Aussie conversational "english" dictionary.

[Fishpimpin73]

Ok folks.

After spending a WEEK with our fearless leader.......

I need your help.

Although I have been in cahoots with the "bloke" for almost three years.....
Most of the things that come out of his mouth still confuse the hell out of me.

The idea behind this project is to collect and collate words and their definitions that are distinctly Aussie.
That way we can help others like myself who want to learn to understand and communicate with you Aussies more successfully.

All I need from you is to respond to this thread with words and thier respective definitions.

This data will be collected and sorted and when it is all together, we will make it available for those that wish to converse with y'all on your own level.

All submissions that are used will be credited to the user in the completed project.
In case of identical submissions the earliest dated submission will recieve credit.

[Littlefish]

OK. Nobody else has touched this one so I must make a start. It is our duty to enlighten our overseas cousins so that they may better appreciate our highly developed form of expression.

Know, then, Fishpimpin73, that for most Australians English is a second language. The vast majority of us converse in ‘Strine’. The word Strine is derived from the Australian pronunciation of the word ‘Australian’.

Strine is spoken with a nasal twang, which is a result of Aussie sinuses having evolved to cope with the massive concentration of dust in the Australian atmosphere. This dust is kept in suspension by the constant pounding of macropod feet as they hop around searching for grass and water (which has been inconsiderately consumed by sheep).

Australians tend to cut words short, leaving out parts of words, rather like a ventriloquist. This is because Aussies are reluctant to open their mouths any more than necessary while talking so as to avoid ingesting the vast swarms of flies which compete with the dust for airspace.

The flies are testament to the rich diversity of our fauna, much of which can be conveniently observed splattered colourfully along our highways. Helpful signs depicting kangaroos, koalas, etc are erected at intervals so that visitors can readily identify the creatures they have come into contact with. The signs often include warnings, eg: ‘Koalas cross here’. This is good advice, since koalas can become very cross indeed if tourists try to cuddle them while they are trying to negotiate several lanes of hot bitumen. At other times, of course, Australian wildlife may be cuddled with impunity.

But on to the dictionary:

I will attempt to supply at least one word per letter of the alphabet, and hopefully others will follow. It is often difficult to start Australians talking about themselves, as we are a quietly spoken, self-effacing race. Many Strine words end in ‘o’, ‘ie’ or ‘ee’, to indicate that there is more to the word but it is assumed the listener will mentally fill in the spaces.

A
Ambo
Paramedic

Arvo
Afternoon (See yer Satdee arvo)

Ave a go
1. To try (Ave a go, yer mug!)
2. To tease (Aw, I’m just aveing a go at yer)
3. To challenge (Yer wanna ave a go at me, mate?)


B
Bonzer (Seldom used today esp. by younger Aussies grazing on Big Macs)
Very good standard (A bonzer Sheila)

Bewdy
Beauty (an expression of appreciation)

Beyond the Black Stump
Very far away

Bottler
A very good thing, person, place etc (possibly from the expression: ‘worth bottling’)

Bottlo
1. A collector of bottles (for recycling)
2. A purveyor of alcoholic beverages

Brekkie
Breakfast

C
Carn
Come on (Carn the Maroons!)

Chooks
1. Chickens
2. Lady lawn bowlers (also known as Leghorns due to their white uniforms)

Cockatoo
1. A white parrot
2. A person set as a lookout for wallopers (see Walloper below)

Cooee
1. A traditional cry to attract attention in the bush (sounds like a bird call, so if the wrong people hear it, they will think it’s just a bird) It should be remembered that a great many Australians are descended from the Irish.
2. Within cooee = reasonably close

Cossie
Swimsuit (Southern States)

D
Dag
1. The rejected soiled clippings from a fleece
2. Person, thing or place which is grubby or un-stylish

Dee
Day (Satdee, Sundee)

Demon
Police detective

Dingo
1. Wild dog
2. Coward
3. Treacherous
4. Person of very low degree
(An Aussie may call someone a b**tard, galah, drongo etc as a form of endearment, but if a man calls you a dingo, then you must take off your coat and fight him.)

Dink
To give someone a lift on your bicycle (Southern states)
In Queensland this is referred to as a ‘double’

Drongo
1. A native bird
2. A fool

Dunny
1. An outdoor toilet
2. Built like a brick dunny (very strong)
3. May your chooks turn to emus and kick your dunny down (old Australian curse)

E
Emu Parade
Assigned to pick up litter

F
Fair/Fairly
1. Real (It’s blowing a fair buster today)
2. Really (It’s fairly blowing a buster today)

Fair Dinkum
Contrary to popular belief, fair dinkum does not mean good, but rather suggests honesty, truth, reliability. The term may have many different meanings according to context. Eg:
‘Aw, fair dinkum mate!’ = ‘Be serious!’
‘He’s fair dinkum!’ = ‘He means it!’
‘Faaair DINkum’ = ‘I don’t believe it!’
‘He’s a fair dinkum pilot.’ = ‘He’s not kidding. He really is a pilot.’
Fair dinkum can also be an expression of exasperation, ‘the last straw’. If a large Aussie puts down his beer and rises up from his bar stool snarling ‘Fair DINKUM!’ you can be assured that what is about to happen will not be good.

Fair Go
1. To be given an equal chance (Give them a fair go!)
2. Suggestion that someone is not being fair or reasonable (Aw, fair go, mate!)

Freddo
1. Me (Fred)
2. A popular chocolate frog

G
Galah
1. A pink and grey parrot
2. A comical fool

Garn
1. An expression of disbelief (Garn, ya rabbit, yer avein’ a go at me!)
2. Go away (Garn, yer mongrel!) This expression is usually accompanied by a hurled missile.

G’day
Good day (A greeting used regardless of the time of day or night)

Googleberries
Eggs

H
Have a go
See ‘Ave a go’ above.

Hoon
Hooligan

Hooray
Goodbye (This does not suggest the speaker is happy to see you go)

Hooroo
A variation of Hooray made popular by an Australian celebrity gardener (see below under PER-gollah)

I
Individual
An overseas businessman once complained that the trouble with this country was that it was made up of 16 million individuals. This is true. Aussies tend to see a ‘team’ as a group of individuals being bullied by the one with the loudest mouth. While they understand that there is no I in TEAM, they have noted that there is M and E and that team is an acronym of ‘mate’.

J
Jackaroo
1. A male farm hand (generally on larger, outback properties)
2. A fold up camper trailer (which has no connection whatsoever with real Jackaroos)

Jamees (pronounced Jah-mees)
Pyjamas

Jillaroo
A female version of the Jackaroo

K
Kanga
A prefix applied to anything which moves up and down, eg kanga hammer, kanga jack (also a popular nickname for no obvious reason)

L
Lair
A flashy show off

Lair Up
To dress or act in a lairising manner

Lango
1. Language (lingo)
2. The local slang

M
Mate
Everything and everyone is an Australian’s mate, including spouses, girl/boyfriends, dogs, even cockroaches. The expression should be taken as a warning if it is emphasised, as in ‘Listen, MATE!’

Mug Lair
A foolish show off

N
Nong
1. A fool
2. Someone who continues to press their point after the warning ‘Listen MATE!’ has been issued.

O
Oi! Oi! Oi!
The traditional response to a call of ‘AussieAussieAussie!’ It has been suggested that this call/response should replace the traditional call of ‘Cooee’ during bush searches, as even unconscious Aussies have been known to respond to ‘AussieAussieAussie!’

P
PER-gollah
Pergola
The blame for the local pronunciation of this word can be laid at the feet of a certain celebrity gardener who made a point of mispronouncing everything in an effort to prove his quintessential Aussieness (see Hooroo above). Celebrities, of course, shape languages across the globe. The word ‘harassed’ is now incorrectly pronounced ‘harASSED’ rather than ‘HArassed’ thanks to Frank Spencer of ‘Some Mothers Do Have Them’ fame.

Q
QUEENSLANDER!
The chilling war cry of the Mighty Maroons (Say no more!)

R
Ridgy Didge
Absolutely true (mostly added at the end of a story which is absolutely untrue)

S
Sheila
Woman (now considered derogatory – unfortunate if your given name is Sheila)

Strewth
An expression of amazement

Stone the crows/Stiffen the crows/Starve the lizards
An expression of exasperation and/or amazement

T
Togs
Swimsuit (Northern States)
This is one way that Queenslanders can recognise infiltrating Southerners. Their use of words such as ‘cossie’ and ‘dink’, as well as crossing their sevens as if they were ‘Fs’ gives them away. This is similar to the movie aliens which look like humans except that their eyes light up as soon as no one is looking.

U
Up the scrub
The countryside (‘He’s away up the scrub’)

V
VB
Victoria Bitter (What you drink if you can’t get Fourex)

W
Walloper
Police constable

X
XXXX
Fourex. Real beer brewed in Brisbane and prized by Queenslanders above all others. Sadly being sold out to foreign interests.

Y
Youse
The plural of ‘you’

Z
Z
The letter Z, pronounced Zed. More and more young Australians, educated by Sesame Street, are saying Zee instead of Zed. It rankles.

Fred :wink:

[kalebjarrod]

you forgot

scoohy

Schooner of beverage equating to 425ml of refreshing liquid

often containing generous lashings of cold XXXX

should be drunk in moderation but rarley is

[Littlefish]

Of course! How could I forget?

Of course, there was a time when asking for a schooner North of Tweed Heads would have been met with jeers of derision, as Queenslanders only drank pots.

Whatever it's called, I generally start out drinking in moderation and end up with my wife not talking to me. Come to think of it, there really isn't a downside is there?

Fred :wink:

[kalebjarrod]

none that come to mind at the moment :wink:

[lesley]

Littlefish, well done.

Should we add to S
Sneakers/sandshoes for, well, sneakers and sandshoes (disguised maybe as Reeboks?)

[goldenpigeon]

lilfish you forgot "Roo"

but every1 knows what that means ;)

[Littlefish]

Thanks, Lesley! :)

Hmm - good point. Is it Americans that say 'sneakers' while we say 'sandshoes'?

Junior, 'roo' is actually a Scottish word describing their method of propelling a small craft across water. :roll:

Fred :wink:

[goldenpigeon]

lol yer but we call em roo's as well

[kalebjarrod]

What about

double bungers, and thong

esky

barbie

snags

:wink:

[goldenpigeon]

or "SANGER" !!!!!!! ;)

[Littlefish]

Did you see on the news where Mattel is taking an Australian barbecue restaurant to court because they have named their place 'Barbie'?!?

Junior, a sanger is a Texan vocalist. Please try to keep up! :lol:

Fred