Australian to English Dictionary

One of the truly charming and enraging things about Australians is their habit, or dare I say pride, in butchering the English language.  This doesn't just take place in situations where two blokes might be whining about the latest footy result like a knocker while  pounding back a couple stubbys and snags.  No, rather this takes place almost everywhere and all the time, from speaches in Parliament, to business meetings, to radio announcers to everyday conversations.  So, here is a quick and easy translation of some of the more common Australianisms that one is likely to experience at any given moment:

ace – excellent

ambo - Paramedic, Ambulance Officer

‘ang on – wait a moment

arvo – afternoon

‘avago – have a go (usually ‘ya mug’ – you fool – is added); try harder

barbie – barbecue or BBQ

bewdy or bewdy bottler – good; the best

Beyond the Black Stump – far from the city; the outback

bickie - biscut or cookie

bingle – minor car accident

bludger – layabout, one who wants something for nothing, person who does not work or works very little

bluey – a swag or blanket roll

bombed out – unsuccessful; also drunk

bonza - excellent

buckleys - no chance

budgy smugglers - swimming atire, also referred to as 'togs'

burl - 'give it a burl' give it a go; attempt something

by crickey – an expression of surprise

cactus – useless, broken

cark it – to die

cashed up – having plenty of ready money

cheesed (off) – bored; fed up

chewy – chewing gum

chook – domestic fowl

chook raffle – a lottery in which the prize is a chicken; usually held in a ‘pub’ (hotel)

chuck a wobbly – go berserk

cobber – friend

cocky – know all; also a small farmer

combo - combination

come a cropper – to fall heavily

cot case – a drunk or exhausted person only fit for bed

cracking - excellent / get cracking - start something

Darwin stubby - 2 litre bottle of beer

deadhead – a stupid person

deadly - excellent ("The Deadlys" is an award program to recognise the contribution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders to their community and to Australian society)

dead marine – an empty beer bottle (also: dead soldier)

dinky-di – genuine

do your lolly (mellon; nana; loaf) – to get very angry

dob in – to betray or report someone to the authorities; also to nominate someone for an umpleasent task

don’t get off your bike – calm down

drongo – stupid person

dry as a drovers dog – extremely thirsty

dunny – an outside toilet

esky – a portable icebox (brand name)

fair crack of the whip – ease up (also: fair suck of the surf)

fair dinkum – honest; genuine

fair go – a chance; also an appeal for fairness

flake (out) – to collapse; to fall asleap

flat out like a lizard drinking – lying prone; also rushed; extremely busy

fossick – to search for something

freak out – to have an extreme reaction (good or bad) to something

full as a goog (tick; boot) – drunk; full of food after a big meal

game as Ned Kelly – very brave (Ned Kelly was a daring bushranger [robber] in 1878)

garbo - garbage collector

g’donya – good for you; well done; can also be sarcastic; or mean ‘I don’t believe you’

go off like a bucket of prawns in the sun – to create commotion

goodo – yes, alright

goon - wine sold inside a bag and cardboard box

gutful – more than enough (I’ve had a gutful of this – I’ve had enough)

have tickets on yourself – to be conceited

hit the deck – to duck; to put your head down

hit the tin – put money in the kitty; to contribute to a collection of cash

hoon – a stupid or uncultivated person; also a fast or wreckless driver

hooroo – goodbye

jackaroo - male working with cattle or horses

joolaroo - female working as a jackaroo

kero - kerosene

knocker – a person who makes derogatory remarks

larrikin – mischievous, wild or carefree person

lations - family relatives or 'relations'

like a hornet in a bottle – furious

like a possum up a gum tree – moving fast

like a rat up a drainpipe – moving even faster

lingo – language

mackas - McDonalds

mate – good or best friend; also used to greet someone as in ‘G’day mate’

matilda – a blanket roll carried by a swagman

mexicans - people from the state south of yours

milko - milk home delivery person

m’oath – my oath; on my oath. bloody oath - i agree

mug – fool

mulga – rough country (actually: a type of tree)

muso - musician

no-hopper – incompetent person; social misfit

nosh up – a good meal

nick off – to go away; expression meaning ‘lose yourself!’

nifty – stylish; clever; shrewd to the point of dishonesty

ocker – the archetypal uncultivated Australian male

prang – minor car accident

rack off – to go away

ranga - person with red hair

rego - vehicle registration

righto - alright

ring-in – a substitute

rissole - a type of meatball flattened out; or fat meat patty. (also: 'given the rissole' sacked or fired from employment.

rort – a con

sangers – sandwiches

servo - a petrol station or gas station

she’ll be apples, she’s sweet – it’ll be fine

shoot through - to go somewhere else (or he shot through)

shonky – poor quality

shout – to buy drinks for everyone

shrapnel - coins of a low denomination

sickie – a day taken off work, but not necessarily because of illness

skip – Australian-born (from Skippy the kangaroo [a TV show])

skite – a bragger

slack - work left over by a lazy person. To 'pull up the slack' is to do the work left over by others.

a slash - to take 'a slash' or 'have a slash' - to urinate

smoko – a break from work (originally a cigarette)

snags – sausages

speedo - vehicle speedomoter

stinker – an objectionable person

stone the crows – exclamation of astonishment

swag – a blanket roll of light bedding

swagman – a man who travels around the country on foot and takes odd jobs usually in the outback

ratbag – a rogue; an eccentric person

rubbish – to criticice; to mock

servo - petrol station

ta - thank you

tall poppy (/syndrome) - a cultural tendancy to cutt people down to size - criticise people who excell or achieve significantly / or publicly above others

ta-ta – goodbye

the ditch - water between Australia and New Zealand

tinnie – a can of beer; a small aluminum boat

too right – an exclamation meaning ‘I agree’

top drop – a good beer or wine

ute – open backed pick-up truck

veg out – relax

wag – to play truant

wheelie – a noisy skidding turn while driving

whinge – to complain

whopper – something surprisingly big

woop woop - out in the middle of no where

wowser – a killjoy; a prudish teetotaler

yakka – hard or heavy work

yobbo – a loud or stupid uncultivated person

yonks ago (or yonks and yonks ago) - a long time ago

zonked (out) – tired out; exhausted