The Iglu Guide | Blog
International student’s guide to Aussie slang
G’day! As if life wasn’t hard enough as a brand new student in a brand new country, you might have noticed there are some new Aussie words sneaking into the chat that don’t feature in your trusty dictionary. So apparently, there’s a whole other way of speaking Australian that’s happening right under your nose and some of it doesn’t make much sense. It might well be officially rooted in the King’s English, but Australian English uses more shortened words than any other English-speaking language in the world. In fact, there are more than 4,300 shortened words to get to grips with. Unreal – especially if English is your second language. But the good news is, once you get the hang of it all you’ll be putting another shrimp on the barbie before you know it. Here’s everything you need to know to get you through Australian uni and beyond.
Language of legends
Once known as ‘Strine’, but more recently as ‘Strayan’, the Aussie local lingo has one simple rule: keep it short. If you can abbreviate words in any way possible, do so immediately without hesitation. And if you can find a way to add an extra ‘o’ at the end, or even an ‘ie’, the more the better. Think arvo (afternoon), avo (avocado) and postie (postman) for starters. You’ll hear these following nuggets scattered through your conversations on a daily basis. Listen hard, and try dropping a few of your own in here and there for good practise.
Aggro – Angry, aggravated
Air con – Air conditioning
Ambo – Ambulance
Beaut! Or Bonza! Or Rippa! – Great!
Bludger – Lazy person
Booze bus – Police vehicle issuing breath tests
Bogan – An Aussie style redneck
Bottle-O – Off Licence/Liquor store
Chuck a yewy – Perform a U-turn in the road
Convo – conversation
Crack up – Very funny
Crook – Unwell
Dag – Nerd
Doco – Document
Doona– Duvet
Dunny – Bathroom
Fair Dinkum – The real deal
Fair go – A good chance
G’Day – Hello, good day, how are you? (implicit)
Hard yakka – Tough going
Having a yarn – Having a chat
Heaps – Lots
Mate – Friend, new acquaintance or stranger – possibly threatening overtones, pay attention to circumstances
Onya – Good on you (abbreviated)
Postie – Postman
Preso – Presentation
Rellies – Relatives, relations
Rock up – to arrive
Servo – Service station or garage
Souk – A constant complainer
Struth! – Crikey!
Sunnies – Sunglasses
Woop woop – Somewhere far away and out of town
Food and drink
We Aussies love our food, and so it’s only fair that we get to mix up the lingo a little bit more when we’re talking about the good stuff. As long as you’ve got a snag in one hand and a tinnie by the barbie, life is pretty good.
Avo – Avocado (preferably smashed)
Barbie – Barbecue
Bevvie – A drink, possibly beer
Bickie – Biscuit or cookie
Brekkie – Breakfast
Chewie – Chewing gum
Chook – chicken
Esky – Portable cooling bag on wheels
Grog – Alcohol
Lollies – Sweets/candy
Pav – Pavlova
Sanga – Sandwich
Schooner – Glass size for beer
Snags – Sausages
Tinny – Can of beer
VB – Victoria Bitter beer
Vego – Vegetarian
Veggies – Vegetables
Sport and entertainment
The language gets even more colourful when it comes to sport, where emotions are high and team affiliations run deep. Gen up on your Aussie sports, pick your team and settle in for the season.
Barrack – Support for your team
Boogie board – A small surf board designed for lying down
Drop-in – Stealing a surfer’s wave – usually regarded as a serious offence
Footy – Rugby league
Hotel – Pub
Hungry Jacks – The Aussie version of Burger King
Maccas – MacDonalds and the Golden Arches
Milk Bar – Local newsagents type shop
Pokies – Gambling slot machines found in casinos and pubs
Pushie – Bike
Sledging – Teasing/insulting your sporting opposition to provoke a reaction
Animals and nature
There’s plenty of odd happenings going on in the Australian Bush…
Bush – Local countryside
Dingo – A wild dog
Galah – A type of bird, can be used as an insult (Flamin’ Galah)
Mozzie – Mosquito
The Lucky Country or God’s Country – Australia, of course
Clothing
No category is immune to Aussie slang, and that includes what you’re wearing. Get to know the local lingo, or it could get awkward. Thongs, we’re talking to you…
Bathers – Swimming costume/trunks
Budgie smugglers – Men’s swimming trunks
Daks – Trousers
Get rugged up – Dress in warm clothes
Pants – Trousers
Singlet – Vest
Thongs – Flip flops or jandals
Togs – Swimmers
Trackie daks – Track pants
Undies – Underwear
Need to know
There are some phrases that you just need to have in the back pocket. In isolation, they don’t make much sense, but when you know, you know…
Bring a plate – Don’t fall into the trap of bringing an actual plate. This means bring a plate of food to share. Very common at barbeques and at Christmas time when Aussies love to get together en masse, set up camp and spend the day at the beachfront or playing backyard cricket.
Chuck a sickie – Call in sick
Fair dinkum – That’s OK, seems fair, straight up
Nah yeah – Hard ‘Yes’
No worries – No problem, can be used indiscriminately whether there is actually a problem or not
They’ll be right – It will all be fine, no matter the problem
Throw a shrimp on the barbie – Get the prawns on the barbecue asap
Yeah nah – Hard ‘No’
Whilst Aussie slang is welcomed in daily conversation, students are not advised to use it in their academic studies.
