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AUSTRALIAN SLANG
Children
Want to see a Yank blush? Ask them to "nurse" your baby. It's another of those words that have a completely different meaning in different countries.
To an Aussie, you're asking them to hold your baby, but to an American, they think you want them to breast feed the baby. And yes, this did happen to an American visiting a new mum in the hospital. She was quite flustered and we didn't know why until she finally told us. Could have been worse. We could have asked her husband first.
| Happy Little Vegemite | Australian child |
| Ankle Biter | young child |
| Kiddiwink | young child |
| Rug Rat | baby |
| Littlie | small child, toddler |
| Carpet Grubs | young children, especially babies |
| Sprogs | offspring, children |
| Little Buggers | children |
| Billy Lid | kid (rhyming slang) |
| Tin Lid | kid (rhyming slang) |
| Up the Duff | pregnant |
| Preggers | pregnant |
| Nurse the Baby | hold the baby. In the USA it means to breast feed the baby. |
| A Lie Down | a short rest or nap |
| Dummy | baby pacifier |
| Bunny Rug | baby blanket |
| Nappies | baby diapers |
| Capsul | baby car seat |
| Cot | crib, bassinet |
| Carry Cot | portable bassinet |
| Pram | baby stroller (short for perambulator) |
| Pusher | baby stroller |
| Push-bike | bicycle |
| Treadly | bicycle |
| Billy Cart | go-kart made by children |
| Floaties | water wings for swimming |
We're getting used to our American friend Sara looking lost. She was listening to some mums talking about babies when we noticed that look again.
It seems Sara was having trouble with the word capsule. The only thing she could think of was space capsule or a cold capsule and she couldn't imagine putting a baby into either one!
Tip ... mouse over words in table willturn on highlighting
