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Australian "Slang" Interpretation

Mrs Butterface said:
singlet = tank top

ice block = popsicle

doona = duvet

dunny = toilet

boot (of the car) = trunk

bonnet (of the car) = the hood

sausage = hot dog

journo = journalist

footpath = sidewalk
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dummy ? baby's pacifier?
crack it ? fired up /angry? drew said T was gonna crack it when she finds out?
putting tickets on yoursel drew said about maddi trying to get at him (for luv)
sook
suss
moll (everytime i hear it i think of jades mole)
build a bridge (and walk over it) reconsiliation

there are so many more...
snorting while laughing...frowned upon in US, but everyone seems to do it
ed adjusting his "jewels" like that might get him arrested here...
US doesn't get the bromance thingy...frowned upon in 35 states...i think it is sweet
picking Tim's back for whiteheads and pimples (sooo Wrong, haha)
 
Saxo said:
Another one: I've heard "fanny" being used in a few American movies etc. Apparently it means bum in America. It means vagina here.

So yanks, probably best not to go around telling Aussies you've been "shaking your fanny" or anything.
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eeeekkkk, hahaha

There is a song where the hook is all about shake
your fannie, shake your money maker
 
Loving this thread. I used to live in Canada. I miss those pilsbury dough things too. Rolled like a crossaint and freshly baked. Are they avail in Oz?? Real bogans- Just google Housos on You Tube. LOTS of bogans-slang and thong wearing-throwing there. HOUSOS is short for housing commission. I cant think of the American term. Welfare houses??
 
Illabeth said:
I'm doing my honours in Linguistics this year. My thesis topic started out as an exploration into the use of diminutives in Early Australian English, but I couldn't source enough data so I've moved on to analysing the use of the term "Aussie" in newspapers from it's creating in WW1 to how the use and understanding of the term changed in the WW2 period.

As a result I have done a bunch of reading on diminutives. There are some linguists who propose unconscious linguistic rules surrounding Australians use and production of diminutives. There has been some good stuff by Anna Wierzbicka, she also explores the cultural connection to their use.

As for my belief I'd say yes, there are loose rules that we culturally apply to their use and formation, especially surrounding nicknames for people.
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Is your thesis due soon? I have a friend and a brother in law both doing a doctrate and their theses were both submitted in the last few weeks. And they both have lives back - for now. Yours actually sounds very interesting - I've read a few that are far from it.

My parishioners were actually discussing nicknames recently (in the context of a Bible Study of all things) and our feeling was that Australians give each other nicknames particularly quickly. Does your study suggest that we embrace nicknames more than other nationalities?
 
SENT1 said:
dummy ? baby's pacifier?
crack it ? fired up /angry? drew said T was gonna crack it when she finds out?
putting tickets on yoursel drew said about maddi trying to get at him (for luv)
sook
suss
moll (everytime i hear it i think of jades mole)
build a bridge (and walk over it) reconsiliation

there are so many more...
snorting while laughing...frowned upon in US, but everyone seems to do it
ed adjusting his "jewels" like that might get him arrested here...
US doesn't get the bromance thingy...frowned upon in 35 states...i think it is sweet
picking Tim's back for whiteheads and pimples (sooo Wrong, haha)
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dummy = pacifer. If someone's "spat the dummy" that means they're acting like a baby.

crack it = get angry

having tickets on yourself = thinking you're hot shit

sook = whine/mope

suss = suspicious ie That brown meat looks suss. And also you could say "I'm going to suss it out" which means you're going to figure out what something means/get to the bottom of something.

moll = bitch/slut/hooker

build a bridge = get over it, move past it
 
caz71 said:
Loving this thread. I used to live in Canada. I miss those pilsbury dough things too. Rolled like a crossaint and freshly baked. Are they avail in Oz?? Real bogans- Just google Housos on You Tube. LOTS of bogans-slang and thong wearing-throwing there. HOUSOS is short for housing commission. I cant think of the American term. Welfare houses??
Click to expand...
No the dough tins aren't available here. At least not anywhere in Melbourne I've looked (and I always look!!). I want to say the term for those houses in the US is council houses but I could be wrong. Reading this thread reminds me of how long I've been away from home because I have to keep stopping to think if a word is an Aussie one or a N. American one haha
 
One thing I've picked up from being over there is 'no worries'. If someone thanks me for doing something or asks of I could do something, I'll say no worries. I guess it means no problem.
 
Ha! This thread is quite a fun read!

fabledfunster said:
One thing I've picked up from being over there is 'no worries'. If someone thanks me for doing something or asks of I could do something, I'll say no worries. I guess it means no problem.
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Sure does mean that. I'd say it came from 'not a worry/problem' originally.
 
fabledfunster said:
One thing I've picked up from being over there is 'no worries'. If someone thanks me for doing something or asks of I could do something, I'll say no worries. I guess it means no problem.
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yep, not a problem...usually used when someone says Thank you
Thank You---don't mention it ou no worries
 
caz71 said:
Loving this thread. I used to live in Canada. I miss those pilsbury dough things too. Rolled like a crossaint and freshly baked. Are they avail in Oz?? Real bogans- Just google Housos on You Tube. LOTS of bogans-slang and thong wearing-throwing there. HOUSOS is short for housing commission. I cant think of the American term. Welfare houses??
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Public housing, or the oldish slang term for large complexes in cities would be "the projects."
 
Mrs Butterface said:
No the dough tins aren't available here. At least not anywhere in Melbourne I've looked (and I always look!!). I want to say the term for those houses in the US is council houses but I could be wrong. Reading this thread reminds me of how long I've been away from home because I have to keep stopping to think if a word is an Aussie one or a N. American one haha
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Costco maybe??
 
OCray said:
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
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We use a lot of the same words here in South africa Biscuit,nappy etc but I did have a friendly disagreement with one of my Aussie friends because she calls her mother Mum and I call mine Mom..she says Mom is American and I have always called her that
 
Things also change between states as well. Here in QLD we call those mini frankfurters - Cheerios.

There's also another term - Nigel. Not sure if it's just QLD or whole of Australia. But say if you're out somewhere on your own you're a nigel, have been niged, nigelated, Nigel no friends etc haha
 
murf said:
Things also change between states as well. Here in QLD we call those mini frankfurters - Cheerios.

There's also another term - Nigel. Not sure if it's just QLD or whole of Australia. But say if you're out somewhere on your own you're a nigel, have been niged, nigelated, Nigel no friends etc haha
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nigelated is one of my favourites! Love calling people nigel :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.
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I live a suburb away from the one of the top 10 Bogan Cities in Australia: Rockingham - about 30 minutes drive south from Perth. Following is an article that talks about it.....

http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/rockingham-makes-the-punch-bogan-top-10/story-e6frg12c-1225757775604
 
Insomniac said:
lol this is awesome - I love this.

It's funny, was watching a UK show the other day and they were talking about a 'motor' and I was confused because to us a motor is the engine of the car whereas they were talking about the whole car. Then it got me thinking if that was an English thing overall or just a regional thing.

I know that we call different things here in QLD than they do in other states for instance.

Like we call a swimsuit 'togs' and other states call them other things.
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In WA we have polony in Tassie they have Devon.....not sure what the other states call Polony.
 
pjac said:
In WA we have polony in Tassie they have Devon.....not sure what the other states call Polony.
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Are you talking about the meat?? I've always called it devon though according to wikipedia we're meant to call windsor here in QLD but I've never heard anyone call it that.
 
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