#Strange australian lingo full#
#Strange australian lingo plus#

Its origin is unquestionably British, as is the mandarin “senior public servant”, though we see its potential as Aussie rhyming slang mandarin duck. And daks, a blend of Dad and slack(s), was the exclusive label of Simpson’s of Piccadilly it lives on in our beloved trackie daks (these days our pandemic pants) and newly minted dack “to steal something” (presumably by shoving it down your daks).ĭunny comes from dunnakin underworld slang for what was known euphemistically as “the necessary” ( danna “dung” + ken “house”). Strides originally referred to pantaloons with plenty of stride. Others on this quiz list were once British English, but we’ve given them an Aussie makeover. ‘Trackie daks’ were ideal for both watching the Olympics and competing in them. Even illywhacker takes its inspiration from American spieler “con-man” (it needs some fossicking to track down illy’s origin in the word “eeler-spee”, a transposition of spieler). True, pinpointing the origins of slang is notoriously difficult, but have a gander “to look” does make its first appearance in early 1900s American criminal slang. There are those on this list that (wait for it) were originally American English. They’re slang curiosities – rarely heard but still loved. This pineapple, though, is the A$50 note (compare the $5 prawn, $10 blue (swimmer), $20 lobster and $100 avo). When did you last use like a Bondi tram, or pineapple for that matter, unless you’re getting the rough end of it. There are also a few lexical zombies on this list. These shortenings are thriving, as any sparky or garbo could tell you. Shortenings like mozzie are also being exported (and let’s not forget the global Aussie rockstar selfie). Many are part of everyday language ( furphy, bogan), and some we’ve even gifted to the rest of the world ( ratbag and its offspring ratbaggery, spitting the dummy).

It has a few staples of you-beaut Aussie lingo, some minted in this country ( sanger, snag, drongo).

#Strange australian lingo full#

Here’s the full list:Ī curious collection, you might well be thinking.

#Strange australian lingo plus#

This means there are 19 expressions identified as Australian, plus the two rhyming slang expressions- actually another of the 19 ( cheese and kisses “missus”) is rhyming slang too, but not identified as such. Three expressions are repeated ( furphy and spit the dummy each occur four times, and daks twice). Of those 109 questions, 26 explicitly mention Australian slang and another two mention Australian rhyming slang. A sample from April 2006 until March 2021 contains 109 such questions (that’s about one slang question every six weeks). We’re fortunate to have such a data source: The Age newspaper runs a daily quiz on its puzzles page, and questions about slang appear occasionally. Out of more than 1,000 unique phrases, the answer is (drum roll please!) - various versions of mate, followed by yeah, nah (though mate gets unfairly boosted because it’s tagged onto so many favourites like g’day mate).Īnother place to look is in contexts where our knowledge about slang is made explicit. And we can give you a teaser of what we’ve found.ĪBC radio stations around the country have asked their listeners: “What do you think is the greatest Aussie slang word or phrase?”. We can also look at the results others have gathered. We could try to answer these questions by collecting data in a survey - and we are doing just that.

Shop now Getting to the bottom of Australian slang Now we worry mate will die at the hands of dude.īut which words go, and which words stay, and which ones stay slangy? And why do we love this language so much? First it was the arrival of digger, then the threat of buddy or pal. Mate is even older, even though since the 1930s people have been worrying about its well-being.

They may not be part of your everyday lingo, but they can have a special place in your heart.Īnd heaps of grouse Aussie words have been doing the hard yakka for decades- grouse is around 100 years old. What’s interesting about Australian slang - as far as “slang” goes - is the mere fact that some of these words stick around for so long, and that we still call them slang. What’s interesting about Australian slang When was the last time you heard someone say “cobber” or “dinkum”?“ Fairly recently, actually - we’re starting to collect these terms, and rest assured, we’re finding them. We know what you’re thinking: “Yeah, nah. Expressions like budgie smugglers, fair suck of the Siberian sandshoe or flat out like a lizard drinking may not be the stuff of great literature and poetry, but they draw on the same devices: metaphor, irony and features of sound such as alliteration.