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Australian "Slang" Interpretation

Mizzeerie said:
Queensland is big on naming things by brands, Tog and Nikko. I remember when I lived in Melbourne no one in the office knew what I was going on about when I asked for a nikko. Apparently 'port racks' is a very QLD thing as well.
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What's a Nikko and a port rack?
 
Consuela said:
I think it's very important that I mention we call shrimps PRAWNS.

I can't tell you the number of times I've wanted to punch someone who's said 'throw another shrimp on the barbie'. I swear that is the worst phrase ever created.
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To me, a shrimp is the white prawn/yabby like thing you get out of the river.

And yabbies are crayfish. Yabbying (catching them) is fun. You tie a piece of meat on a bit of string and either hold the string or tie it onto a stick and dig it into the ground near the bank of the channel or dam, and throw the meat into the water. Yabbies are attracted by the smell and will grip the meat with their claws and try to pull it away and this is how you know you have one on the line - you will feel the tugging. You then pull the line up not too quick but not too slow either, then when you can see the meat and yabby just below the surface, you scoop them both up with a strainer. Then you can put the yabby in a bucket or something with water in it to keep them alive until you want to cook them. Or you can throw them back, if you just want to yabby for fun. Apparently they taste a lot like prawns (I don't eat them or prawns myself). You also need to check if females have eggs, and if they do, you should always throw them back in so they can have their babies.
 
OCray said:
What happens if you don't vote?? Do you get a fine??
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Insomniac said:
You have to produce a reason why you didn't vote, and there's a $20 fine attached. Not much, but still lol
If you don't have a reason, or don't pay it, then they can take you to court.
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I think the amount might be different depending upon whether it is federal, state or local election. My son didn't vote because he was overseas and got fined $100. Still not a great amount.
 
lol @ Fosters :) I'm Canadian - been here for yonks (donkey's years, which must be very long) that always makes me laugh because Fosters advertises so much over there - I thought for sure everyone here would drink Fosters. It's pretty shitty beer compared to other delicious brews here. Aussie beer is much like Canadian beer. Yum :)

Rose711 said:
So fascinating. I was surprised by the nickname for Sharon- was it Shazz? Was that to go with Jazz, which is short for Jasmine?

We would never use Shazz as a nickname for Sharon here in the US.


It took me a while to figure out who Shazz was.
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Grillzz said:
Shaz or shazza, Baz, Daz, laz, haz, hmm I wonder how we ended up with Shaz, when the other names I mentioned all usually end in y?
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It seems to be that it's names that have an 'r' ending in the fist syllable - like Sharon = Shaz, Gary = Gaz, Darryl/Darren = Daz, etc.
 
Grillzz said:
What's a Nikko and a port rack?
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A Nikko is like a texter pen - like a permanent marker?

A port rack is somewhere at school where you put your school bags at school before you go into the classroom.
At my son's school they have lockers instead now lol
 
Rose711 said:
So what do you call jam? I was going to mention preserves - those are the ones with fruit bits in them.
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[MENTION=4953]woohoo[/MENTION] got it. Jam has seeds or fruit that is broken down into smaller bits, Jelly doesn't have anythin, preserves have almost whole pieces of fruit in them, but most people here will still call it jam.
 
OCray said:
I sooo want to taste that!! It looks gross, but I want to taste it anyway!!



Sanger means blood in my language.. and there's a particular way some people eat fried blood, so your post just grossed me out! LOL
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Sanger is a sandwich in Aus.

When you say eating blood are you talking about something like black pudding? Cause I hate that stuff but a lot of people love it.
 
Winterbourne said:
Oh, and no one drinks Fosters.
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Wow, I didn't know that. Turns out, the Foster's Lager, marketed and sold in the United States as an Australian beer, is brewed in the United States by Miller. It's brewed in Canada by Molson.

Molson, by the way, is my favorite beer.
 
Knickers = girls underwear
Jocks = guys underwear
Mobile = cell phone
Sunnies = sunglasses
Going for a piss = going to the toilet to urinate
Post code = zip code
Biro (some states only) = pen
Tissue = kleenex
 
Only knickers or undies for girls underwear, ever. Panties is the creepiest, foulest word ever. Makes me shudder.
 
qtkt said:
I think the amount might be different depending upon whether it is federal, state or local election. My son didn't vote because he was overseas and got fined $100. Still not a great amount.
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Lol. In the US a key strategy is to make it much harder for people to vote. Makes me very angry. I would much prefer compulsory. But our system would be overwhelmed. We aren't set up for a high level of participation.
 
Mrs Butterface said:
I bought a sausage yesterday at Bunnings and it was definitely a hot dog. I laughed to my friend because the sign said sausages $2.50 so I was thinking I'd scored a cheap krasnky but instead all I got was a hot dog in a bun. Sausage links are tiny... I've never even seen them in Australia. They're maybe the size of your ring finger and usually served at breakfast. Sausage back home = kransky.
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Hot dogs and sausages are two different things here. Sausages at Bunnings are definetely not hot dogs. They are the same size and shape as hotdogs, but look, smell and taste different. Hotdogs are traditionally sold in buns (usually called hot dog buns) and are a frankfurt type. Hotdogs are usually boiled or steamed to heat them, while sausages are fried or barbequed.

Sausage sizzles (like the ones outside of Bunnings) are a common type of fundraiser. (I was literally going to Bunnings the other day because I was craving a sausage in bread, but then as I was passing JB HI-FI (which was my actual shopping destination) I realised there was one out the front there.) It was delicious, in case you were wondering. :)
 
Bobbi said:
Devon is called Fritz in South Australia. :)

Don't forget "doing a Bradbury". Can never forget Steve Bradbury winning a gold medal in the Winter Olympics because everyone else fell over. lol
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I loved that. Will never forget that.
 
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