For all of you who tried to convince me that I was moving to an English speaking country, you forgot to mention that there are multiple variants of English! Here are a few new terms for a rainy day. Some of these may actually be heard coming out of my mouth… if you catch me in the right mood.
“How you going?”: equivalent to “How’s it going?” or “How are you doing?”
Having a yarn: chatting/having a talk
Peas and Mash: peas and mashed potatoes
Pub: bar
Grog: beer
Pig’s ear: beer (it’s a rhyming thing), as in “Going down to the pub to have a pig’s ear.”
Mince: Ground food… meat, fruit, veg. For example: “Beef mince”
Brekky: breakfast
Bikkie: biscuit/cookie
Chokkie bikkie: chocolate biscuit (complements of Erica)
EFTPOS: Electronic Funds Transfer Point Of Sale. Used in most stores. Pronounced “eft-pos”
Health Fund: your health care company/plan
Cheque: Your savings account.
Savings: Your checking account.
Queue: standing in line
Quay: place where the ferries board. Pronounced “key”
Way Out: exit
Air Con: air conditioner
Cot: baby’s crib
Pram: baby stroller
Trolley: grocery cart
Arvo: afternoon
The bush: the countryside/outback/natural area
Bushwalk: a hike
Fly screen: window screens, which are sorely lacking in this country
Mozzies: mosquitos
Removalists: dudes who move stuff, aka, a moving company
Cablists: dudes who do phones and electric and make a killing because the internet company isn’t actually allowed to connect to the wires for your flat.. (someone’s genius idea for sure)
Rubbish: trash
Rubbish bin: trash can
Mate: a friend
G’day mate!: obvious…
Ambo: Ambulance
Tram: same as the Light Rail in B’more
Darlo: Darlinghurst, a Sydney suburb
Paddo: Paddington, a Sydney suburb
Bris: Brisbane
Barbie: again, obvious…
CBD: the Central Business District, Sydney City
QVB: Queen Victoria Building near Town Hall in the CBD
Sydneysider: what you are if you live in Sydney
Melbin: how Melbourne is really pronounced
Woolies: Woolworths, a grocery store
Cozzy: a swimming costume, aka bathing suit, male or female
Sunnies: sunglasses
Thongs: flip-flops, not the underwear
Chook: a chicken
Rent-A-Chook: who wants to rent a chicken??
Budgie: a small bird
Budgie smuggler: a man’s swimming costume, aka-a speedo
Cheers!: great, good, thanks, see you later, etc
No worries: same as “no problem” or “s’all good” or “don’t worry about it”
Take the piss outta you: cut you down to size so you don’t take yourself too seriously, generally done with humor
Tall Poppy Syndrome: taking the piss out of people who think they’re better than others
Sook: a crybaby/wuss/overly sensitive person
No drama: same as “no worries”
Caulk: how c*ck would be pronounced if you were an Aussie. Makes for interesting conversations about construction (“Caulk! You know, the white rubbery stuff that comes out of a tube…?”)
Rubber: an eraser
Stuffed: Don’t say this in public in Queensland. Here in Sydney, it can mean anything from “I’m full” to “I’m f*d”
The Stuffed Beaver: a restaurant in Bondi. Seriously.
Loo: the toilet
Dunny: the toilet
There’s also a whole different coffee cult down here, but being that I’m not a coffee drinker, I’ll have to let Mike explain that one to you.
Learned all this the hard way… no checking the internet, just lots of dumb looks and hard laughs. Lucky for us, most Aussies we meet take pity on our lack of language know-how and are happy to share the right way to say things. Now if only I could get that accent right… More to come as the journey continues…