A Guide To The Aussie Lingo

You may think that by moving from the UK to Australia, the one thing you don’t have to worry yourself with is learning a new language. But don’t think you’ve got off that lightly. Over several centuries, those Australians have stretched and played with the English language as if it were a ball of dough, so it’s important to bone up on the sayings and phrases that you will undoubtedly encounter as you make a new life for yourself in Oz. Here are a selection:

1) Arvo. This is short for ‘afternoon’. ‘Morvo’ and ‘Evo’ didn’t catch on.

2) Bluey. This is used for an array of different things from ‘swag’ (because personal possessions were traditionally transported in a blue blanket covering) to a traffic ticket (because they were originally printed on blue paper) but the most entertaining answer is it is used to describe someone with red hair. Yes, you heard correctly.

3) Boardies. These are the shorts typically worn by surfboarders.

4) Boogie board. A half-sized surfboard. For smaller surfboarders.

5) Chook. This is an affectionate term for a chicken, usually the kind kept as pets rather than the kind you see in the frozen aisle of Coles.

6) Coles. It’s a supermarket in case you were wondering.

7) Dunny budgie. Or you could just say ‘blowfly’. Not as funny but not as many syllables.

8) Handle. A beer glass with a handle, which speaks volumes about how much beer is appreciated in Oz.

9) Jaffle Iron. This is a sandwich maker which is good for diets because most of the sandwich stays welded to the iron.

10) Longneck. A 750ml bottle of beer in South Australia. (See ‘Handle’)

11) Mystery Bag. A sausage. Perhaps the best slang ever.

12) Nipper. A great name for a young ‘Surf Lifesaver’. This is a movement in Australia (and South Africa) that promotes safety at the beach and on the water for kids, kind of like the scouts but with swim hats.

13) Polly. A far too cute a nickname to describe a politician.

14) Postie. Are you seeing a theme here?

15) Sunnies. I think you are.

16) Thongs. No, not the bizarrely inadequate item of underwear but flip-flops or sandals. This is an important distinction to make otherwise one or two conversations may end in red faces all round.

17) Utes. Short for ‘utility vehicles’, the kind you only ever saw in Britain on adverts for Castlemaine XXXX.

So there you have it, some useful terms to help you get by during those difficult first few months. And if you need any help getting there, Seven Seas Worldwide are on hand with a top relocation service, sending household items from A to B and all the way back again if necessary.

Check out the website over a Longneck for more information. And save 5% off the cost of shipping from UK to Australia with promo code BBMUK15W06

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