How to Understand Australian Slang
If you've ever visited Australia (or at least watched "Crocodile Dundee"), you're familiar with such common Australian slang phrases as "G'day, mate." But slang originating from down under features some of the most colorful phrasings in the English language. Check out the following sayings and impress your Australian friends, or merely entertain your American ones.
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Instructions
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Acquaint yourself with basic Aussie slang. Visit the National Museum of Australia website to test your knowledge. Start using words like corker (great) and yobbo (slob). Say "ta" instead of "thanks" and replace "fight" with "barney."
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Sprinkle your speech with colorful Aussie phrases to express emotion. Tell an exasperating person to "belt up" not "shut up." If someone is daydreaming, say "They're away with the pixies." Tell a friend "Bonzer mate!" to congratulate them on an accomplishment.
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Rhyme with the Aussies. Australians use rhyming slang the same way Brits do "Apples and pears" means stairs, "Al Capone" stands for telephone, "Joey Blake" equals snake, "Frog and Toad" means road, and so on. Look for more intricate rhyming phrases by going to the Alldownunder website.
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Substitute slang names for common food and drink monikers. A "long black" stands for double espresso, while a "flat white" means latte. "Tinny" equals beer in a can and a warm beer left on the table too long translates to "Kimberley cold." At meal time, if you hear an Aussie say "chook" that's slang for chicken, and if they ask for a "bikkie" they want a cookie.
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Dress like they do in Oz (Australia). First, put on your "grundies" or "under-chunder" (underwear). Then slip on your "tweeds" or "strides" (pants) or "boardies" (board shorts). Finally, add a "skivvy" (turtleneck) or "boiled shirt" (dress shirt).
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Refer to ladies' undergarments as "knickers." Call a bra an "over the shoulder." Abbreviate sunglasses as "sunnies" and flip-flops as "flippies."
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Comments
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keeny
Mar 27, 2010
umm just to let you know -- alot of this is incorrect. and i mean alot. im an aussie and know how it is - firsty 'flip flops' ya no, not 'flippies'?? its 'thongs' and not the underwear. i've never even heard of flippies?! no 'tweeds' or 'strides' just 'boardies' and 'shorts' and well 'pants', more commonly its 'shorts', and no 'boiled shirt', 'skivvy' occansionally, but only for turtlenecks and its normally its just 'top' or 'shirt'. a bra is just a 'bra' and normally its still 'shut up', but occansionally the belt up, barely though. fight is well fight, sometimes something else depends. 'away with the pixies' isnt used much but still does , but it'll be something similar, or just 'daydreamin' and 'ta' is used alot, but not as much as 'ty' 'tanks' 'oh thanks aye mate' 'thanks mate' or just 'thank' number 3 confused me, but yeah we ryhme a bit, not on purpose though. :) sorry just had... -
thatgirlisfunny
Feb 08, 2010
I love regional dialects. Some of those phrases are really funny.
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jayjaysgirl
Sep 24, 2008
its a good idar depending were you are to watch what you say never were a hat inside a pub or a club unless you want to shout the bar( bye every body a drink on you )and youll find most people dont speak with slan its quite eazy to understand were one of the molty coltral countries in the worldso dont stress
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jayjaysgirl
Sep 24, 2008
its a good idar depending were you are to watch what you say never were a hat inside a pub or a club unless you want to shout the bar( bye every body a drink on you )and youll find most people dont speak with slan its quite eazy to understand were one of the molty coltral countries in the worldso dont stress
