Mates, it doesn’t matter how excellent your English terms are or how British your pronunciation is because if your dream is to fly to Australia, you may have difficulty understanding the Aussies (as the Australians call themselves).
Australian English has formed its own identity since the arrival of the first British settlers in the 18th century. And one of the components of this uniqueness is the richness of its slang: the Australian slang.
Contrary to what one can imagine, it is used daily, and one can quickly find oneself lost if one does not know some of its rudiments. Many expressions are contractions of common phrases which can also vary according to the region in which one is. We can count more than 5000 throughout Australia!
Oh yes, because Australian slang is very rich and tends to shorten almost everything. Don’t you believe it? Here’s proof!
For each word, we had fun guessing the thought of a person who hears each of these terms pronounced for the first time, then giving you the exact interpretation characterized by examples or definitions. So, the first time you will hear “Let’s defo have a barbie this arvo!” (defo – definitely, barbie -barbecue) from your Aussie friend, you won’t be surprised!
Helpful Aussie Slang Phrases And Sentences Compilation
Although we all know that English is spoken in Australia, Aussies are so different from the other English-speaking countries. If you don’t believe it, read below Aussie slang phrases and sentences. Trust us when we tell you that you really need these 🙂
- Good on ya
It is used to express approval and congratulations or even for slightly sarcastic jokes.
Example,
“G ‘Day, Marco! How are you going? (Hi Marco! How’s it going?)
- Fair Dinkum
An adjective that indicates a real honest, genuine person;
Example,
“Nancy is fair dinkum; you can trust her mate.”
- I’m stuffed
Have multiple meanings, literally, it means “to be full.”
- No worries
It can have more than one meaning, from “please” to “relax“.
Example,
“Thanks for driving me to work, mate!” (Thanks for the ride to work friend!)
“No worries!” (You are welcome!)
- To have a barbie
It doesn’t mean “playing with dolls“.but “making a barbecue” and barbecues are an untouchable ritual in Australia!
Example,
“Nina’s having a barbie at the beach today.” (Today Sara organizes a barbecue on the beach).
- How ya garn?
What’s up? To ask someone how he/she is. Similar to “how are you going,” but pronounced in one breath with a marked Aussie accent.
Example,
“G’day, mate! How ya garn ?!” (Hello friend, how are you going?).
- Piece of Piss
A pretty simple task to complete;
Example,,
“Don’t worry, it will be a child’s play“.
- She’ll be right
All will be OK;
Example,
“She’ll be right mate, that dark spots will come out in the wash.” (It will be all right, the stains will go away after washing it.)
- Mad as a Cut snake
Crazy or Out of mind;
Example,
“You know, mate, that bloke wearing a teapot on Linda’s head is as mad as a cut snake!”
- Mallee bull, as fit as a
Very fit and healthy like a Mallee. It is a very arid beef country in Victoria/South Aussie;
- Taking the piss
Taking someone’s game; Tosomeone is making fun of something or someone, like “pulling someone’s leg”.
Example,
“Mate, don’t take the piss out of Henry. He’s sensitive! ” (“Don’t make fun of Jeremy. He’s very sensitive!”)
- Piece of cake
When something is very easy;
Example,
“Mate, how was your writing exam? “
“Oh, it was a piece of cake.”?
- Woop Woop
At the end of the world, used to express a distant or isolated place. Similar to “the middle of nowhere (english).”
Example,
“Mates, I’m going out to woop woop for Christmas with my in-laws!” (I will spend our Christmas at the end of the world with my in-laws!)
- Feeling filthy
Angry/upset or disappointed;
Example,
“Do u know, mate? He was really upset that evening!”
- Fuck in ‘ell “
The Aussie version of “Fuckin Hell” (English term);
Example:
“Did you hear about Rita? She got bit by a snake.”
“Fuck in” ell.”
- Face, off one’s
Drunk;
Example,
“Hey, bob let’s face off tonight.”
- Give it a burl
Giving a try for something;
Example,
If you have already enjoyed a new barbie and your friend not yet, In an Aussie way, you can invite him to taste it with this phrase,
“Come on, try it, mate.”
- Goog, as full as a
A drunk (Goog is a term for “egg”.);
Example,
“If he’s “full as a goog,” he’s completely full.”
- Lunch, who opened theirs?
Ok! who farted??
- Good On ya”
Means, Well done, good job;
Example,
“Good on ya, mate, you broke a surfboard again!”
- Wanna Cuppa?
Means, asking someone for a cup of tea;
As a good former British colony, Aussies prefer tea. So if you want to invite a friend for tea, there is no better phrase than this!
- Bog in and have some tucker
Do you want to say to your friend that you also invited home? Use this phrase;
Example,
“Come on, mate, let’s eat! “
- Not the full quid
Not-bright intellectually;
- Sitting on the fence
When somebody can not choose a side;
Example,
“I’m on the fence about the latest Spiderman movie. I can’t choose if I love it or hate it.”
- Flat out like a lizard drinking
Flat out or busy;
Example,
“The participants of the race were flat out like a lizard drinking.”
- Gobful, give a
To abuse someone usually justifiably;
Example,
“It was a noisy party near our home, so we went and gave them a gobful.”
- Flick it on
It means to trade anything for a fast profit, soon after buying it.
- London to a brick
A total certainty;
Example,
“it’s London to a brick that New York won’t go down.”
- Blue, make a
Make a mistake;
- Stuffed, I feel
Being tired;
Example,
“Mates, it’s tricky and stuffed, I feel :(“
- Bloody Oath:
An Aussie Bloody Mary; It means, “right, I agree.”
Example,
“It’s hot now, mate!”
“Bloody oath!”
- Like a broom on a rock
Blindly;
- Blood is worth bottling
To complement either praise, somebody, for doing something or being someone
Exceptional;
Example,
“Hey mate, you are such a tremendous asset to the board – your blood is worth bottling.”
- Frog in a sock, as cross as a
Sounding angry; a person, your hard drive!
- Lob, lob in
Dropping something in to see someone;
Example,
“Mates, the rellies have lobbed.”
- Give it a burl
Have a try, to attempt for something;
Example,
“I know you’ve never skydived, but give it a burl, mate!”
- Grinning like a shot fox
Too much happy or smugly satisfied;
- The pants of the ant
Someone or something deemed the best in terms of novelty, style, or intellect.
- Lair it up
To behave in a brash and rudely;
- Brass razoo, he hasn’t got a
he’s very poor;
- Lend of, to have a
Taking benefit of someone’s gullibility, to have someone on;
Example,
“Naina is having a lend of you.”
- It takes two to tango
When two people are of involved in something or When We want to point out hurt every story has two sides;
Example,
“He has to consider all the things he’s done wrong. It’s not just his fault. Remember – it takes two to tango.”
- To spit the dummy, Step on your feet, give out;
when someone wants to show his or her irritation towards an uncooperative person;
Example,
“You’re always spitting the dummy when you don’t get your way!”
- Happy like Larry
Extremely happy, careless in the world;
Example,
“You know baby, I’m a kinda mate who’s always happy like larry!”
- Water the horse
Urinating;
- Wucking Furries
No problem, a more polite way to say not to worry;
Example,
” I’ll help you mate, no wucking furries .”
- Goon: The marc, the cardboard wine
Aussie is a country of wines, so they will likely offer you during a “barbie.” There is a proverb connected with goon that says, “Beautiful night, horrible day.”
Example,
“Don’t drink the goon – it tastes terrible !: Don’t drink that marc in the carton – it tastes awful!”
- Barking up the wrong tree
Somebody has to go to the wrong place for information or has asked the wrong person.
- Could I fag bots?
Could I have a cigarette?
If you are a smoker and, after a long chat, you want to smoke and run out of cigarettes, Then use this phrase;
If you could put that typically Australia apèèèèr to accent, someone might even mistake you for a real Aussie?!
- Cut down the tall poppies
To criticize people who stand out from the crowd;
Example,
“Merry seemed to cut down the tall poppies when talking about Larry as a wicked man just because he is a billionaire.”
- Bourke Street, he/she doesn’t know Christmas from
A person is a bit slow in the head;
- Don’t get your knickers in a knot
Getting nervous about anything, whether the boyfriend who does not answer over the phone or due to a job or because he cannot find a pair of shoes for the wedding of her cousin, etc.;
Example,
“come on, mate, don’t get angry! “
- Flash as a rat with a gold tooth
When a person tries hard to impress others by his/her appearance or behavior;
Example,
“That scarf around your neck makes you look like a rat with a gold tooth.”
- Crack a tinnie
To open a can of cold beer;
Example,
“Hey mate, let’s go out at the beach, and we’ll crack a tinnie there.”
- What a stinker of a day
When in the middle of summer or even at the start, when you begin making barbies, it will be so hot. Use this Aussie phrase;
- Dingo’s breakfast
A leak, a yawn, and a good look round;
- Fair suck of the sav
Use this phrase when someone is not letting you do or say something;
Example,
“Hey buddy, fair suck of the sav; What about shutting up and listening, mate?”
- Away with the pixies
Someone’s dreaming;
Example,
“Tara is not under control, as she’s in love with her way and away with the pixies.”
Some More Aussie Expressions
Don’t come the raw prawn with me
- Please don’t disappoint me.
Go off like a frog in a sock
- Burn like a frog in a sock – be very energetic.
Flat out like a lizard drinking
- He/She posed like a drinking lizard – Being extremely busy.
“Dry as a dead dingoes donger
- Incredibly thirsty;
It’s as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike.
- Something worthless or useless;
A few kangaroos short in the top paddock.
- Not a very sharp person. It has the same meaning as As thick as two short planks;
Some Australian Proverbs
Blood is thicker than water.
- We all know that one’s family is more important than the friends.
Queer as a 3 dollar note
- A homosexual person;
One man’s meal is another man’s poison.
- The meal of one is poison for the other. This means that not everyone has the same taste.
Half a loaf is better than nothing
- It is better to have little than nothing at all.
Once bitten, twice shy
- Bitten once, shy twice. Scalded cat fears cold water
Throwing a boomerang takes the risk to take in the head
- Who throws a boomerang, takes the risk of making it in the head. Who sows the wind reaps the whirlwind.
There’s none so deaf as those who will not hear (Aussie way)
- No one is deafer than the person who does not want to listen to anything. It is said of a person who does not listen to the advice given to him.
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush (Aussie proverb)
- To feel content or satisfied with what one has.
A bad workman always blames his tools
- When someone is in fault but blames others.
Aussie People Shorten The Words
Australians also shorten verbs in sentences. We must really think that they are lazy. See what it looks like:
- I’m going to → I’m gonna (even downright “I’m gunna”)
- I’ve got to → I’ve gotta
- I want to → I wanna
And the list can be endless. These shortened words make the Australian language very “casual,” very “friendly.” We feel welcomed and integrated when we speak in Australian. It breaks down all social, hierarchical, cultural barriers. Everyone is a friend (mate) and on the same level. No snobbery, no fuss with the Australians.
Boomerang
Among kangaroos;
“Mom, the light went out.”
“No, my little one, you have to jump with your whole leg.”
There you are! It means by practicing the before-mentioned slang phrases, you will soon feel the improvements and arrive at the moment of departure relaxed and ready to fully enjoy this incredible adventure!
Mates, to complete your preparation on the “Oz slang,” read the article on “Down Under The Aussie Slang Terms” that you absolutely must know if you want to talk to the Aussie locals!
Now I’ll take your leave mates as feeling hungry and of course I could eat a horse and chase the jockey too, lol??
Till then, See ya’ mate!