100 Australian Slang Words & Phrases
C*nt, the “C” word – Used when
1. A Cold One – Beer
2. Arvo – Afternoon
3. Aussie Salute – Wave to scare the flies
4. Bail – To cancel plans. ‘Bruce bailed’ =
Bruce isn’t going to turn up.
5. Barbie – Barbecue
6. Bathers – Swimsuit
7. Beauty! – Great! Most often exclaimed
as “You Beauty”
8. Billabong – A pond in a dry riverbed
9. Billy – Teapot (In the Outback on the
fire)
10. Bloody – Very. Used to extenuate a
point
11. Bloody oath – yes or its true. “You right
mate?”… “Bloody Oath”
12. Bludger – Someone who’s lazy,
generally also who relies on others
(when it’s someone who relies on the
state they’re often called a ‘dole
bludger’)
13. Bogan – This word is used for people
who are, well let’s say, rednecks. Or, if
you like, just call your friends
a bogan when they are acting weird.
14. Booze Bus – Police vehicle used to
catch drunk drivers
15. Bottle-O – Bottle Shop, basically a
place to buy alcohol
16. Brekky – Breakfast
17. Brolly – Umbrella
18. Bruce – An Aussie Bloke
19. Budgie Smugglers – Speedos
20. Bush – The Outback.
21. Cab Sav – Cabernet Sauvignon
22. Cactus – Dead, Broken
23. Choc A Bloc – Full
24. Choccy Biccy – Chocolate Biscuit
25. Chook – Chicken
26. Chrissie – Christmas
27. Ciggy – a Cigarette
28. Clucky – feeling maternal
29. Cobber – Very good friend. ‘Alright me
‘ol cobber’.
30. Coldie – Beer. ‘Come over for a few
coldie’s mate.’
31. Coppers – Policemen
32. Crikey – an expression of surprise
33. Crook – Being ill or angry; ‘Don’t go
crook on me for getting crook’
34.
exchanging pleasantries between close
friends or family member. If someone
calls you the “C” word in Australia (and
you haven’t done anything to make
them angry), then breathe a sigh of
relief… it means you have entered the
mate zone.
35. Dag – Someone who’s a bit of a nerd or
geek.
36. Daks – Trousers. ‘Tracky daks’ =
sweatpants (tracksuit pants)
37. Deadset – True
38. Devo – Devastated
39. Drongo – a Fool, ‘Don’t be a drongo
mate’
40. Dunny – Toilet
41. Esky – An insulated container that
keeps things cold (usually beers)
42. F*ck Me Dead – that’s unfortunate, that
surprises me
43. Fair Dinkum – ‘Fair Dinkum?’ … ‘Fair
Dinkum!’ = Honestly? … Yeah honestly!
44. Flannie / Flanno – flannelette shirt
45. Frothy – Beer
46. G’day – Hello
47. Galah – an Australian cockatoo with a
reputation for not being bright, hence a
galah is also a stupid person.
48. Going off – busy, lots of people
49. Good On Ya – Good work
50. Goon – the best invention ever
produced by mankind. Goon is a cheap,
boxed wine that will inevitably become
an integral part of your Australian
backpacking experience.
51. Hard yakka – Hard work
52. Heaps – loads, lots, many
53. Hoon – Hooligan (normally driving
badly!)
54. Knickers – female underwear
55. Larrikin – Someone who’s always up
for a laugh, bit of a harmless prankster
56. Legless – Someone who is really drunk
57. Lollies – Sweets
58. Maccas – McDonalds
59. Manchester – Sheets / Linen etc. As
someone who’s from England, finding a
department within a shop called
Manchester seriously confused me at
first.
60. Mongrel – Someone who’s a bit of a
dick
61. Mozzie – Mosquito
62. No Drama – No problem / it’s ok
63. No Worries -No problem / it’s ok
64. Nuddy – Naked
65. Pash – to kiss
66. Piece of Piss – easy
67. Piss Off – go away, get lost
68. Piss Up – a party, a get together and in
Australia – most social occasions
69. Piss – (To Piss) to urinate
70. Pissed – Intoxicated, Drunk
71. Pissed Off – Annoyed
72. Rack Off – The less offensive way to
tell someone to ‘F Off’!
73. Rapt – Very happy
74. Reckon – for sure. ‘You Reckon?’… ‘I
reckon!’
75. Rellie / Rello – Relatives
76. Ripper – ‘You little ripper’ = That’s
fantastic mate!
77. Root Rat – someone who enjoys sex
(maybe a little too much)
78. Rooted – Tired
79. Runners – Trainers, Sneakers
80. Servo – Service Station / Garage
81. Sheila – A woman
82. Shoot Through – To leave
83. Sickie – a sick day off work, or ‘to pull a
sickie’ would be to take a day off when
you aren’t actually sick
84. Skull – To down a beer
85. Slab – A carton of beers
86. Snag – Sausage
87. Stiffy – Erection
88. Stoked – Happy, Pleased
89. Straya – Australia
90. Strewth – An exclamation of surprise
91. Stubby – a bottle of beer
92. Stubby Holder – Used so your hands
don’t get cold when holding your beer!
93. Stuffed – Tired
94. Sunnies – Sunglasses
95. Swag – Single bed you can roll up, a bit
like a sleeping bag.
96. Tea – Dinner
97. Tinny – Can of beer or small boat
98. Thongs – Flip Flops. Do not be alarmed
if your new found Australian friend asks
you to wear thongs to the beach. They
are most likely expressing their concern
of the hot sand on your delicate feet.
99. Tucker – Food. ‘Bush Tucker’ tends to
be food found in the Outback such as
witchety grubs.
100. Two Up – A gambling game
played on Anzac day.
101. U-IE – to take a U-Turn when
driving
102. Ya – You
103. Yous – (youse) plural of you!