Aussie Slang 101
A few of you have read a bit of Aussie slang before with the hubbies website, for you this will be a boost for your memories. :)
I think some of our friends and family are a bit dismayed that we don't have more of an Australian accent, but it's mainly because we revert back when we are home. In every day life here we have found more and more Australian terminology and rhythm of speaking slipping into our conversations. The following words are ones that we use here every day. They are words that have replaced their American counterparts in our vocab.
First tip, if you read Aussies and pronounced it with an S you sound like an American. If you wanna sound like an Australian pronounce the "ss" as "zz" like "Ozzie".
1. Good-on-ya: One of my favourite Australian sayings, used to tell people, 'good job'. You say it quickly like one word. Funny thing is that Aussies often shorten even more to 'On ya, mate!'.
2. Flat out -- the whole phrase is actually "Flat out like a lizard drinking" but people tend to only say flat out, it's means crazy busy.
3. Strewth- a form of exclamation when someone or something surprises you.
4. Ranga- a nickname for a redhead
5. Pram -- stroller
6. Whoop-whoop-- far away, in the south we would say they live out in the sticks
7. knickies-- short for knickers though they pronounce it more like knickahs, it's really cute when Tilly talks about getting her knickies on. This lends to the popular saying, 'Don't get your knickies in a twist!'.
8. brekky-- short for breakfast
9. arvo- short for afternoon
10. ooroo (also sometimes pronounce hooroo)-- means goodbye or see you later. This is an example of slang developed in the country areas, so its commonly heard in the outback, but rarely in the city.
11. Ta- Thank you, usually used for just a small thanks
12. Dummy-- pacifier
13. Nappies-- Diapers
14. And last of all (this is not one that I use, but thought it was funny) : nurse--
When we had Matilda, I had one of those experiences you sometimes have while living in a foreign country, where you hear a word you know used completely differently that it takes you a minute to compute. An older man in our congregation was holding Matilda and one of the ladies came up and said "Isn't it cute seeing Ron giving Tilly a nurse" I stopped short because for me, nurse had always been associated with breastfeeding so to hear it used in this context brought a smile to my face. Here it is used in the broader sense of holding/cuddling a baby. I still kind of crack up inside when I hear people use nurse in this way.
Venture forth and add a little Aussie slang to your day, see if anyone notices or gives you strange looks, let me know if you were success.
2 comments:
We have totally adopted Good-on-ya here, and we've never set foot in Oz. All because of you, mate. :)
As a native Aussie (to rhyme with 'mozzie') bloke, may I add a few subtleties?
Flat out came first and means going at full speed, pedal to the metal, etc. Adding "like a lizard drinking" is just an ironic additional metaphor ... much like "see you round ... like a rissole" and can either mean the same as "flat out" or the exact opposite ... lying prone and doing nothing.
Ranga is relatively recent ... I never heard it before about 10 years ago. It's also somewhat derogatory as it's an abbreviation of 'orangutan' and it could be offensive ... use with care. Also, according to the Macquarie dictionary, this comes from US slang. I suspect it came to Australia by way of England where it is considerably more offensive than it is here.
Woop Woop -- no 'h'. See also, "beyond the black stump". It's a more polite way of saying the "arse end of nowhere" and is based on the practice of naming towns with reduplicative names like Wagga Wagga, Curl Curl, Woy Woy, Bungle Bungle or Millaa Millaa (all real places). Also it's pronounced with the short oo sound as in 'wood' not the long 'oo' as in 'hoop', and said as a single word with the stress on the first 'Woop', not as two distinct words.
Knickies -- only young children talk about knickies. To big people they're knickers. Also, only girls/women wear knickers. Blokes wear 'undies' or 'jocks' (which is derived from the brand name 'Jockey' and NOT the same as a jock-strap). But anyone can get their knickers in a knot, male or female.
Pram -- I would say there's a difference between a pram and a stroller. A pram is a baby carriage for infants too young to walk or even sit up ... think up to age 1 ... whereas a stroller (or a 'pusher') is for children to sit in and useful up to about age 5. These days, however, the distinction is not so sharp as many prams convert into strollers.
Glen
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