Skip to main content

Australian "Slang" Interpretation

CaspersMum

CaspersMum

Yanked to Oz
Multiple site donor
Awesome site donor
For our overseas forum posters. A place to post the words and phrases you may not know the meaning of. ;)

As a transplanted Yank myself, I'd have killed for a reference tool like this! HA!!

Post away!!
 
And PS- Never say what team you are "rooting" for. Rooting is a slang for screwing. ;)

Barracking in the word to use.
 
Also a transplanted Yank. Bringing this over from the LF thread...
TullyLovesDrew said:
I took bogan to mean like someone into grunge
Click to expand...

I think of "bogan" as a particularly Australian kind of person. I think the closest American concept would be like "trailer trash," although it's not always necessarily a socioeconomic thing so much as a way of being. If that makes sense? Am I way off, real Aussies?

And yes, "mince" is what we'd call hamburger or ground beef, although there's also lamb mince/pork mince etc.
 
littlebear said:
Also a transplanted Yank. Bringing this over from the LF thread...

I think of "bogan" as a particularly Australian kind of person. I think the closest American concept would be like "trailer trash," although it's not always necessarily a socioeconomic thing so much as a way of being. If that makes sense? Am I way off, real Aussies?

And yes, "mince" is what we'd call hamburger or ground beef, although there's also lamb mince/pork mince etc.
Click to expand...
Yeah I would say "bogan" is pretty "hillbilly-esque". Hahaha!!!! But then, I'm a transplant too. ;)
 
I normally go look for stuff on my own because I don't want to bother people with silly questions but this thread is certainly going to help a lot!!

On thing that really annoyed the shit out of me, because I couldn't find out what it was, was the "Cream" that Tim and Tahan were talking about when they said that Mikkayla used 5 scoops on her fries or something.. At first I thought maybe it's a slang word for Mayo, but then I heard them use the word Mayo last week so I was back at not knowing what it was.. did they mean Sour Cream maybe?? Because for me, cream is sweet and I don't think she would put that on fries.. LOL
 
OCray said:
I normally go look for stuff on my own because I don't want to bother people with silly questions but this thread is certainly going to help a lot!!

On thing that really annoyed the shit out of me, because I couldn't find out what it was, was the "Cream" that Tim and Tahan were talking about when they said that Mikkayla used 5 scoops on her fries or something.. At first I thought maybe it's a slang word for Mayo, but then I heard them use the word Mayo last week so I was back at not knowing what it was.. did they mean Sour Cream maybe?? Because for me, cream is sweet and I don't think she would put that on fries.. LOL
Click to expand...

If they were talking about chips (fries) then it was probably sour cream.

Also, a bogan is usually someone who wears a lot of singlets with shorts, or baggy/damaged clothes (because they don't care), looks pretty dirty, long hair, unkempt. Also it could be someone who swears a lot or just acts dirty in general. Like ferals who randomly swear and carry on at nothing.
 
I'm from the UK. A funny one here. In Australia, 'thongs' are, I think, flip flop type sandals. In the UK the same word describes g strings or flimsy underwear. Imagine my surprise when I heard someone say they were leaving their dirty thongs at the front door! ;)
 
fabledfunster said:
I'm from the UK. A funny one here. In Australia, 'thongs' are, I think, flip flop type sandals. In the UK the same word describes g strings or flimsy underwear. Imagine my surprise when I heard someone say they were leaving their dirty thongs at the front door! ;)
Click to expand...
Hahahahaha!!! Same with US!!

Also a few food related:

Capsicum=Bell Pepper
Biscuit=Cookie
Lolly=Candy
Pretty simplistic those ones, but can cause confusion none the less.
 
fabledfunster said:
I'm from the UK. A funny one here. In Australia, 'thongs' are, I think, flip flop type sandals. In the UK the same word describes g strings or flimsy underwear. Imagine my surprise when I heard someone say they were leaving their dirty thongs at the front door! ;)
Click to expand...

Same in the US. I still can't call them thongs without giggling.
 
Another saying I heard when I was over there was 'chucking a Uey'. It meant doing a U-turn. Was particularly funny as the friend I was staying with was Louise. So Louey was chucking a Uey!
 
Oh, and "sook" is basically like "sulk," but it can also be a noun for the act (like "have a sook") or a person who does it. May involve crying/whinging in addition to just pouting.
 
I was having this discussion online recently with a few Americans recently re: the slang terms over here. "Bogan" is impossible to explain unless you've been here. It's not a redneck - I really just think of Western Sydney which obviously means nothing to anyone outside of Australia. It's a very specific cultural stereotype.

I also got asked if "daggy" meant "cool" :D To answer the question, no, no it doesn't. It means the opposite.

Also (and this was a much bigger point of contention that I would have expected) if there's meat between two buns it's a "burger" in Australia. Doesn't matter if it's beef, chicken or fish. IT'S NEVER A SANDWICH IF IT'S BETWEEN TWO BUNS. Also, Subway-type "sandwiches" are called "rolls".

And we put "-o" at the end of EVERYTHING. Mayo = Mayonaisse. Devo = Devestated. Povo = Poverty Stricken/poor. Servo = Service Station/Gas Station. Bottl-o - Bottle shop. There are no limits to what we'll put "-o" at the end of. We literally call The Salvation Army "The Salvo's". That's their official name. I love being Australian but we're quite lazy with language. If we can bloody abbreviate it, then we will damn well will.
 
littlebear said:
Oh, and "sook" is basically like "sulk," but it can also be a noun for the act (like "have a sook") or a person who does it. May involve crying/whinging in addition to just pouting.
Click to expand...
Further to sooking... "spitting the dummy" is a hissy fit type melt down/ tantrum. Dummys are pacifiers here.
 
Oh, also, I got told "getting the shits" in America literally just means, well, having to poo a lot. Over here "getting the shits" CAN mean the former but usually it means just being annoyed or pissed off with someone. Ie: "Don't get the shits!" = "Don't be annoyed!"
 
CaspersMum said:
Hahahahaha!!! Same with US!!

Also a few food related:

Capsicum=Bell Pepper
Biscuit=Cookie
Lolly=Candy
Pretty simplistic those ones, but can cause confusion none the less.
Click to expand...

Yep!! When they talked about lollies, I always expected the candy to be on a stick, like a lollipop then I saw them and I was like "WHUTTT where's the stick? those are not lollies!!" LOL

Biscuit was a problem for me last year.. every year I learn more and more :D
 
littlebear said:
Also a transplanted Yank. Bringing this over from the LF thread...

I think of "bogan" as a particularly Australian kind of person. I think the closest American concept would be like "trailer trash," although it's not always necessarily a socioeconomic thing so much as a way of being. If that makes sense? Am I way off, real Aussies?

And yes, "mince" is what we'd call hamburger or ground beef, although there's also lamb mince/pork mince etc.
Click to expand...

lol yes kind of. I have to admit, when I was in school 'bogan' wasn't really used yet. The word we used was 'bevan' - pronounced bevv-an, not beevan - which meant the same thing. So even Aussie slang changes over the years.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top