Strine - Aussie Slang
To be used with care!
Below are some of the more famous slang words and phrases used in Australia. But you need to use them with care! Some words have very different meanings in other cultures.
About right - true or correct
Agro - angry. “He’s a bit agro”
Arvo - in the afternoon. “I am going fishing this arvo”
Aussie - Australia “an Aussie businessman”
Bad way - you’re in a bad way if you have been hit by a bus
Banana Bender - Queenslander
Barbie - an Ozzie way of cooking outdoors. “Throw a prawn on the barbie”
Barrack - to support (cheer for) a sport definitely not “root for”
Bastard - a term of affection or abuse. “A good old bastard” (a nice person), “You rotten bastard” (abuse), “The poor old bastard died”
Battler - “A bit of a battler” someone who has an uphill battle in life
Bewdie - great. “This ship’s a bewdie”
Big smoke - the city
Billabong - pond or waterhole
Biscuit - American cookie
Black stump - mythical distant place “beyond the black stump”
Bloke - an Australian male. “He’s a good bloke”
Blowies - blowflies
Bludger - someone who doesn’t do his share of the work. “He’s a bludger”
Blower - telephone. Get him on the blower
Blue - a fight or argument
Bob’s yer uncle - everything will be OK
Body Shop - fitness establishment
Boot - trunk of a car
Brass Razoo - valueless. “Not worth a brass razoo”
Breckie - breakfast
Buck’s party - groom’s farewell party
Bugger - “A silly old bugger” (an old fool), “A nice old bugger” (likeable), “You bugger off” (get lost), “I’ve been buggered about” (messed around), “I’m buggered” (worn out)
Buggarise about - to waste time
Bull Artist - someone who embellishes a story, lies or exaggerates
Bum - Australians sit of their bums, definitely not on their fannies
Bush - the bush, the country
Caravan - trailer, a van behind a car
Chips - French fries
Chook - chicken
Chuck-a-uee - make a U turn in a car
Chunder - to vomit
Cobber - mate
Cocky - beautiful Australia bird, or a farmer
Conk - nose “he’s got a big conk”
Cooeee - a bush call to attract attention
Copper - policeman
Crook - ill “I feel crook”
Crust - job “What do you do for a crust?”
Cossie - bathers for swimming
Crackers - mad “he is crackers”
Crawler - a person who fawns. Crawling to the boss.
Cushie - easy. “a cushie job”
Dead set - a certainty
Dear - expensive
Dill - fool or idiot
Ding-bat someone a little crazy
Dinki-di - True Blue, on the level
Doona - a comforter on the bed
Doovelacky - a gadget you can’t think of another name for
Do ya block - get mad
Drongo - fool or idiot
Dunny - an old outside lavatory
Durex - sticky tape
Earbasher - a person who never stops talking
Fair dinkum - “is that right?” or it’s true
Flamin’ thing - curse “I can’t get this flamin’ thing to start
Flogged - stolen “my watch was flogged” also to sell
Footie - Australian Rules football
Furphy - irrelevant, misleading “that’s a Furphy”
G’day - good day, welcome
Galah - a beautiful Australian bird, or a fool “you stupid galah”
Garbo - a trash collector
Gear - clothes “get your gear off”
Good sort - an attractive woman
Grog - alcohol
Grotty - dirty
Grouse - good “It’s a grouse day”
Hard Yakka - hard work
Hooroo - goodbye
Jackaroo - ranch hand
Jillaroo - female ranch hand
Joker - put down of a person “who’s the joker over there?”
Kiwi - a New Zealander
Knocker - a person who continually criticises someone or something
Lamington - small piece of sponge cake dipped in chocolate and rolled in coconut
Larrakin - wild young man or boy
Leg it - walk
Lift - elevator
Lingo - language “if you are going to Australia, you had better learn the lingo”
Lippie - lip stick
Lob - drop
Lollies - candy
Lousy - tight with money “he’s a bit lousy”
Main drag - main street
Mate - a friend “he’s a mate of mine”
Milko - milkman
Mince - ground beef, hamburger meat
Misses - the wife
Mo - moustache
Mozzy - mosquito
Mug - someone who hasn’t got a clue, someone easily fooled “a mug punter”
Muso - musician
Nappies - diapers
Never never - desert regions of Australia
Niggly - irritable “your a bit niggly”
Nipper - small child
No worries - it will be OK
Oldie - a term used by a teenagers to describe their parents
Oz - Australia
Offsider - an assistant
Ocker - Aussie male who dresses in T-shirts, shorts and thongs “he’s a bit of an ocker”
Outback - the country
Ozzie - Australian “an ozzie business”
Piker - bludger, doesn’t do his share
Pinch - steal
Pokies - poker machines
Pommy - English person
Postie - postman
Pozzie - position
Prang - car accident
Punter -ordinary person
Ratbag - a no gooder “he’s a ratbag”
Ripper - good “it’s a ripper of a day”
Roo - kangaroo
Rubber - eraser
Rubbish - trash
Sandshoes - canvas footwear, sneakers
Sarvo - this afternoon
Serviette - napkin
Scone - An American baking powder biscuit. Aussies put jam and cream on them.
Scooner - glass of beer
Shagged - exhausted
She’ll be right - everything will be OK
Sheila - a good looking woman
Shonky - not above board, doubtful “sounds a bit shonky”
Skite - exaggerate or boast
Sling off - put some one down
Smash repairs - body shop
Smoke oh - a tea, coffee, or cigarette break
Snag - sausage
Sook - a whimperer “he’s a real sook”
Spewing - upset “I spewed when I heard the price”
Station - large ranch - sometimes thousands of square miles
Strife - trouble
Strides - trousers
Strewth - an exclamation
Stroppy - someone in a bad temper
Stouch - a fight or punch-up
Stubbies - short trousers
Stubby - small glass bottle of beer
Sunnies - sun glasses
Suss - to search “I’ll suss it out”
Swag - a bedroll carried of the shoulder
Swagman - or swaggie. A wanderer
Tap - faucet
Teararse - person who tries to do something too fast
Thong - rubber sandal
Tinny - can a beer
Tomato sauce - ketchup
Too right - yes, that’s right
Torch - flashlight
Troppo - someone a little mad “gone troppo”
True Blue - real “a true blue Aussie”
Tucker - food
Turps - grog, alcohol “on the turps” drinking too much
Uni - university
Ute - a truck
Vegemite - A True Blue Aussie spread. Made from yeast extract and spread on toast or sandwiches (non-Aussies are told it’s made from squashed flies)
Wacko - someone who’s a bit mad
Whinger - someone who always complains
Yabber - talk
Yakker - hard work, hard yacker
Yacking - talk too much
Yarn - a good story
Your shout - your turn to pay
PHRASES
Across the ditch - New Zealand
Buggered if I know - I don’t know
Catch ya later - see you later
Choke a brown dog - food so bad that even a working dog wouldn’t eat it
Coppin it sweet - to take the consequences of ones actions
Couldn’t lie straight in bed - a dishonest person
Crack a tinny - open a can of beer
Crook as a mongrel dog - to feel very sick
Didn’t come down in the last shower - I wasn’t born yesterday
First cab off the rank - getting in early
Get crackin’ - move it
Get stuck into it - do it
Give it a burl - give it a try
Got kangaroos in the top paddock - mad, a fool
Have a go ya mug - shouted at a sportsperson who isn’t trying
Hit the cot - go to bed
Home & hosed - so far ahead that winning is a formality
I’m Jack of this - I’ve had enough
May all your chooks turn into emus and kick your dunny door down - a curse
Not in the race - no hope
Not the full quid - a bit simple
Not worth feedin’ - a no hoper, not worth wasting your time on
Not worth two bob - worthless
On the nose - smells, also not legitimate
Pull yer ‘ed in - shut up
Put the bite on - ask someone for money
Rough as guts - poor quality
Stunned mullet - half asleep
Spit the dummy - loose one’s cool
She’ll be right - all will be OK
Shoot through - disappear
Slower than a wet week - slower than normal
Turfed out - removed
Turn it up - you must be joking
Up a gum tree - in a difficult situation
Wouldn’t work in an iron lung - lazy
Y’er not wrong - you are correct
You’ve got buckleys - you have no chance at all