Vocab and Life Lessons

My American besty in Oz and fellow Southern Bell, Allie, recently posted on her blog on local lingo. So, here's a little vocab for ya...


Allie's Amazing Australian Word Book! 
1.Arvo- afternoon (Going for a workout in the ARVO!)
2. Barbie- NOT Ken's girlfriend, but a cookout, barbeque! (Come around for a BARBIE!)
3. Bikkie- biscuit (cookie) (Would you like a BIKKIE with your tea?)
4. Bottle-o- ABC Liquor Store (no alcohol is sold in grocery stores here!)
5. Brekkie- breakfast (Let's go out for BREKKIE)
6. Bub- baby (I'll just get the BUB and then we'll go!)
7. Chewie- chewing gum (Have you got a piece of CHEWIE?)
8. Chook- chicken (I'll use our dinner scraps to feed the CHOOKS)
9. Chuck A Sickie- fake being sick to have the day off! (He totally CHUCKED A SICKIE)
10. Daks- underpants (I need to dry my DAKS before work)
11. Dead horse- tomato sauce, katchup (Have you got some DEAD HORSE to go with that burger?)
12. Dunny- toilet (Does this campground have a DUNNY?)
13. Esky- cooler (Chili-Bin in NZ) (Fill the ESKY up with ice!)
14. Fairy floss- cotton candy (Can we get some fairy floss at the fair?)
15. Fair Dinkum or S'truth- You would say this after a comment that you wanted to say, "Are you for
real?" (I caught a fish a meter long- FAIR DINKUM!)
16. Footy- Australian Rules Football (Let's head to the FOOTY grounds early)
17. Good On Ya- good job (GOOD ON YA for washing the dishes)
18. HooRoo- goodbye (HOOROO MATE!)
19. Kindie- kindergarten (She will start KINDIE next year)
20. Knee High To A Grasshopper, Ankle Biters- a toddler [I got this one from my dear boyfriend.]
(When I was KNEEHIGH TO A GRASSHOPPER, my pop taught me to surf)
21. Maccas- McDonalds (Let's go through the MACCAS drivethrough)
22. Mozzie- mosquito (The MOZZIES are biting!)
23. "My Shout"- If you say you are "shouting" someone, that means you are paying! (Today's
coffee is MY SHOUT!)
24. Peckish- hungry. (I'm feeling a bit PECKISH!)
25. Prezzy- present (or Wezzie Prezzie is Westminster Presbyterian Church) :)
26. Ranga- short for orangutang, someone with red hair, a ginger (Julia Gillard is a RANGA)
27. Ridgy Didge/ True Blue- something or someone that is uniquely Australian [That bloke is TRUE
BLUE]
28. Salvos- Salvation Army (Let's get a costume from the SALVOS)
29. Seppo- American (because seppo= septic tank which rhymes with Yank.) (Are you a SEPPO?)
30. Servo- Service/ Petrol Staion (gas station) (Let's grab a coke from the SERVO)
31. Spot On- Exacly Right! (SPOT ON MATE!)
32. Stubby Holder- Koozie! (Have a got a STUBBY HOLDER for my TINNY?)
33. Sunnies- sunglasses (Don't forget your SUNNIES!)
34. Ta/ Cheers- Another word for saying "thank you." If you are checking out at a grocery store and are
getting your change, you'd say "TA!"
35. Thongs- flip flops, not undies! New Zealanders (also called Kiwis) call them "Jandals" (You don't
need your THONGS to go to the shops.)
36. Tinny- can of beer (Crack a TINNY)
37. Togs, Cozzies, Bathers- bathing suit (Put your TOGS on, we're going to the beach!)
38. Tucker- food (Grab some TUCKER)
39. Uni- university, school (I've got UNI on this morning.)
40. Woop Woop- middle of knowwhere, (We are going camping out WOOP WOOP)


It took me two laundry cycles to finally learn that when you don't have a clothes drier you should check the weather forecast before hanging your washing out on the line... Australian Life lesson learned!