Aussie slang: The sequel

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Since last weeks initial guide to Australian slang I have been pleased to hear many tourists using the local language and sounding exactly like a true local. It makes tourists more difficult to pick out, but that's not too much of a problem I guess.

Due to popular demand instalment two has been fast-tracked through and is now available, right here. There have been requests for me to video myself saying the example-sentences so tourists and students of Aussie slang can capture the nuances of pronunciation but I'm not sure I'm ready to get in front of the camera just yet, so they'll have to wait.

Anyway cobbers, here we go! Refer to the first post for the definition of cobber.

Yonks: A long time (The actual period is flexible)
Ron: Later on (As in I'll see you later on)
Budgie smugglers: Speedo swimming apparel
Sheila: Female person
Durrie: Cigarette (Also known as a dart, ciggy, lung-lolly or fag. Seriously)
Seppo: Citizen of the United States of America
Prang: Vehicular accident/car wreck.
Servo: Service station, gas station
Top End: Northern Territory
The Gong: Woolongong, New South Wales.
Brisvegas: Brisbane, Queensland
City of Churches: Adelaide, South Australia
Boot: Trunk of a car (Also footwear)
Big set of boots: Extremely wide tyres (tires) on a car
Road train: Semi/prime mover hauling multiple trailers
Battler: Person who consistently struggles/ in a low socio-economic demographic (Aussie battler)
Bluey: An individual with red hair (often shortened to blue)
Nullarbor nut: A bald person (The Nullabor is a vast expanse of treeless land)
Bag of fruit: A man’s suit. (As in business suit)
Dinky-Di: True, correct, genuine
Ankle-biter: Small child
Cactus: Dead or broken
Dead set: True, or correct
Fuck me dead: That's unfortunate/That surprises me
Tucker: Food
Straya: Australia
Iffy: A little risky or unreasonable

I shall now utilise some of these every-day words in a sentence or two to demonstrate their correct usage. Remember, in using these words you will sound exactly like a local and deepen your tourist experience here in Australia. Start talking like this as soon as you de-plane and make your way through customs as follows...

American tourist to (female) customs officer:

G’day, you look like a top shiela! I’ve been on that bloody plane for yonks! Look at my bag of fruit, all crinkled up...It' almost cactus! I’m here from seppo-land (America) to visit the Top End, Brisvegas and The Gong. I might go to the City of Churches as well. Dinky-di! I’ve packed my budgie smugglers so plan to do some surfing too. I’m hiring a car so hopefully its got a big boot for my luggage and I guess I’ll have to go to the servo for petrol. I’m a bit worried about the road trains though, wouldn’t want to get into a prang! Anyway Blue, (Customs officer has red hair), I better go, see you ron.

There you have it, a perfectly legit first conversation to have in Australia as you pass through customs. You'll have that red-haird female customs officer wrapped around your little finger.

Here's another. I’ll utilise a few words from instalment one here also...

I met this yobbo yesterday, a right bogan he was. He got into a prang heading to the big smoke. He picked up bits of his car, shoved them in the boot then just lit a durrie. I tried to nut out what had happened, but couldn’t so decided to bugger off for a bevvy with blue. The car was cactus though and considering he had an ankle biter in the back, I hope he made it to the servo for help.

You will note I slipped in a new word too. Bogan: Person who takes little pride in his appearance, spends his days slacking and drinking beer. A bonus word for you.

I'm telling you right here and now, if you speak like you will fit right in like a local, fair dinkum. (That means for sure.) People will marvel at your command of our language and you'll probably get invited to barbie's all over the place, dead set.

A word of warning though, not all Aussies are as friendly...Whilst you're here you probably want to avoid getting bit by one of these guys. This fucker will kill you in 15 minutes - It's the world's deadliest spider. Funnel web spider


Image credit: Australian Reptile Park

Thanks for reading, you enjoy your stay now, you hear? 😁


Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default - Tomorrow isn't promised.

Be well


P.s. I'll be honest with you, almost no one talks like this here...Australia isn't the backward country it is portrayed to be like on idiot movies like Crocodile Dundee. If you speak like this you will get laughed at and ridiculed, but go right ahead if you like. Oh, you might want to act normally when you're coming through customs...Calling the female customs officer shiela may not go so well for you.

This is a #showcase-sunday post, as initiated by #nonameslefttouse - Reworked from the original post from June 2017.



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31 comments
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Love that last tag.

I'd like to add one, in a sentence. Have we covered shitbox = bad car?

That shitbox was a prang waiting to happen.

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There my be a third slang post...But if there is it will have to ramp up to new heights...Get a little more full-on. Lol.

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Awesome! Gives me an idea for my next post - nz slang 😂

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Get on it bru!

Get ya jandels on, a stubbie out of the chilly bin and get posting.

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So many words mean exactly the same here in sunny Scotland. Boot, is funny. Here it means the same as
you said but also a hideously ugly and/or anything woman*

:0)

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Oh man, I like your secondary version of boot. The G-dog may roll that one out in time. Would "old boot" be a legit deployment Boom?

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Hahaha! Oh yes, you have the knack for our. Old boot is a splendid use of it!!

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It's sealed then...I'm using it.

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So you are saying that movies are not accurate representations of real life? Not sure that is right. :)

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Haha...Well, I'd love to see y'all come down here and talk like this...That would be the best thing ever! But alas no, movies aren't a true representation of real life...I lament that fact sometimes, and sometimes not.

I hope you're doing well mate...We're over at my mother in-laws right now, just about to have some lunch. Faith and her mum are playing Chinese checkers and I'm writing a post about my dad.

#viruslife

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Not doing too bad at the moment. Just got word that my wife is not getting furloughed for the next 6 weeks. That could change later, but for now it is one less thing to make me worry/nervous.

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That would be a relief I'd say! From what I see about the American situation it all looks pretty bleak, especially around the New York area. Not sure how much is media hype though.

Stay safe mate.

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Was gonna say, not sure how many people would take kindly to being referred to as a sheila XD

I forget, did you cover rhyming slang in the last one? (I could go look for it but I'm trying to catch up with progblogs and hs misc never mind the amount of actual work I have to do x_x)

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Was gonna say, not sure how many people would take kindly to being referred to as a sheila

...But fortunately you read my blog all the way so know I made that very same comment. ✅

Hey Ry, get on it sheila my dear...Rhyme-slang away! Lol

Hope you're good over there in WA mate! Stay safe.

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Pffft I'm completely the wrong person for that job XD It's been 17 years and J is still occasionally coming up with crap that's apparently common Aussie slang/knowledge that I have never heard XD

Also perhaps because I didn't grow up with it I can't rhyme slang naturally XP

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You can rhyme, just give it time. Just look inside where your thoughts reside and you'll find that you could, rhyme really good.

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I remember being able to rhyme once when I could write poetry but I don't think I can do that anymore XD

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Come on, you're just being modest...Bust out a limerick or two...Lol.

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If you'd asked me this 20 odd years ago when I was primarily a writer I might have been able to XD as is I can't even remember how a limerick is structured x_x

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The limerick packs laughs anatomical
Into space that is quite economical.
But the good ones I've seen
So seldom are clean
And the clean ones so seldom are comical.

(Lifted from Wikipedia)

If limericks aren't your thing, try a sonnet.

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How do I look?

Like you're wearing a bag of fruit.

That bad?

Dinky-Di.

(Zip)

You could have just said my fly was open.

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That was a ripper read ol' mate.

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Thanks dig, glad you liked it. :)

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G’day, you look like a top shiela! I’ve been on that bloody plane for yonks! Look at my bag of fruit, all crinkled up...It' almost cactus! I’m here from seppo-land (America) to visit the Top End, Brisvegas and The Gong. I might go to the City of Churches as well. Dinky-di! I’ve packed my budgie smugglers so plan to do some surfing too. I’m hiring a car so hopefully its got a big boot for my luggage and I guess I’ll have to go to the servo for petrol. I’m a bit worried about the road trains though, wouldn’t want to get into a prang! Anyway Blue, (Customs officer has red hair), I better go, see you ron.

I tried interpreting this without the glossary, and I'm confused... Even after looking it up, I'm still confused 😆.

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Haha! It's a secret language...In times of war no one can decipher our coded messages. Lol.

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And here I thought Enigma machines were hard to decode. It seems as though a natural Aussie accent is the best form of encryption!

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Haha yeah Enigma shmanigma. 😂

I actually saw an Enigma decoding machine at the Churchill War Rooms below London back in 2018. A fascinating place to visit for a war historian.

Aussies wouldn't have needed one...We had slang. 😁

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I actually saw an Enigma decoding machine at the Churchill War Rooms below London back in 2018. A fascinating place to visit for a war historian.

Sounds like a place where history nerds like me can go to get lost 😅.

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You'd love it if you like history and war history in specifics. We spent hours in there. I will do a post on it someday.

The Enigma machine and below the Churchills war room beneath London...Left exactly how it was at the end of World War Two. I have a heap more of course - It was fascinating.
P1040997.jpg

P1050022.jpg

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Fantastic stuff! I'd definitely like to hear more about it some day 😄.

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