Australian Slang: A Crash Course in Surviving an Australian Vacation

Having written a handful of articles about Australia, I decided it was a useful follow up to publish a handy crash course in Australian slang for those who may be planning to visit this wonderful, sunburnt country.

Following is a list of everyday words and phrases you may wish to make a note of. Being an English speaking country it might not have crossed your mind, but I have been witness(and victim) to some very comical situations.

"She's apples" - It'll be OK, don't worry.

"Ankle biter" - a child.

"Beauty/beaudy mate" - great!

"Arvo" - afternoon.

"Cactus" - something is no good or broken.

"Bugga"- this has many uses, go away/oh heck!/ what a nuisance

e.g bugga off - get lost

"Bikkies" - cookies, or money. e.g I've got no bikkies to buy a pie n' sauce

"Sparrow fart" - very early morning, the crack of dawn.

"Fair Dinkum" - the truth, genuine or real.

or, are you fair dinkum? -are you serious?

"Dunny Rat" - a cunning person. e.g he's as clever as a dunny rat

"Fair suck of the sav" - give me a break!

"Give it a burl" - have a go, try it.

"Heaps/Stacks" - lots of.

"Chuck a wobbly" - get mad about something or have a tantrum.

"Crack a darkie" - see above

"Fags" - cigarettes.

"OK, who opened their lunchbox? - who passed gas?

"Rooted" - tired or worn out ( don't use this where you wouldn't curse, it generally has a more crude meaning.)

"On the turps" - drinking a few beers or wine.

"Strewth" - oh my goodness!

"Agro" - angry

"Banana bender" - a resident of Queensland.

"Crow eater - a resident of South Australia

"Sandgroper" - a resident of Western Australia"

"Chunder" "Chuck" - to vomit, get sick.

"Bloke" - a man.

"Sheila" - a woman

"Dunny" - toilet/bathroom.

"Dag" - a real character, or e.g "you look daggy" - you look like a dork.

"It's a Boomerang" - I loaned you something and I want it back!

"Nick off" "Rack off" - go away

"Chook" chicken/fried OR walking around the backyard

If in doubt , use your own expression and then answer to "AY?" to start explaining yourself.

Case in point: And if you're an Aussie going to the US this is for you too. America is an English speaking country, what did I have to be worried about when simply going to the shop to buy something?

So, after 37 hours on and off planes from Aussie with an overnighter in Japan, then on to LA, Chicago, Dallas and two other places I now forget....I casually stroll into a tobacco store to buy cigarettes and promptly asked a very large, rough looking woman for:

"a packet of fags and any kind will be OK Mate".

Please, do not do this........

Without getting into the details of her response, let it be known to the world I don't plan to do that again.

Please also note that is very easy to get run over when visiting Australia and waltzing around acting like a tourist. Not because we drive like "bloody idiots mate", but because I also have first hand experience in almost becoming a traffic statistic from forgetting "the-other-side-of-the-road" rule. Hence, I also do not hold a US Driver's license. Navigating on foot is difficult enough, and I have come to the conclusion that co-ordination deteriorates with age.

So when traveling to 'an English speaking county' such as Australia, relax, most will just laugh and very few will be offended, but it might be worthwhile looking up a few common expressions before you go on that vacation to get a head start on a fun chat. Maybe you could tape your conversation to laugh at later over drinks with your friends back home. Australian people are fascinated with all things American anyway and we really love your accents, so you'll be the star of the show, whatever you say.

It would seem the more I write the more comes to mind.... perhaps a book is in order (although spell checker is now very confused):
"What not to do when visiting another country"