They speak English…sort of.
June 17th, 2005 at 07:43 pm in AussieI’ve mentioned before how I purchased a small notepad to carry around with me wherever I went. Well, one of the things I used it for besides jotting down grocery lists and updating my Hit List (Mike Novak, you better watch your back!) was keeping track of all the different words that are used over here. But before I delve deeper into this, I want to say two things. (1) I’ll probably misspell a few of the Australian counterparts for these words. I’ve had brekkie spelled three different ways to me on MSN (brekkie, brekky, brecky) and so, I’ve just chosen the method with which I’ve been spelling them in my journal every night. And (2) when I say that these words aren’t used back home, I’m almost certain that I’ll get a comment from somebody in some place like Montana or Mississippi saying “Hey, what are you talking about?! We use that all the time here!” Like Australia, America can be extremely regional when it comes to language. Therefore, when I state we don’t use these words, I mean we neither use them regularly in the South or in popular culture, such as music, TV, or movies. Okay? So, with that disclaimer taken care of…
Root.
Tell me, dear friends, when you hear the above word, what do you think of? I can already assure you that if you are reading this while in America, you are thinking to yourself, “the crap in the ground that soaks up water for trees” while if you are reading this while in Australia, you are giggling and / or blushing and /or thinking of the person you have the hots for. Why the difference? Because here, it is one of the most commonly used terms for sex. As you can guess, this lead to some confusion for me when I first heard the term being used, but I’ll save that story for later. I told it for my audition for We’ll Make an Aussie Out of You and I don’t want to give away all the funny parts before you all get a chance to watch it (which should be soon after I return stateside!)
| Some of the many words that are commonly shortened to end in “ie” or “y.” | ||
|---|---|---|
| Chewie | Gum | |
| Brekkie | Breakfast | One of the few words from this family I actually use now. |
| Mozzie | Mosquitoes | |
| Uni | University | Again, I use this word now all the time. |
| Lollies | Candy | Any type of candy, not just lollipops, are generally called lollies over here. |
| Esky | Cooler | |
| Footy | Football (rugby) | |
| Sunnies | Sunglasses | |
| Words that are commonly shortened to end in “o.” | ||
| Arvo | Afternoon | This is by far the most common one heard. Took me a while to figure out what in the hell they were talking about. |
| Airco | Air conditioning | |
| Servo | Gas station | |
| Foods | ||
| Snag | Sausage | |
| Biscuit | Cookie | |
| Rockmelon | Cantaloupe | Every time I tell people what we call rockmelon, they look at me funny and ask, “isn’t that some kind of animal in Africa?” “No,” I tell them, “that’s an Antelope.” Crazy Aussies… |
| Capsicum | Bell Pepper | |
| Muesli bars | Granola bars | Am I the only person who thinks muesli bars sounds like some sort of bar covered in mucus? |
| Chook | Chicken | |
| Grog | Beer | I just like the sound of this word. |
| Everyday items / places. | ||
| Rubbish | Trash | Not really sure why it’s called rubbish, but so be it. |
| Thongs | Sandals | Again, this led to some very confusing thoughts going through my head the first few days I was here. |
| Docket | Receipt | |
| Torch | Flashlight | When I first heard somebody say they needed a torch, I of course envisioned a thick stick with a flaming rag dipped in oil at the top. Unfortunately, they were simply talking about a flashlight. |
| Ute | Pickup truck | These are actually not pickup trucks in our sense, but their version of them. Picture an el camino and that’s basically what they are. |
| College | Dorms | Here, college means dorms. So basically, I go to Newcastle Uni and live in Edwards College. I know, it’s confusing. |
| Fag | Cigarette | I think I might have remotely heard of this one back home, but if so, it was through a book or song. Certainly not through casual conversation. |
| Full stop | Period | They use the same terms for question and exclamation marks, but instead of saying period, they say “full stop.” Retarded, isn’t it? =) |
| Bench | Counter top | Instead of a “kitchen counter,” it’s called a “kitchen bench.” |
| Mobile | Cell phone | Yeah, they say mobile. I was expecting that to be the case, but it still sounds funny. |
| Petrol | Gasoline | Again, this was another word I was expecting them to use, but still found funny to hear all the time. |
| Fringe | Hair Bangs | For some reason I feel as if Fringe is strictly Australian, or at least non-American, yet I can’t shake the feeling that I’ve heard the term used before back home. |
| Big W (pronounced Big Dub) | Wal Mart | Big Dub is Wal Mart. They have the exact same store layouts, the exact same yellow smiley face icon, the exact same rollback signs, etc. But Hannah takes offense any time I say I need to go to Wal Mart, because she points out that Big Dub does NOT sell guns, which apparently is what makes a Wal Mart. |
| Maccas | McDonalds | Again, in true Aussie spirit, they shortened the name of McDonalds. |
| Hungry Jacks | Burger King | They still use the old Burger King logo over here with the name in-between two buns, but the name of the company is actually called Hungry Jacks. I have no idea why they use a different name, but it’s the same logo and everything as Burger King. |
| Terms | ||
| Heaps | A lot | Back home, when talking about a large amount of things, people tend to use phrases such as “a lot,” “a ton,” ” a bunch,” etc. Over here, it’s “heaps.” Just don’t ever say “I had a heaps go,” because that doesn’t make any sense. =) |
| Whinge | Bitch and moan | When complaining about something, it’s called “having a whinge” or “whinging.” |
| D & M | Deep & Meaningful | Whenever people have a serious conversation about anything personal, it’s considered having a “D & M.” Hannah likes to have these while drunk. |
| Pash | Kiss | A trust me, you don’t want to know what a Rainbow Pash is. |
| Dag | Nerd | |
| Skull | Chug | Used just like chug back home. When you’re middy is almost empty, you simply skull it and get another. |
| Pissed | Drunk | Back home, pissed usually means “angry,” but can be used to mean “drunk.” Over here, the usage of the word is flipped. If somebody says they are pissed, most of the time they are referring to a state of intoxication. |
| Got the shits | Angry | For a while, I thought when people were saying they had the shits, it meant they…well…they were spending an inordinate amount of time in the bathroom. |
| Bogan | White trash? | I don’t really know how to properly explain this. It’s a term basically used for somebody who is uneducated, lazy and dresses in old, crappy clothes. |
| Fanny | Um… | This doesn’t refer to the backside, like back home, but instead to the front side. |
| Zed | Z | They say every letter like we do, but when it comes to Z, they simply say “zed.” I have no idea why. |
| Bags | To call something. | For example, if you were walking out to the car with your friends, you might shout “Bags shotgun!” |
| Couldn’t be bothered | Don’t feel like it | If you don’t feel like doing something, you just say “I couldn’t be bothered.” |
| Mate | Friend, Buddy | Yes, they use this word all the time. Just not in the stereotypical “G’day mate” voice that we are accustomed to hearing back home in movies. I rather love this word now, as well. |
So there you have it. I’m sure I left off a few words, so I’ll come back here and update this list as I remember them.
Memma
Its not a Rasberry Pash its a Rainbow Pash, but still its gross!
Goob http://www.shyzer.com
I fixed it. Thanks for pointing that out.
Casey http://none
airco = air con,
Bid W is actually Big W (Big fricking sign goob, dunno how you missed this one!)
Skull = Scull,
Hungry Jacks was originally a franchise of Burger king or something, but after legal mumbo jumbo etc we now have HJ’s. We used to have both.
also it’s rugby not rugy.
Now.. a bogan.
I’ll send you a song by Area 7 called ‘Nobody likes a bogan’; it might spawn another shyzer post.
Goob http://www.shyzer.com
That’s what I have for airco.
The Big W and rugby were a typos.
I like skull better.
And thanks for the HJ info.
Lucas http://www.slaad.com
I can’t help but comment on your first word, root.. The first thing a geek will think of isn’t a tree (and certainly not sex) but of the root account that you find in unix/linux. It’s the account that has access to do anything that any user could possibly do….It’s sometimes called “superuser”. It’s windows equivalent is the Administrator account. Usually you hear the term root in reference to trying to break into a system. If you want to control what’s going on then you need root access..
Nice list, though I can’t say as though I envy your job of trying to translate english to english there…
Came in through BE BR.
Dani http://www.butterflydani.com/
I’m there with Lucas, that’s what I thought of first. Root is for geeks. Though sex may not always be. hehe
Will http://wieso.blogdrive.com
Douglas Adams described the Bogon species quite accurately when a fleet of the bastards’ destructors demolished Earth in the hitchhiker’s guide to make way for a hyperspace bypass. Zed is also to differentiate Z from C when describing the Earth’s location in the Galaxy verbally, as in “Zed-Zed-Nine-Plural-Zed-Alpha.”
Ok. So that might make me seem like a nerd. But if I “root” a woman in such a way as I would “root” a un*x system, would I not be conquering her secret parts? I fail to see your logic that root != root. Just cuz I’m not a dumb aussie, and I say fuck when I mean fuck? Heheh.
Sarah
It’s bogAn,not BogOn. Aussies are not dumb.
Fellner
ok, now you’ve got my curious as to what a rainbow pash is…gimme a hint at least
Casey http://none
Haha, try to get Memma / Keeley on goob’s msn and they might tell you.
meg http://justlikemeg.blogdrive.com
hahaha.. truly hilarious i must say…. im going to show everyone.. but if i lived there i would be llike ” wHaT?!?!?! ” all the time.. soo confusing..
Goob http://www.shyzer.com
Fellner, hit me up on IM and I’ll explain it to you. Or better yet, I’ll include it in your next e-mail.
Memma
Fellner, I don’t think you want to know wot a Rainbow Pash is. When I told every1 what it was they almost killed me for destroying their lil innocent minds!!
ginger http://gingerbeck.blogspot.com
Hey, these are cool. Thanks for listing them!
Fellner
“they almost killed me for destroying their lil innocent minds!!” Memma, I think you and I would be good friends if I lived in Australia
Memma
Hey Fellner, yeah i have a dirty mind. As the Quote list suggests. So if u have a dirty mind then im sure we’d get along
Fellner
Yeah, I have a pretty dirty mind too. Goob can probably back me up on that…
Goob http://www.shyzer.com
So when are you two gonna stop flirting?!
Fellner
Does it count as flirting if you’re not on the same continent?….and Goob, you will not be invited to the beach unless you email me for the first time in like a month! you just don’t care anymore
Fellner
I still want to know what a rainbow pash is, dammit!
Memma
Flirting?!?! Hahahaha. Well a Rainbow Pash is the most digusting thing in the world. It involves…..Nah Im not gunna tell!
Fellner
Don’t do this to me, Memma! I need to know. It’s driving me crazy.
Memma
I better not tell you, other ppl may take offence!!! Goob will tell u some other time! Ill remind him, lol. He 4gets everything! cya
Fellner
Ok, so it’s killing me so much that I Googled “Rainbow Pash” and it came back with all this stuff about Jessie Jackson…haha it thought I had misspelled Rainbow Push. Memma, you don’t know who that is probably, but trust me Goob will find it really funny.
So Memma, what are you up to this weekend? Wanna go get heaps of coffee and get involved in a D&M? Give me a ring on the tele…
Memma
Hey Fellner, Wasn’t Jesse Jackson a civil Rights leader or something in the 1960’s? I did American History for two years, i think i member his name from something. But everytime i learn new stuff it pushes old stuff out of my brain! Lol, gotta love the Simpsons. Lol, up to nothing this weekend, getting drunk probably, dancing around. Yeah D&M would b great, lol….”give me a ring on the tele” wot the?!?!?
Fellner
Sorry about that, I was trying to see if I could use Goob’s glossary to talk like an Aussie but probably just wound up talking like a frickin’ moron instead. Yeah, Jesse Jackson was (and still is) a civil rights leader, and he just so happens to be from a town just west of Spartanburg, where Goob and I grew up. Anyway, you must tell me what a rainbow pash is!
Memma
Ah, Sparticus eh, hahahaha. Thats wot I call it. I made Goob promise me that he will tell u next time he talks to u, but then again he was drunk at the time….
Mark Vincent http://home.people.net/~andmark/
Gudday,
There are a few things missing that you could add to make the list more definitive:
Strewth = God’s truth - honest
Fair Dinkum = Authentic
Spewin = rather upset
Have a slash = urinate
Piss up = drunken party
Hang a grogan/drop mates off at the pool/Grog bog = go to the toilet for no2
Dunny = toilet
Dunny budgie = household fly
Town bike = everyone gets a ride
Togs/Speedos/Boasters/Pokers/Pointers/BudgieSmugglers = men’s lycra swim outfit
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A few corrections: Big W is in fact Woolworths, not Wal Mart
The hitchhikers guide mentioned by Will actually refers to Vogons, not Bogans. Bogans are in fact the stereotypical low income uneducated and socially retarded amongst us. We know that you have bogans there too, but are too politically correct to mention them.
_________________
Quick question: why do you have a world series but dont invite anyone from the rest of the world?
_________________
Aussie joke:
The sequel to “Silence of the lambs” : “Shuddup youz”
Cheers
Legend
Goob http://www.shyzer.com
Mark - Big W is Wal Mart in the parts of Aussie I went, not Woolworths.
Quick Question Answer: Because the best in the world are playing here in America. Most teams are populated with players from South America and Asia, not just players from America.