As you probably know, “Aussie” is slang for “Australian”.
People from Australia call their homeland “Oz;” a phonetic abbreviation of the country's name, which also harkens to the magical land from L. Frank Baum's fantasy tale.
The word Australia when referred to informally with its first three letters becomes Aus. When Aus or Aussie, the short form for an Australian, is pronounced for fun with a hissing sound at the end, it sounds as though the word being pronounced has the spelling Oz.
The most common verbal greeting is a simple “Hey”, “Hello”, or “Hi”. Some people may use Australian slang and say “G'day” or “G'day mate”. However, this is less common in cities. Many Australians greet by saying “Hey, how are you?”.
Contributor's comments: The term 'povo' comes from the word poverty. Contributor's comments: [North Geelong informant] I would also say that this is used to describe someone who is tight arsed but not necessarily poor. Contributor's comments: poor and despised person: "Take no notice of him - he's just a povo."
cocky. A small-scale farmer; (in later use often applied to) a substantial landowner or to the rural interest generally. In Australia there are a number of cockies including cow cockies, cane cockies and wheat cockies. Cocky arose in the 1870s and is an abbreviation of cockatoo farmer.
Australian goodbye is “Hooroo”; sometimes they even “cheerio” like British people, a UK slang word.
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”.
There are also a number of terms for Australia, such as: Aussie, Oz, Lucky Country, and land of the long weekend.
Sheila. Let's start with the most common, most well-known, and most quintessentially Australian slang term for girls: Sheila. While everywhere else in the English-speaking world, Sheila is a specific person's name, in Australia it can be used to refer to any woman or girl.
Australia is colloquially known as "the Land Down Under" (or just "Down Under"), which derives from the country's position in the Southern Hemisphere, at the antipodes of the United Kingdom.
Contributor's comments: The meaning of Bubs I grew up with is a baby, or quite often the youngest member of the family is called "bubs" from an older sibling.
“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. In Australia, you'll also hear mate used in an ironic sense.
Meaning 'thank you', ta is usually used for the times when you are in a rush or want to send a quick text to show your appreciation for something.
“My research shows the British and Irish working-class introduced most of the swearing we have in Australia,” Krafzik says. “It was cemented in those early colonial days.” The British officer class tended to rotate in and out of the colonies. The working-class settlers – and convicts – stayed.
Australian slang is not dying, it's making its way up in the world.
If someone is angry, you could say they've 'gone crook'. Crook can also be used to describe a criminal. Cuppa: if someone asks for a cuppa, they want a cup of tea. Cut snake (Mad as a): this is an extremely Australian way to say that someone is very angry.
Buckley's chance – no chance, unlikely to occur, as in 'they've got Buckley's chance of beating Australia in the cricket'.
Aussie Word of the Week
Australia's colourful bank notes are known by many colloquial names. The twenty-dollar note is referred to as a lobster, while the fifty-dollar note is called a pineapple, and don't we all want to get our hands on a few jolly green giants, that is, hundred-dollar notes?
Contributor's comments: We use the term in Tassie as well, you say that someone is a bush pig, or a feral. It has become quite a broad insult to females mainly, not necessarily meaning that they are unkempt. Contributor's comments: 'Bushpig' was very common used at school (in Sydney).