Diminutives – Aussie Slang is a delightful collection of Australian phrases that haven’t been translated into English, yet they are used in everyday speech.
It seems Australians have and use more slang than anyone else. We’d like to suggest the reason slang became so firmly established in Australia may be rooted in our convict past. It’s understandable that they would have created slang words to disguise what they were really talking about. Anyway, it’s an interesting possibility.
The following are examples of some diminutives (abbreviations) to give you a feel for how we shorten many of our words.
| aggro | aggressive |
| arvo | afternoon |
| Aussie | Australia |
| barbie | barbecue |
| bickie | biscuit |
| blowie | blowfly |
| Brissie | Brisbane |
| budgie | budgerigar |
| Bundy | Bundaberg, QLD |
| cardie | cardigan |
| chewie | chewing gum |
| Chrissy | Christmas |
| ciggie | cigarette |
| cockie | cockatoo |
| cockie | cockroach |
| coldie | cold beer |
| comfy | comfortable |
| compo | workers’ compensation |
| conchie | conscientious objector |
| cossie | swimming costume |
| cuppa | cup of tea |
| deli | delicatessen |
| dero | derelict person, vagrant |
| footy | football |
| garbo | garbage collector |
| hollies | holidays |
| hottie | hot water bottle |
| journo | journalism |
| kindy | kindergarten |
| lippie | lipstick |
| maggie | magpie |
| mossie | mosquito |
| mushie | mushroom |
| on ya | good on you |
| pokie | poker machine |
| pollie | politician |
| postie | postman |
| preggers | pregnant |
| pressie | present |
| rego | registration (of a vehicle) |
| rellie | relative |
| sammie | sandwich |
| sickie | sick leave |
| sunnies | sunglasses |
| swaggie | swagman |
| Tassie | Tasmania |
| umpie | umpire |
| wellies | wellington boots, gumboots |
