The term 'Waltzing' is slang for travelling on foot, and often you will be travelling with your belongings in a 'Matilda'. According to the National Library of Australia: 'Matilda is an old Teutonic female name meaning 'mighty battle maid'.
waltzing Matilda: to waltz Matilda
To carry a swag; to travel the road. A matilda is a swag, the roll or bundle of possessions carried by an itinerant worker or swagman.
Australian slang, known as 'Strine', is a way of using certain words and phrases that have become iconic to Australians. You may find that Australians tend to speak quickly and have an unusual way of pronouncing words. Here is a list of commonly used words and phrases — try them out with your Australian friends!
The title was Australian slang for travelling on foot (waltzing) with one's belongings in a "matilda" (swag) slung over one's back. The song narrates the story of an itinerant worker, or "swagman", making a drink of billy tea at a bush camp and capturing a stray jumbuck (sheep) to eat.
This week we shine a spotlight on a quintessential piece of Aussie slang, a word famous the world over: sheila. A sheila is a woman. In use since the 1830s, sheila has its origin in a generic use of the common Irish girl's name.
Let's start with one of the most famous Australian slang phrases: 'No worries'. It's said to be the national motto of Australia. This expression means “do not worry about it”, or “it's all right”.
Missus. A person's wife or girlfriend. I'm taking the missus out for their birthday. Lisa McCarthy. Moggie.
It was especially popular in south Germany and Austria, where it was known under such different names as Dreher, Ländler, and Deutscher. Danced with a step, slide, and step in 3/4 time, the waltz appeared to represent the new era's ideals of freedom, character, passion, and expressiveness.
jumbuck. Jumbuck is an Australian word for a 'sheep'. It is best known from Banjo Paterson's use of it in Waltzing Matilda.
jumbuck. / (ˈdʒʌmˌbʌk) / noun. Australian archaic an informal word for sheep.
Zed is widely known to be used in British English. But it's also used in almost every English-speaking country. In England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Australia, India, Canada (usually), and New Zealand, Z is pronounced as zed. It's derived from the Greek letter zeta.
Hooroo = Goodbye
The Australian slang for goodbye is Hooroo and sometimes they even Cheerio like British people.
As an exclamation, yeet broadly means "yes". But it can also be a greeting, or just an impassioned grunt, like a spoken dab.*
Woop Woop. Woop Woop is used to refer to a place in the middle of nowhere. People use it to signify that a location is far away, unfamiliar to them, and difficult to get to. For example, “My parents place is so far, out near whoop whoop”
“Barbie” is a short form of barbeque. In Australian English, “-ie” is also added to lots of abbreviated words. The word “selfie” is a good example of this; it was coined by an Australian man in 2002! How to use it: We're having a barbie tomorrow – do you want to come?
Search. Yes, simply, when you want to say yes, you say nah yeh. even further out than woop woop, a place where you dont want go, too far away from civilisation, cities.
Gorilla: A colloquial term for one thousand dollars.
drongo. A fool, a simpleton, an idiot. There is also a bird called a drongo.
(ˈbɪfəʊ ) Australian slang. noun. 1. fighting or aggressive behaviour. he enjoys a bit of biffo now and then.
waltz, (from German walzen, “to revolve”), highly popular ballroom dance evolved from the Ländler in the 18th century.
As the dance started gaining popularity, it was criticised on moral grounds due to its close-hold stance and fast turning movements. Religious leaders regarded it as vulgar and sinful. The dance was criticised to the point where people were threatened with death from waltzing.
The Waltz is a smooth dance that travels around the line of dance. Characterized by its “rise and fall” action, the Waltz includes a step, slide, and step in 3/4 time. Dancers should move their shoulders smoothly, parallel with the floor instead of up and down. Dancers must strive to lengthen each step.
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).
In Australia, a 'mate' is more than just a friend and is a term that implies a sense of shared experience, mutual respect and unconditional assistance.
I grew up in Dubbo. Contributor's comments: "But" at the end of a sentence is used in Sydney where it is the same as putting "but" at the beginning of a sentence. Thus "But I didn't do it!" is the same as saying "I didn't do it, but!"