The Slang Muster
The Slang Muster
Australia,in our own words.
The words that have shaped Australian life, from the bush to the backyard.
One from the muster
arvo
The afternoon.
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Eight entries that show how broad—and how surprising—Australian slang can be.
The afternoon.
Politics and public lifefair goA reasonable chance, equitable treatment, or an appeal for fairness.
Work, bush and rural lifehard yakkaHard physical work.
People and characterboganA person stereotyped as uncultured or unsophisticated.
Places and regional languageback of BourkeA place considered extremely remote or far from major settlement.
Everyday lifedead horseTomato sauce, in Australian rhyming slang.
Sport and recreationdo a BradburySucceed unexpectedly after leading rivals fail or fall away.
Food and drinkdemocracy sausageA sausage in bread bought at a polling-place fundraiser on election day.
Find your way in
Browse by theme
Broad, useful paths through the collection—not a maze of tiny categories.
Everyday life
The words and expressions woven through ordinary Australian conversation.
109 entriesPeople and character
Mates, ratbags, battlers and the language Australians use about one another.
93 entriesWork, bush and rural life
From stations and shearing sheds to worksites, trades and hard yakka.
53 entriesFood and drink
What Australians eat, drink, cook, carry and call it in different places.
87 entriesPlaces and regional language
Local names, regional differences and expressions rooted in Australian places.
54 entriesSport and recreation
Slang from the field, track, beach, backyard and grandstand.
Follow a thread
Explore a collection
Curated groups built around a shared history, form or generation.
Thirty familiar starting points from across the collection.
118 entriesSlang you might rememberExpressions that remain familiar even when they are no longer everyday speech.
28 entriesRhyming slangAustralian rhymes, shortened forms and expressions that hide their meanings in plain sight.
21 entriesPlace nicknamesAffectionate, mocking and memorable names Australians have given their cities and regions.
43 entriesWartime slangWords carried through service life, conflict and commemoration.
30 entriesNew Australian slangExpressions shaped by recent politics, popular culture, schools and digital life.
From the kitchen to the pub
Australian food and drink slang
The names Australians give everyday favourites.
A loaf of bread baked in an enclosed rounded or corrugated tin, producing a cylindrical or tank-like shape.
Dated or regionally remembered
Food and drinkbachelor’s handbagA hot supermarket barbecue or roast chicken sold in a handled plastic bag.
Food and drinkbarbieA barbecue.
Food and drinkbring a plateBring a dish of food to share at a gathering.
Food and drinkbum nutAn egg.
Food and drinkdemocracy sausageA sausage in bread bought at a polling-place fundraiser on election day.
Learn how everyday words, shortened forms and context fit together. New to Australian slang? Start here →
The complete collection
All 703 words and expressions.
Browse alphabetically or filter by form, theme, era and subtype. Every published entry has passed the project’s editorial and evidence controls.
Explore the complete collection- 467
- Words & Terms
- 236
- Phrases & Sayings
- 10
- Public themes
Behind the words
Every bit of slang has a story.
We go looking for where a word came from, how Australians used it and the twists it took along the way.
About dates: “First recorded” gives more detail where the evidence supports it. “Initial era” places the earliest Australian evidence we located into a broad period. Neither claims an exact moment of invention or suggests the expression stopped being used then.
- 01Spot it
Gather good finds from dictionaries, newspapers, books and readers.
- 02Trace it
Follow the word through time, place and changing meanings.
- 03Share it
Tell the story clearly, in fresh words, with the sources there for anyone who wants them.
Where we go looking