I’ve been in Australia for almost a year now, and it’s safe to say that a few times I’ve stood there with a blank expression on my face. The Aussies do speak English, but there’s still a lot of words that we’re unaware of in the UK, and probably the rest of the world. If you’re planning on working and living in Australia, or travelling for a long period of time, it’s worth knowing the following: (Note there are a lot more slang terms, but these are the ones I’ve picked up on and Aussies say all the time – even I’ve started saying them!)
Arvo – Afternoon
Avo – Avocado
Barbie – BBQ
Bogan – The Aussie version of a chav/redneck
Bonzer – Excellent
Bottle’o – Bottle shop – A shop that sells alcohol (Supermarkets don’t)
Bush telly – Campfire
Capsicum – A pepper – red, yellow or green
CC – Canadian Club (Usually CC and dry – Canadian Club & Ginger Ale)
Chook – A chicken
Cobber – Friend
C*nt – Friend (Don’t get offended, it’s not a swear word here, parents say it to kids, even teachers etc. It means friend!)
Esky – A cool box to store food/beers etc
G’Day – Hello
Glad Wrap – Cling Film
Goon – Cheap box wine (very popular with backpackers. 4 litres for around $14 depending which part of Australia you’re in. Don’t ask what’s in it, you don’t want to know!)
Grog – Alcohol
Lollies – Sweets/candy – everything is a lolly to the Aussies and not what we think of when we say lollies back home
Maccas – McDonalds
Manchester – Bed linen (we were very confused when we first saw an aisle at the supermarket saying ‘Manchester’)
Oath – Agreeing with something/Saying something is true
Pommy – A British person
Pot – A beer glass size – pot of beer – quite small, less than half a pint
Schooner – A beer glass size – around 3 quarters of a pint
Servo – Service Station
Stubby – Can of beer
Thongs – Flip flops
Tomato Sauce – Ketchup (Aussies look at you with a blank expression if you ask for Ketchup)
Ute – A pick up truck
Yew – People say this when they’re excited, such as a surfer catching a good wave will shout it
Zucchini – A courgette (don’t ask for a courgette over here, they will look at you with a blank expression)
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