I've been meaning to compile a list of Aussie slang for a long time and have finally got around to it. Whether it's from conversations with colleagues and friends or overhearing people in public, I've come into contact with a lot of bizarre language that I've had to get my head around, either by asking what the hell people are talking about or, more embarrassingly, looking it up online when I get home...
This is just a snippet of the gobbledygook these people chat!
Arvo n. afternoon
Avago v. to have a go
Baben adj. sexy, hot (for a woman)
Bathers n. swimming attire
Bluey n. ginger person*
Bogan n. similar to a chav**
Devo adj. devastated
Dinky-di, fair dinkum phr. the truth
Goon n. cheap wine that comes in a plastic bag***
Heaps adj. very
Hey phr. added to the end of sentence to emphasise a point (the equivalent of "isn't it?")
How you goin'? phr. How are you?
Maggot adj. extremely drunk
Pom n. English person
Ripper, bonzer adj. excellent
Septic tank n. American person (rhyming slang for yank: amusing)
Thongs n. flip-flops****
*Opposites and inaccuracies are often used in Aussie slang; calling a short person lofty etc
**The internet provided definitions of varying sensitivity:
Wikipedia: "An individual who is recognised to be from an unsophisticated background or whose speech, clothing, attititude and behaviour exemplifies a lack of manners and education"
Urban dictionary: "A fascinating beast. The majority of the species are hideously repugnant and unintelligent, yet they manage to breed in ever-increasing numbers and populate an area known as the outer west. It is quite common to find five or six offspring in each family group, often with a different father for each new baby. The habitat consists of a weatherboard or brick-veneer dwelling and is characterised by an early-model Holden or Ford in the driveway surrounded by a group of males discussing the results of last night's footy. The female of the species, while smaller in stature, is far louder and more aggressive than the male and spends time in supermarkets and shopping malls, using a high-pitched call to discipline their children and contact other females. Males and females rarely interact socially except during mating season, otherwise known as Friday night. During this time, females and allowed to enter the male-dominated area known as "the pub" and display their coloured plumage to a prospective mate. Herein lies an interesting phenomenon: males will often fight over a particularly attractive female who will mate with only one male, whereas some less attractive females have been known to have several partners simultaneously"
Basically Bodmin folk then...
***The tipple is featured in Goon of Fortune, a drinking game in which four goon bags of various strength and flavour (red/white/rosé/port...) are hung from the four corners of a rotating washing line. A player stands before the washing line and spins it, having to consume directly from the tap of the goon bag that stops in front of them for a predetermined period of time. A perfect fair-weather beveraging exercise and certainly one that the Lacrosse Club should adopt.
****This is an example of how a word in one country means something completely different elsewhere. Explaining that thongs are G strings in England shocked one of the ladies in the office! Other cases include soccer, which is Australian for football, whereas football in Australia refers to Aussie Rules, a completely different game. Pants are Australian trousers, but Aussies also call trousers daks, which means underwear in New Zealand. Confusing!
So, there you go. If you come across an Australian in the near future, now you'll be able to understand some of what the crazy kangaroo is talking about.
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