Sandgropers, Cabbage Patchers and Gum Suckers. We 'Sandgropers', or Western Australians, once used the term 'Wise Men from the East' in reference to visitors from the other side – especially the ones who enjoyed telling us how we could improve.
Aussie is Australian slang for Australian, both the adjective and the noun, and less commonly, Australia.
Mate. “Mate” is a popular word for friend. And while it's used in other English-speaking countries around the world, it has a special connection to Australia. In the past, mate has been used to address men, but it can be gender-neutral.
Pash (pash) / Kiss
An indelicate description of kissing passionately, hence the name. Pashing typically leads to two things: pash rash (red marks around the lips caused by excessive kissing), and/or rooting (the crass Australian term for the birds and the bees).
5. Sheila = Girl. Yes, that is the Australian slang for girl.
Before discussing their language, it's important to know what people from Australia and New Zealand call themselves and their countries. People from Australia call their homeland “Oz;” a phonetic abbreviation of the country's name, which also harkens to the magical land from L.
In Australian English, diminutives are usually formed by taking the first part of a word, and adding an ending such as a, o, ie, or y. Sometimes, no ending is added. While the form of a diminutive is arbitrary, their use follows strict rules.
While some Australian speakers would pronounce “no” as a diphthong, starting on “oh” as in dog and ending on “oo” as in put, others begin with an unstressed “a” (the sound at the end of the word “sofa”), then move to the “oh” and then “oo”.
But when people began to realise that “naur” is actually the genuine way Australians pronounce “no”, it sent the world into a spin.
Also, we don't refer to gasoline as “gas” in Australia. We call it “petrol”… unless it's diesel. We often have a mini-market inside each gas station that sells food and offers other services.
Here in Australia, however, McDonald's most prevalent nickname is “Macca's”. A recent branding survey commissioned by McDonald's Australia found that 55 per cent of Australians refer to the company by its local slang name.
“How ya goin'?” is the ultimate Aussie greeting. If you're not from Australia, this mash-up of “How are you?” and “Where are you going?” might leave you a little perplexed. If it helps, think of how the Brits say “y'alright?” - it requires no detailed response. In fact, a simple “hey!” will suffice.
Catch you later is an Australian slang form of saying 'goodbye'. A: Anyway, it's time for me to go home. Catch you later. If you do happen to talk to an Australian they may ask you if you are fair dinkum.
As an exclamation, yeet broadly means "yes". But it can also be a greeting, or just an impassioned grunt, like a spoken dab.*
dunny – a toilet, the appliance or the room – especially one in a separate outside building. This word has the distinction of being the only word for a toilet which is not a euphemism of some kind. It is from the old English dunnykin: a container for dung. However Australians use the term toilet more often than dunny.
It's "good evening", or the non-time specific "g'day". Contributor's comments: I grew up in Brisbane, and have never, heard 'Goodnight' as a greeting.
McDonald's research found that 55 per cent of Australians called the company Macca's and they have submitted the word to the Macquarie Dictionary for consideration. It's an Australian habit to abbreviate names. So Barry becomes Bazza, Warren becomes Waz and anyone whose surname begins with Mc is likely to become Macca.
Too easy means something along the lines of that is easy to do and no problem (also known as no wakkas!). Example: After ordering a coffee, the waiter tells you that it is “too easy”.
In Australia and New Zealand, "soft drink" or "fizzy drink" is typically used. In South African English, "cool drink" is any soft drink. U.S. soft drinks 7-Up or Sprite are called "lemonade" in the UK.
The shoe known in Australia as a “thong” is one of the oldest styles of footwear in the world. Worn with small variations across Egypt, Rome, Greece, sub-Saharan Africa, India, China, Korea, Japan and some Latin American cultures, the shoe was designed to protect the sole while keeping the top of the foot cool.
Tea means dinner. For example, your Australian friend might ask you, “Wanna come around for tea at 6?” Your friend isn't inviting you over to his place just to drink a cup of tea, he means dinner.
However, in Australian, Canadian, and Scottish English, running shoes and runners are synonymous terms used to refer to sneakers; with the latter term also used in Hiberno-English. Tennis shoes is another term used in Australian, and North American English.
One of the first things you'll notice about Australia will no doubt be the very unique speaking habits of its people. Australians speak fast, 'chew' words and skip pronunciation of letters – combine this with their penchant for slang and abbreviations, and you have a language that's quite difficult to comprehend!