Words & TermsYouth, popular and digital culture
old mate
An unnamed or contextually obvious person; sometimes an older man, sometimes merely 'that bloke/person'.
In a sentence
In this historical or contextual use, “old mate” means an unnamed or contextually obvious person; sometimes an older man, sometimes merely 'that bloke/person'.
Where it came from
Australian sources and dictionaries recognise old mate as a colloquial placeholder for a person.
- Initial era
- 1950–1999
- Where used
- Australia-wide