Australian Slang

A

Arvo/AR-voh/noun

Afternoon.

“Catch ya this arvo for a barbie.”

B

Barbie/BAR-bee/noun

A barbecue.

“Chuck a few snags on the barbie.”

Bastard/BAH-sted/noun

A swear that's an insult OR oddly affectionate depending on tone.

“Ya lucky bastard, fancy winning the meat tray!”

Bloody oath/BLUD-ee OATH/phrase

Absolutely; you bet.

“Reckon we'll win? Bloody oath we will.”

Bludger/BLUJ-uh/noun

A lazy person who avoids work.

“Get up off the couch, ya bludger.”

Bogan/BOH-gun/noun

An unrefined, daggy person — said with a grin as often as a sneer.

“He turned up to the wedding in thongs, what a bogan.”

Bottle-o/BOT-luh-oh/noun

A bottle shop; liquor store.

“Swing by the bottle-o and grab a slab.”

Brekkie/BREK-ee/noun

Breakfast.

“Let's grab brekkie at the cafe down the road.”

Bugger/BUG-uh/interjection

A mild swear of annoyance or disappointment.

“Bugger, I left the snags on the barbie too long.”

Bugger all/BUG-uh ALL/phrase

Nothing; very little.

“I got bugger all sleep last night.”

C

Carked it/CARKT it/phrase

Died or stopped working.

“The old fridge finally carked it last night.”

Carrying on like a pork chop/CAR-ee-ing on like a PORK chop/phrase

Making a ridiculous fuss.

“Settle down, you're carrying on like a pork chop.”

Chockers/CHOK-uz/adjective

Completely full.

“The servo was chockers on the long weekend.”

Chuck a sickie/chuck a SIK-ee/phrase

Take a day off work pretending to be sick.

“It's too nice out, I might chuck a sickie.”

Crikey/KRY-kee/interjection

An exclamation of surprise or alarm.

“Crikey, that storm came out of nowhere.”

Cuppa/CUP-uh/noun

A cup of tea or coffee.

“Sit down and I'll put the kettle on for a cuppa.”

D

Drongo/DRON-goh/noun

A fool or idiot.

“Ya great drongo, you've locked the keys in the car.”

Dry as a dead dingo's donger/dry as a dead DING-goes DONG-uh/phrase

Extremely thirsty or very dry.

“Pass us a beer, I'm dry as a dead dingo's donger.”

Dunny/DUN-ee/noun

A toilet, especially an outdoor one.

“Back in a tick, just nicking off to the dunny.”

E

Esky/ES-kee/noun

A portable insulated cooler box.

“The beers are in the esky, help yourself.”

F

Fair dinkum/fair DINK-um/phrase

Genuine, true, for real.

“Fair dinkum, I saw a roo on the highway.”

Flat out like a lizard drinking/flat OUT like a LIZ-ard drink-ing/phrase

Extremely busy.

“Can't stop, I'm flat out like a lizard drinking.”

G

Galah/guh-LAH/noun

A silly or foolish person (after the noisy pink cockatoo).

“Stop carrying on like a galah.”

Good on ya/good ON ya/phrase

Well done; good for you.

“Finished the marathon? Good on ya!”

H

Heaps/HEEPS/adverb

A lot; very.

“Thanks heaps, that's heaps good.”

K

Knackered/NAK-erd/adjective

Completely exhausted.

“I'm absolutely knackered after that shift.”

L

Larrikin/LAR-uh-kin/noun

A cheeky, mischievous rascal.

“Your grandad was a proper larrikin in his day.”

M

Maccas/MAK-uz/noun

McDonald's.

“Let's hit the Maccas drive-through.”

Mad as a cut snake/mad as a cut SNAKE/phrase

Very angry or a bit crazy.

“He went mad as a cut snake when he saw the bill.”

Mozzie/MOZ-ee/noun

A mosquito.

“The mozzies are shocking out by the dam tonight.”

N

No worries/no WUR-eez/phrase

It's fine; you're welcome; no problem.

“Cheers for the lift. No worries, mate.”

R

Ripper/RIP-uh/adjective

Excellent, fantastic.

“It was a ripper of a day out.”

Roo/ROO/noun

A kangaroo.

“Watch for roos on the road after dark.”

S

Servo/SUR-voh/noun

A petrol/service station.

“Pull into the servo, we're nearly out of juice.”

She'll be right/sheel be RIGHT/phrase

It'll be fine; don't worry about it.

“Lost the tickets? She'll be right, mate.”

Snag/SNAG/noun

A sausage.

“Grab a snag in bread on your way out.”

Sook/SOOK/noun

A whinger or sulky crybaby.

“Don't be a sook, it's only a scratch.”

Spit the dummy/spit the DUM-ee/phrase

Throw a tantrum; lose your temper.

“He spat the dummy when they lost the grand final.”

Stoked/STOHKT/adjective

Very pleased or excited.

“Stoked you could make it, mate.”

Strewth/STROOTH/interjection

An exclamation of surprise.

“Strewth, would ya look at the size of that thing!”

T

Thongs/THONGZ/noun

Flip-flops; rubber sandals.

“Just slip on your thongs, we're only popping out.”

Tradie/TRAY-dee/noun

A tradesperson, like a sparky or chippie.

“The tradies knock off early on a Friday.”

U

Ute/YOOT/noun

A utility vehicle; pickup truck.

“Chuck the gear in the back of the ute.”

Y

Yeah nah/yeah NAH/phrase

A soft no; 'I hear you, but no'.

“Wanna come bushwalking? Yeah nah, I'm good.”

Yobbo/YOB-oh/noun

A loud, uncouth lout.

“A pack of yobbos were yelling at the footy.”