a cup of tea, a Bex and a good lie down
A humorous prescription for calming down or coping with a problem.
Remembered; culturally dated
The Slang MusterAustralian words and expressions
Slang you might remember
Expressions that remain familiar even when they are no longer everyday speech.
Explore expressions you may remember from older conversations and writing. Each entry distinguishes its recorded history from the way it is used today, where the evidence allows.
118 entries · Search and filter this collection →
ambo
An ambulance worker or paramedic.
Aristotle
A bottle.
arvo tea
Afternoon tea.
as cunning as a dunny rat
Extremely cunning or crafty.
Read the note on usageas dry as a dead dingo's donger
Extremely dry or thirsty.
Read the note on usageas full as a state school hat-rack
Extremely full; used of a person who has eaten or drunk heavily, or of a very crowded place.
Read the note on usageas game as Ned Kelly
Extremely brave or indomitable.
Read the note on usageas mad as a meat axe
Extremely angry, wild or irrational.
Read the note on usageas silly as a two-bob watch
Very foolish, erratic or unreliable.
Read the note on usageas useful as a pocket in a singlet
Completely useless or impractical.
Read the note on usageavo
Avocado.
better than a poke in the eye with a burnt stick
Better than nothing; an outcome that is at least preferable to something worse.
Read the note on usagebiccy
A biscuit.
Read the note on usagebig lunch
The main school lunch break, especially when contrasted with little lunch.
billy lid
A kid or child.
brekkie
Breakfast.
bugger me dead
Express strong surprise, disbelief or exasperation.
Read the note on usagebulk ace
Very good; excellent, with bulk acting as an intensifier before ace.
Read the note on usageCanberra bashing
Criticism of the Australian Government, its bureaucracy or the national capital.
cark it
To die, fail or break down.
carry on like a two-bob watch
Behave in an agitated, erratic or over-excited way.
Read the note on usagecheckout chick
An informal, now dated and gendered term for a supermarket checkout operator.
Dated and genderedchoccy
Chocolate; also an attributive shortening as in choccy biccy.
Read the note on usageChrissy
Christmas.
Read the note on usageClayton's
A thing that exists in name only, or is an inferior substitute.
come a gutser
Fall heavily or fail badly.
Read the note on usagecompo
Workers' compensation or a compensation payment.
cop it sweet
Accept punishment, criticism or bad treatment without complaint.
could eat a horse and chase the rider
Be extremely hungry.
Read the note on usageDad 'n Dave
A shave.
Read the note on usagedeener
A shilling in pre-decimal Australian currency.
Read the note on usagedo your block
Lose your temper.
do your dough
Lose your money, especially through gambling.
do your lolly
Lose your temper.
Read the note on usagedole bludger
A disparaging label for an unemployed person receiving welfare.
Read the note on usageDorothy Dix
A six in cricket, by rhyming slang.
Read the note on usagedrop your bundle
Lose confidence, composure or hope.
Read the note on usageflat strap
Extremely busy, or operating/moving at maximum capacity or speed.
flat to the boards
At maximum speed, effort or capacity.
Read the note on usagefull up to Dolly's wax
Completely full after eating, or thoroughly fed up.
get the DCM
Be dismissed from a job: 'don't come Monday'.
Read the note on usagehave a go, ya mug
A barracking challenge or encouragement to try.
Read the note on usagehump the bluey
Travel as a swagman, carrying one's swag while seeking work.
Read the note on usageI can feel a XXXX coming on
Express anticipation of a XXXX beer; advertising-derived catchphrase.
Read the note on usagein more strife than the early settlers
In serious trouble or difficulty.
Read the note on usageJennings German
A historical label for German tradesmen brought to Canberra under an A.V. Jennings-sponsored migration scheme.
Read the note on usagejourno
A journalist.
kindy
Kindergarten or preschool.
Read the note on usageKoori
A regional self-identification used by many Aboriginal people in parts of New South Wales and Victoria.
Current regional self-identificationlike a shag on a rock
Completely alone, exposed or isolated.
Read the note on usageLionel Rose
Nose.
Read the note on usagelippy
Lipstick.
Read the note on usagelittle lunch
A mid-morning school break or the light food eaten during it.
London to a brick
Very strong odds or near certainty, especially in betting-style comparisons.
Maccas
McDonald's.
Read the note on usageMal Meninga
Finger, in Australian rhyming slang.
Read the note on usageMerv Hughes
Shoes.
Read the note on usagemilko
A milkman or milk-delivery worker.
more front than Mark Foys
Brazen, cheeky or excessively forward.
Read the note on usagemore hide than Jessie
Exceptionally cheeky, presumptuous or thick-skinned.
Read the note on usagemozzie
A mosquito.
nasho
National Service or a person who undertook it.
never-never
Remote inland Australia or an imagined far-off place.
Read the note on usagenot the full bottle
Not very intelligent or not fully informed.
Read the note on usagenot within a bull's roar
Nowhere near, or roughly within hearing distance in the positive form.
Read the note on usagenot worth a brass razoo
Worth nothing, or have almost no money.
not worth a cracker
Worth very little or nothing.
off like a bride's nightie
Leaving or being removed very quickly.
Read the note on usageon your Pat Malone
Alone or by yourself.
Read the note on usageparma
A shortening of chicken parmigiana, especially the pub meal.
poke your bib in
Interfere or intrude in someone else's business.
pollie
A politician.
pull a swifty
Use a quick trick or deception.
put the billy on
Prepare tea by boiling water in a billy.
put the hard word on
Press someone firmly for agreement, money, information or a romantic response.
put your two bob's worth in
Offer an opinion, often unsolicited.
razor gang
A committee or group tasked with making severe spending cuts.
rego
Vehicle registration; sometimes the registration process/fee itself.
rubbity dub
A pub.
Salvos
The Salvation Army, its members or its op shops/services in informal Australian usage.
Read the note on usageschmick
Smart, stylish or excellent.
schoolies
The end-of-Year-12 celebrations, especially a holiday or week of celebrations; also a participant in them.
screamer
A spectacular overhead mark in Australian Rules football; also used in compounds for a low alcohol tolerance.
see you round like a rissole
A playful rhyming farewell.
sharpie
A member of the distinct Australian working-class youth subculture/gang culture of the 1960s–80s.
Read the note on usagesickie
A day of sick leave, sometimes taken without sufficient medical reason.
skip
An Australian, especially one of British descent; coined in migrant Australian usage.
Current but potentially derogatorysledge
To needle or abuse an opponent, originating especially in cricket.
spewing
Extremely disappointed or annoyed.
Read the note on usagestarve the lizards
Express surprise, disbelief or exasperation.
strike me pink
Express surprise or astonishment.
Read the note on usageStuart Diver
A survivor.
Read the note on usagetalk the leg off an iron pot
Talk at exceptional length.
tanner
A sixpence in pre-decimal currency.
Read the note on usagetart
A dated Australian term for a girlfriend or sweetheart; now likely to be offensive.
Historical Australian sweetheart sense obsolete; modern senses derogatoryten pound Pom
A British migrant who came under the Assisted Passage Migration Scheme.
Read the note on usagethrow another prawn on the barbie
An invitation to add seafood to a barbecue; often used as an external stereotype of Australian speech.
Read the note on usagetoo right
Certainly; absolutely; an emphatic expression of agreement.
Read the note on usagetrackies
A tracksuit or, commonly, tracksuit pants.
Read the note on usagetrey
A threepence coin in pre-decimal Australian currency.
Read the note on usagetwo bob each way
Hedge between opposing positions or support both sides.
up to pussy's bow
Completely full, busy or at maximum capacity.
Read the note on usagevego
A vegetarian; sometimes vegetarian food.
wag school
Stay away from school without permission.
Wally Grout
A shout or round of drinks.
Read the note on usagewe'll be rooned
A gloomy prediction that disaster is inevitable.
Read the note on usagewharfie
A wharf or dock worker.
what do you think this is, bush week?
A protest against being treated as naive, foolish or easily exploited.
Read the note on usagewhere did you get your licence — from a cornflakes packet?
A criticism of someone's driving competence.
Read the note on usagewouldn't be dead for quids
Express exuberant enjoyment of being alive or present.
wouldn't know Christmas from Bourke Street
Be profoundly confused or ignorant.
wouldn't know if a tram was up him unless the conductor rang the bell
Be extremely unobservant or foolish.
Read the note on usagewouldn't shout if a shark bit him
Be extremely reluctant to buy a round of drinks.
Read the note on usagewouldn't work in an iron lung
Be extremely lazy.
Read the note on usagewrap your laughing gear around
Eat or drink something eagerly.
yonnie
A stone or small rock.
Read the note on usageyou right?
An informal service question meaning 'Are you being served?' or 'Do you need help?'.