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.
Thongs. This one really baffles visitors, especially those from the United States. In the USA a thong is a piece of underwear. In Australia, it's what they call flip-flops.
Etymology. Although the Beach Boys 1964 song All Summer Long mentions "T-shirts, cut-offs, and a pair of thongs", the term flip-flop has been used in American and British English since the 1960s to describe the thong or no-heel-strap sandal. This type of footwear is also known as "slides" or "sliders".
What do Aussies call a thong? The undergarment is usually called a g-string (or colloquially, bum floss) in Australia, however, due to U.S. influences in Australia the word thong is now also used.
But there is no denying they are iconic Australian footwear. No other nation quite does them justice. And don't get me started on the flip-flop/jandal debate! It wouldn't be summer in Australia without them.
In the UK and the US jandals are known as flip-flops (which comes from the noise they make when walking in them) and in Australia they are known as thongs and South Australians called them plakkies.
Same as thongs, flip-flops. Rubber footwear. Believed to be used very widely in NZ and has come to Australia with the kiwis: Don't forget to wear your jandals on the hot sand. Contributor's comments: This was a trade name derived from two words, Japanese Sandal.
Couch turf (pronounced 'cooch') is a popular warm-season grass variety in Australia, thanks to its high drought tolerance and soft underfoot. It's one of the toughest turf varieties, and it's used for playing surfaces in stadiums and golf courses.
Aussie Word of the Week
Underdaks, also called underchunders or underdungers, is a colloquial name for your underpants. Daks are trousers, therefore underdaks must logically be underwear. Simple.
The reason seems to be that the bit that goes between the big toe and the other toes is - technically speaking - a thong. Any thin piece of stuff (originally leather, in fact) is a thong. In Australia, sandals with a “toe thong” are termed “thongs”.
verb. If you say that someone, especially a politician, flip-flops on a decision, you are critical of them because they change their decision, so that they do or think the opposite. [mainly US, informal, disapproval]
They're "thongs" in Australia and "plakkies" in South Africa. Even some areas of the United States have special names for them, such as "zories" on the East Coast, "clam diggers" in Texas, and "slippers" in Hawaii. Although the name “flip-flops" originated in America in the 1950s, flip-flops go way, way back in time.
Monostables, bistables or astables if you are referring to electronic flip-flops! Flip flops are called Flip Flops in England.
Reid Parker, a New Zealander living in Australia, tweeted that he had just learnt that Australians call slides "slippery dips".
Language in Little Ones (LiLO) is a research study conducted by the Child Health, Development and Education (inclusive of the Fraser Mustard Centre) team at Telethon Kids Institute, who are based in Adelaide, South Australia.
Jandals – whether you call them flip flops or thongs where you come from, the perennial summer footwear favourite is called a jandal in NZ. They are one step up from going bare foot (which Kiwis do a lot!) and often look pretty battered!
The preferred Australasian term for fanny pack is bum bag.
In Australia and New Zealand, they are also commonly known as trackpants, trackies, tracky daks or joggers.
Depending on which country you are from, you may use the term, woollen sweater, wool jumper, pullover or jersey – they can all be used when referring to a wool jumper, woollen jumper Australia, knitwear Australia or woollen sweaters. Woolen jumpers Australia are what we know as a woollen pullover.
(Australian slang) Genuine, true. quotations ▼
Definition of 'manky'
1. worthless, rotten, or in bad taste. 2. dirty, filthy, or bad.
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).
Pollie / polly - a politician. Pommie / Pom - English person (usually whinging pom).
The undergarment is usually called a g-string (or colloquially, bum floss) in Australia, however, due to U.S. influences in Australia the word thong is now also used.
The short answer is no, it's not illegal to drive in thongs in Australia. There are no laws in any state that specifically prohibit any type of footwear while driving. That means you can drive in thongs, sneakers, or work boots. However, you do need to stay in control of your vehicle at all times.