Pod: Top 15 Aussie Slang & Anecdotes from the Land Down Under [Explicit]

G’day mate! No, it’s not an Aussie stereotype, this friendly bunch¹ down under, greet² you with this endearing³ phrase – well, around Queensland they certainly do! I have to say that the early days in Straya⁴ were confusing, but Aussie slang is difficult to forget and always makes for a fun story.

Togs

I remember my first week in high school here in Straya. My family and I were stoked to get the list of things for my school camping trip with my classmates. The list was printed on orange paper and as we read along, my dad and I suddenly looked at each other when we uttered⁵, “togs?”. I quickly ran to the teacher, who happened to be South African, and asked where I could buy “togs”. She said “oh, these are swimmers, swimsuits – do you have these?”

Crack the sh*ts

High school was where I improved the quickest in Aussie slang and in my listening to the Australian English accent. Some of the friends I had, would help me by warning me not to sit in some seats; or the students who usually sat there would “crack the sh*ts”, meaning that they would get angry.

Bikkie

Recess was the best moment of the day in high school to catch up with friends and eat your lunch and snacks. My mum always made the best sangas⁶ and gave me the yummiest snacks. My friend Emily would always ask, “Can I please have a bikkie?” I was so confused – but now I know that it means biscuit.

Woop woop

In high school, there was this funny girl who used to say the most Aussie things. She had all the mannerisms⁷ of an adult which was so adorable. One day I asked why our other friend was late to school. She said, “Because he lives out woop woop”. My eyes opened wide thinking, here’s yet another place I haven’t been to. I asked whereabouts ‘woop woop’ was. She said ” I don’t know but it’s very far.” If you didn’t get it, ‘woop woop’, is an expression to say ‘very far‘.

Bloke / Sheila

I had a friend who had quite a strong Aussie accent when I lived in north Queensland. She enjoyed talking and telling stories, and I always had to pay close attention when she spoke. One day she used ‘bloke’ and ‘this sheila’ in her stories. I wondered why she would say ‘this sheila’ instead of just Sheila; turns out, bloke means guy and sheila means woman. I was lost.

Bludger

“All you bludgers better get to work on this assignment or you’re going to lose marks,” warned our lecturer one day at university. Once again, I asked, “who are these ‘bludgers’?” My friend giggled and said ‘bludgers mean lazy people or procrastinators⁸.’

Boot

My best friend Kenny often offered me lifts⁹ when I was at uni. The first time he gave me a lift, he said “You can put your bag in the boot.” I was lost once again. The boot is the back storage of the car.

Buggered / stuffed / pooped

I’ve heard each of these expressions to mean “I’m tired” here. But the funniest has to be “I’m pooped.”

Clucky

Some of my uni friends had adorable children who were always warm and enjoyed helping me with the language. I would always say, “Aww how cute!” I often overheard¹⁰ the parents say to each other, “Oh Letty is so clucky!” When I asked, “what is clucky?” They said that it meant that I was maternal or that I wanted kids of my own.

Chook

A friend at university was telling me about her weekend. She was saying that she put a whole “chook” in the oven and that she really loved eating it. I asked, “What is a chook?” She said, “it’s a kind of bird.” I said, “I’ve never tried that in my life.” She looked quite stunned¹¹ and continued her story. I was really curious about this bird that I’d never tried and googled ‘chook’. The search results said that it was Australian slang for chicken.

Dag / Daggy

If you know me, you know that I don’t take myself too seriously. At university in my twenties, I was even sillier than now because I was surrounded by artists. I would always joke around with my friends telling them about the clumsy¹² situations that I put myself in. One of them affectionately said, “Letty, you’re such a dag.” I asked another friend what it meant and she said that it meant that I was socially awkward or a bit of a geek. I suppose this could be used negatively but I hope that when you say it, you say it with a touch of love. I often say that I’m wearing daggy clothes when I don’t feel fashionable.

Devo

My muso¹³ friends at uni loved attending concerts. I remember that one of them showed up really sad one day and said “I’m devo, all the tickets are sold out.” Devo means devastated.

Bogan

“You’re such a bogan.” is a phrase I’ve heard close friends say to each other and they get quite annoyed when they get called bogans. For me, it’s quite offensive¹⁴ to say that about someone as it is the equivalent¹⁵ of redneck in the US, to mean an unsophisticated or uncool person.

Stoked

I love the expression “I’m stoked!” which means I’m super excited. My friends usually say that when they are delighted.

Tucker

“Get some tucker in ya!” said my friend at dinner once. I was looking around on the table where this ‘tucker’ dish was. As it turns out, tucker simply means food.

Tell me about your Aussie slang encounters!

1. bunch – a number of things, typically of the same kind ↩︎
2. greet – give a polite word of recognition when meeting someone, for example, saying ‘hello’ ↩︎
3. endearing – inspiring affection ↩︎
4. Straya – Aussie slang for Australia ↩︎
5. uttered (to utter) – to make a sound with one’s voice ↩︎
6. sangas – Aussie slang for sandwiches ↩︎
7. mannerisms – gestures or habits that have the characteristics of a specific group ↩︎
8. procrastinators – a person who delays doing things that they have to do, who wastes time instead ↩︎
9. lift(s) – a car ride from one place to another ↩︎
10. overheard – to hear someone speak without knowledge or intention ↩︎
11. stunned – shocked, surprised or astonished ↩︎
12. clumsy – awkward in movement or situations ↩︎
13. muso – Aussie slang for musician ↩︎
14. offensive – causing someone to feel upset or annoyed ↩︎
15. equivalent – equal to ↩︎