Session, outing. Often used to describe an afternoon of recreational drinking or hanging out. ["Are you keen for a Sunday Sesh at the beach this weekend?"]
- Straya - a slang term for Australia
- Bogan - An Australian redneck, or someone who's known to get pissed all day drinking and not caring about their general appearance.
- Pissed, on the piss - drunk
- Taking the piss (out of) - making fun of someone ["She was taking the piss out of Mike all night"]
- Thongs - Flip-flops.
- Runners – Running shoes.
- Heaps - Used the same way we use "lots" in the States, only more often ["There were heaps of bogans on the beach that day"]... strangely enough, it can also be used to emphasize an adjective, such as "heaps cool" or "heaps crowded."
- Maccas – slang term for McDonald's, which I still haven't eaten at since I landed here #silentprotest
- Yank - the word most commonly used to describe Americans
- Root – synonym for “F&%$" ...but generally more socially acceptable ["Your tires are totally rooted!" or "Do you think she was looking to root?"] Be careful not to use this to mean "cheer for" or you'll get some strange looks.
- Spewing - Visibly agitated, frustrated, or angry ["That guy was spewing when you were talking to his girl"]
- Garbs – trash, rubbish, worthless (I’m pretty sure only my roommate Cam uses this word, but it's a classic)
- Aussie - Australian, not pronounced with S's, but rather with Z's; like Ozzie
- Dunny - toilet
- Lollie - means any type of candy, not just lollipops
- Sickie - a sick day ("chucking a sickie" means playing hookie or falsely calling off work)
- Sunnies - sunglasses
- Footie - Australian Football League
- Prossie - prostitute
- Facie - slang for Facebook
- Barbie - short for BBQ, which means "grill" here (also super stereo-Australian)
- Scratchie - instant lotto ticket, or scratch-off, as we call them
- Chrissie – Christmas
- Rellie - relative
- Brekkie - breakfast
- Boardie - board shorts, or swimsuit
- Cozzie - swimsuit, or short for "swim costume" on girls
- Rashie - wetsuit, the shortened version of "rashguard"
- Stubby – a standard bottle of beer
- Tinny – a standard can of beer
- Greenie – hippie, environmentalist, used in a derogatory way
- Lippy – lipstick
- Mozzie - mosquito
- Bitie – any other insect that bites
- Brully – umbrella
- Polly - politician
- Bodgy – inferior quality
- Dodgy - sketchy
- Postie – postman
- Truckie – truck driver
Don't text and drive.
Cheers,
Jared
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