Australian Slang
Almost every language has its variations of colloquial language. And even if you think your English (if you are not a native speaker) would be good enough in this regard, then you have not yet made any acquaintance with the Australian slang.
The language often sounds in comparison to Oxford English, as if some words are unusually elongated. This has the consequence that the Australians in other words and phrases again have to swallow many syllables, so that a sentence doesn’t sound too long.
A good example is the long drawn-out “G’daaaiii” (g’day) in Australian English. This is also one of the first expressions you should remember. Since a “g’day” is given somewhere daily to you as a friendly greeting.
Furthermore, Australians love belittlements and abbreviations. It still happens to me that I do not immediately understand what Australians are talking about. The words of the Australian slang often have no resemblance to other words in English.
There is an interesting article on the ABC-New: ‘Get yer hand off it, mate’: Why Australian slang is not dying
A little table of daily Australian slang
And when you’re invited to “tea”, you’re inevitably thinking of tea time and Earl Gray, but you will have a nice dinner when you except the invitation.
Here are a few examples I often hear (for example from my Australian wife):
| Australian Slang | … and what it means |
| Aussie | Australian |
| Barbie | Barbecue (not the american doll) |
| Bikie | Biker |
| Bikkie | Biscuit |
| Billabong | A stagnant pool of water |
| Billy | A tin used by bushmen to boil tea, a billypot |
| Bities | Biting insects |
| Bloke | Man |
| Bloody | Intensifier – used to intensify what follows (“a bloody good time“, “a bloody awful mistake“,“a bloody good country”) 1 |
| Blowie | Blow fly (but also a blow job 1) |
| Boatie | A boating enthusiast |
| Brekky | Breakfast |
| Brickie | Bricklayer |
| Brissie | Brisbane |
| Brolly | Umbrella |
| Bubbly | Sparkling wine |
| Budgie | budgerigar |
| Budgie Smugglers | A men′s tight fitting brief swimsuit or “Speedos” |
| Cab Sav | Cabernet Sauvignon |
| Chook | A chicken, especially a hen |
| Chrissie | Christmas |
| Dag | One who dresses unfashionably or without apparent care about appearance |
| Dinky-di | Genuine |
| Dunny | Outside lavatory |
| Firie | Firefighter |
| Footy | The game of rugby, usually Australian rules football or rugby league, but not football (soccer) |
| Furphy | a rumour, or an erroneous or improbable story |
| Garbo | a rubbish collector |
| Greenie | An environmentalist; someone who shows concern for the environment |
| Hoon | Kind of hooligan on the road |
| Hubby | Husband |
| Joey | Baby kangaroo |
| Kindie | Kindergarten |
| Kiwi | (informal) A New Zealander. |
| Lambo | Lamborghini |
| Lippy | Lipstick |
| Macca‘s | Mc Donald‘s |
| Middy | 285 ml (or so) beerglas in NSW |
| Mossie | Mosquito |
| Parmy | Chicken parmigiana |
| Pokie | Poker machine |
| Pommie | Englishman |
| Postie | Postman |
| Pot | 285 ml (or so) beerglas in QLD |
| Port | Suitcase |
| Prezzy | Present |
| Reffo | Refugee |
| Rego | Vehicle Registration |
| Rellie | A relative |
| Roo | Kangaroo |
| Salvos | Salvation army |
| Savvy | Sauvignon Blanc (wine) |
| Scratchy | Instant Scratch-It, kind of lotto ticket |
| Servo | A service station, being a place to buy petrol for cars |
| Sheila | Woman |
| Shonky | dubious, E.g. a shonky practice, shonky business etc. |
| Sickie | Day off sick from work |
| Slab | Carton of bottles or cans of beer |
| Smoko | A short break such as a rest or a coffee or tea break |
| Stubby | A small, squat beer bottle |
| Sparkie | An informal name for an electrician |
| Stockies | Refers to the stock standard rims or wheels on a car |
| Subbie | Subcontractor |
| Sunnies | Sunglasses |
| Surfie | Someone who goes surfing |
| Thongs | Flip Flops |
| Tinny | Small aluminium boat |
| Togs | Swim Suit |
| Tradie | Tradesman |
| Truckie | Truckdriver |
| Tucker | Food |
| Ute | Utility vehicle, pickup truck |
| Vedgies | Vegetables |
| Wharfie | A wharf labourer |
| Woolies | Woolworths, a supermarket/grocery store chain |
| Yachtie | A yachtsman or yachtswoman |
Sometimes the term “Bruce”, which refers to an Australian man, is also used. There is often the running gag that all Australian men are called Bruce. The British comedy group Monty Python has taken this to the extreme in one of their sketches.
1 Thanks for clarifying to “unimpressed”
Is your wife above the age of 60? Because these are some pretty outdated definitions.
For one, the “G’daaaaiii” is a very specific (and somewhat less common) form of greeting, denoting surprise. A normal g’day is not drawn out at all and can be said in basically one syllable in about half a second – think “gday mate just the diesel thanks”
Billabong is not slang, but is now a defined and accepted word.
Billy has nothing to do with making tea, a billy is a bong/waterpipe
Bloody doesnt mean “very” on its own, but is used much like “Fucking” would in the sense of emphasizing the next term. “Mate it’s bloody thrashed!”
Blowie means blowjob, not blowfly. To refer to a blowfly you just say fly.
Boatie – literally have never heard this. Can’t say it doesn’t exist as slang, but it’s definitely not australia-wide.
Chook also refers to middle-aged women, as well as hens.
And honestly there’s so many more inaccuracies but I’m bored of fixing your article.
At a guess I’d guess you’re upper-middle class and in your 50s+ living in either Bris, Syd or Melb inner suburbs.