Eshay (/ˈɛʃeɪ/) is a slang expression associated with an Australian urban youth subculture that originated from Western Sydney in the late 1980s, but which News Corporation coverage has brought into the mainstream since the late 2010s. In New Zealand, "hoodrats" are a similar subculture.
The word 'Eshay' is a Pig Latin derivative of the word sesh or session, which is the traditional Australian past-time of hanging out, binge drinking and taking drugs in a small to medium group of friends.
basically, an eshay is the Australian equivalent of the British Chav. Like any subculture, eshays are defined by a set of values, for eshays these include: Outfits: Polo shirts, shorts, trackies, bumbags, speed dealers (90s style sunglasses) and puffer jackets.
Eshay Language
Eshay's use a combination of modified pig Latin and swearing. Common phrases in their slang include illchay, meaning chill or relax; eetswa, meaning sweet or good; and adlay, meaning lad. Other words include ashcay (cash), gronk (an annoying person), and staunching (stealing from someone).
It started out as Pig Latin for sesh or session and eventually became so common it just means "cool" now.
Melbourne's eshay culture: Who are they and what do they do? Many Melburnians may never have heard of eshays before, but if you've spent time at a train station or parking lot, chances are you've run into one. Eshays are part of a subculture that's gripped Australian youth in recent years.
The word “eshay” is a Pig Latin derivative of the word sesh or session (an Australian term for hanging out). Eshay is mostly associated with the Australian rap and rambunctious youth scene — or simply, the Australian equivalent of the British chavs.
Eshays can typically be identified by wearing Nike TN trainers with polo shirts, puffer jackets, tracksuit pants or baggy shorts and baseball caps. Their favourite brands include Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, and Lacoste, paired with Nautica, Adidas, Under Armour and Ellesse.
For those unfamiliar, the term “eshay” refers to an urban youth subculture favouring sports brands and which is often associated with criminal activity. “Eshays are probably the longest in the line of young people expressing themselves in certain ways,” Police Commissioner Col Blanch told 6PR.
They sometimes carry weapons and use crime to fund their drug use, often videoing and posting their antics on TikTok or other social media channels. Eshays also wear sportswear labels like Nike, Adidas and Ellesse and often like dark clothing.
Eshays are said to have spread from Sydney's inner-city graffiti scene in the 1980s through Housing Commission estates and out into the suburbs. Teens embracing eshay culture had predominantly come from low socioeconomic backgrounds but the movement has also been picked up by private school boys.
Western Australian nightclub bans red shoes
A Perth nightclub has banned red sneakers as the owners claim they are the shoe of choice for troublemakers. Hillary's Bar1 has enforced a blanket ban on red shoes whether they be Air Maxes, TNs or Airforces as the shoes are allegedly a red flag for bad behaviour.
'Fucken Oath' has since become a cult classic and remains the most iconic Eshay track of all time.
gronk. extremely derogatory term for a person less intelligent than oneself: You're such a gronk.
Australian nightclub is banning people from wearing red shoes because they're a bit 'eshay-like' A Perth nightclub has banned red sneakers because they believe the colour correlates with a certain type of patron: deadbeats often referred to as 'eshays'.
The word "eshay" apparently derives from the Pig Latin for "sesh" (meaning drug or cannabis use session). The term "adlay" (/ˈædleɪ/), Pig Latin for "lad," refers to the same subculture. Eshays, or lads, are often considered stereotypically hypermasculine and inclined to crime and violence.
blackfella in British English
(ˈblækˌfɛlə ) noun. Australian sometimes offensive. an Aboriginal or Black person: offensive when used by non-Black people. TRANSPORT.
ˈad-ˌlī plural -s. : any of several soft-shelled Job's tears (especially Coix lachryma-Jobi mayuen) cultivated for food and for forage and fodder especially in southeastern Asia, Japan, and the Philippines.
If you have no clue what an eshay is, I would best describe them as onions. They have layers, and every eshay is different. But to simplify: an eshay is a stereotypical term for an Australian who typically engages in stealing, drug-dealing, and other criminal activity.
Eetswa is pig Latin for sweet, but can also be used to say thanks and okay.
So Eetswa means “sweet,” or “good,” “well,” “nice.” It takes the “eet” at the end and brings it to the front, and the “sw” at the beginning and switched it towards the end. And that becomes “Eetsway” to complete the word.
It is defined as "an uncultured and unsophisticated person; a boorish and uncouth person" in the 2016 edition of the Australian National Dictionary.
Hoon A yob, delinquent.
Fun fact! 'Struth' is a contraction of the words 'God's truth'.