Aussie Slang

Here's a vocabulary list we have been compiling...there will be a test....(just kidding)

Travel vocabulary:

• Sealed vs. Unsealed road - paved vs. unpaved (Not much difference in rural Australia)
• Overtaking lane - highway passing lanes


• Togs - clothes


• Beanie - hat a.k.a ski or stocking cap


• Jumper - sweater


• Singlet/Chesties - tank tops . . . especially for men


• Billy's - wood-burning camp stoves


• Torch - flashlight
• Car Park - Parking lot
• Petrol - gasoline ie: fill up with petrol at the petrol station

Sporting vocabulary:

• Footy - rugby or Aussie rules football (Used interchangeably causing much confusion)


• Excursion - hike


• Carnival - track or swim meet


• Swimmies - bathing suits


• Trackies - track suit


• Sunnies - sunglasses


• Rashies - swimming rash guards/shirts


• Thongs - flip flops


• "Slip, Slop, Slap" - Sun protection slogan...slip on a shirt, slop on some sunscreen and slap on a hat. Everyone says this...
  
• Boardies - long swim trunks for boys/men
• Aqua class - (prounounced like back) water aerobics class
• Sun cream - sunscreen

School vocabulary:

• Biro - ballpoint pen


• Rubber - eraser (Imagine Ponygirl asking me for one of these for the first time....)


• Morning/Afternoon Tea - morning and/or afternoon snack...tea isn't involved. Usually occurs around 10:00AM and 4:00 PM
• A cut lunch - what we would call a packed or sack lunch ,
• School run - the process of dropping off and picking up children from school
• Creche- (Pronounced /craysh/) the child care area at church, the gym, etc. Don't call it the nursery...that is what they call a the section of the barn that is used for chicks, lambs, calves, etc.
  

Conversational vocabulary:

• "Good on 'ya" - Good job.


• "See ya latah" - said in lieu of "Goodbye"


• "How ya going?" - What's up? How are you?


• "Have a go..." - Give it a try
• "... I reckon." - Used at the end of a sentence. Used like we do "I guess."
• "Make a booking"- make a reservation. You cannot walk into a restaurant at dinner without a booking. It can be completely empty and they won't seat you. I've been told that restaurants order their food from their suppliers based on their bookings.
• "G'day!" - yes they really say it and it always makes me smile :0)
• "No worries" - don't worry about it....or it's said to placate Americans when they seem too uptight for Aussie interaction
• "Hoover it up" - clean it up, vacuum it up, pick it up
• "Table" - in Aussie speak, this means talk about it now, put it on the table. In the USA, it means to put something off until later.
• "Sort It"- figure it out. "We will sort it."
• "Dodgy" - 1. a bit off, not fresh. "That meat looks dodgy." 2. untrustworthy, not truthful "That answer was a bit dodgy." (I love this one and use it often.)

Food/shopping vocabulary:

• Woolies: Woolworth's grocery store
• Capsicum - bell peppers


• Full cream, cream custard, clotted cream, heavy full cream - they are all next to each other in the supermarket . . . .no clue what the difference is


• Shops - as in "Pop up to the shops"...stores


• Stiffening - starch . . . as in the kind you use in shirts


• Biscuits - cookies


• Latte - (rhymes with flat-tay) espresso coffee with milk added...frothy


• Short or Long white - espresso coffee with non-frothed milk. Served in clear juice glasses vs. a mug/cup


• Chips - french fries


• Kebabs - (rhymes with crabs)thinly sliced lamb wrapped in pita breads and pressed flat and grilled. Sort of a gyro sandwich


• Rockmelon - canteloupe
• Veg - (pronounced /vej/) vegetables
• Wheelie bin - garbage cans left outside for collection...ie. "Have you seen my wheelie bin? I think you might have taken mine be mistake...notice the dent I put into with my car..."
• Esky- a cooler

O.K. Ready for some typical sentences I hear everyday? Remember, the vocabulary list above is there to help you.

MORNING...

"Everyone into the car, it's time for the school run."

"Hold on, I need my jumper, biros, some rubbers, my swimmies and my trackies."

"Well hurry, I need to stop by the petrol station."

"Did you not have your latte today, Mom?, Sheesh!"

"No worries, I found all of them!"

LATER THAT MORNING...AT WOOLIES.

"G'day, you need something?"

"Yes, I need some half and half for a recipe. With all these cream choices, I am confused."

"Good on ya madam. I can tell by your accent that you are American. Whose ya votin' for..."

"The half and half problem, please..."

"Well, we don't see anything like that, I reckon."

"I will just use whole milk, then."

"Right you go miss, see ya latah"

LATER THAT DAY....

"Mom, why do all their pizzas have pineapple or capsicum on them. I'd like something else for tea."

"Not now buddy, I am overtaking this car that decided it had to park right there next to the curb."

"Why don't they go down to the carpark?"

"I don't know, Surferdude. AAAK! I barely avoided that pedestrian. Now look, that wheelie bin has blown over into the street."

"No worries, Mom!!!"

GRRRRR!!!!

So now, when you come to visit us you can fit right in by using the local lingo.

Too right!!!!!

Things I like this week:

1. Beautiful warm days at the beach...this is what I signed up for!

2. Having my vacuumer back (see previous blog posting)

3. Delicious Aussie fruit and veg.

Things I don't like this week:

1. Shopping carts that roll sideways at the grocery stores...they ALL do it!

2. Laid back Aussies who cross the street wherever they want . . . they ALL do it! (Why even bother to paint crosswalk lines, I wonder?)

3. Too warm to wear my Uggs...what a shame they don't make flip flops...sorry, thongs.