a sausage short of a barbie
Not very intelligent or rational.
Read the note on usage
The Slang MusterAustralian words and expressions
People and character
Mates, ratbags, battlers and the language Australians use about one another.
109 entries · Search and filter this theme →
a stubbie short of a six-pack
Not very intelligent or rational.
Read the note on usageacca
An academic; historically also a mildly disparaging label for an academic type or academic writing.
Read the note on usageant's pants
An excellent, impressive or outstanding person or thing.
Read the note on usageas cross as a frog in a sock
Very angry or agitated.
Read the note on usageas cunning as a dunny rat
Extremely cunning or crafty.
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 usageAussie
An Australian person; Australian, as an adjective.
Balt
A historical label for a Baltic migrant or, more broadly in some postwar Australian use, a European refugee.
Read the note on usagebattler
Someone who keeps going despite hardship; often an ordinary person doing it tough.
beaut
Excellent, very good or pleasing; also an excellent person or thing.
big-note
Boast, show off or draw attention to one's own importance or achievements.
blind Freddie
A proverbial very unperceptive person, especially in even Blind Freddie could see that.
bloke
A man; often an ordinary or familiar man.
Read the note on usageblood's worth bottling
An expression of strong admiration for someone's courage, character or worth.
blow-in
A newcomer or temporary arrival to a place or community.
Read the note on usagebludge on someone
Live at another person's expense, impose on them or avoid your own responsibilities.
bludger
A person who avoids work or lives off the efforts of others; historically carried other underworld senses.
Current; historical senses obsoleteblue
A fight or argument; also, in make a blue, a mistake.
bodgie
A 1950s male youth associated with distinctive dress, music and rebellion.
Read the note on usagebogan
A person stereotyped as uncultured or unsophisticated.
Read the note on usagebonzer
Excellent or first-rate.
boofhead
A fool, simpleton or stupid person.
calm your farm
Calm down; relax.
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 usagechuck a mental
Lose self-control; become very angry or agitated.
Read the note on usagechuck a wobbly
Have a tantrum, angry outburst or loss of composure.
Read the note on usagecobber
A friend or companion.
come the raw prawn
Try to deceive or take someone for a fool.
cop it sweet
Accept punishment, criticism or bad treatment without complaint.
couldn't organise a chook raffle
Be hopelessly disorganised or incompetent.
dag
An unfashionable, awkward or endearingly eccentric person.
dill
A fool or foolish person.
dinkum
Genuine, honest or true.
do your block
Lose your temper.
do your lolly
Lose your temper.
Read the note on usagedo your nana
Lose your temper.
Read the note on usagedrongo
A fool or incompetent person.
drop your bundle
Lose confidence, composure or hope.
Read the note on usageeshay
A young person associated with a recognisable urban street style and subculture.
Read the note on usageface like a dropped pie
A battered, dishevelled or unattractive-looking face.
Read the note on usageface like a half-sucked mango
A dishevelled or unattractive face or appearance.
Read the note on usageface like a smashed crab
An unattractive, battered or crumpled-looking face.
Read the note on usageferal
A person regarded as living outside conventional society, or as wild, unruly or socially unconventional.
Read the note on usagefit as a mallee bull
Exceptionally fit, strong and healthy.
flash as a rat with a gold tooth
Very showy, ostentatious or conspicuously dressed.
galah
A fool, noisy silly person or show-off.
Read the note on usageget rooted
A vulgar dismissal: go away; get lost.
Read the note on usagegive it the flick
Discard, reject or end something.
Read the note on usagego off like a cut snake
React or move with extreme anger or energy.
Read the note on usagego off like a frog in a sock
Become extremely lively, excited or agitated.
Read the note on usagegrouse
Excellent, very good or impressive.
Read the note on usagehappy as Larry
Extremely happy.
have a gutful
Have endured enough and become fed up.
Read the note on usagehave a lend of someone
Tease, deceive or refuse to take someone seriously.
Read the note on usagehave tickets on yourself
To have an exaggerated opinion of your own importance, value or ability.
hoon
A person who drives dangerously or antisocially.
Read the note on usagehop in for your chop
Step forward to claim or take one's fair share.
houso
A person who lives in public or housing-commission accommodation; sometimes the accommodation or social milieu itself.
Read the note on usageI didn't come down in the last shower
I am experienced and not easily fooled.
Jennings German
A historical label for German tradesmen brought to Canberra under an A.V. Jennings-sponsored migration scheme.
Read the note on usagekangaroos loose in the top paddock
Eccentric, foolish or mentally confused.
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-identificationlairy
Showy, flash, brash or aggressively self-confident.
larrikin
A mischievous, rowdy or irreverent person.
like a stunned mullet
Looking dazed, shocked or uncomprehending.
mad as a cut snake
Extremely angry, wild or eccentric.
Read the note on usagemate
A friend, companion or familiar form of address.
Read the note on usagemateship
Solidarity, loyalty and mutual support between mates.
Read the note on usageMickey Mouse
Excellent, satisfactory or well done in some Australian usage; elsewhere the same phrase can mean trivial or poor quality.
Read the note on usagemiserable as a bandicoot
Extremely unhappy or wretched.
more front than Mark Foys
Brazen, cheeky or excessively forward.
Read the note on usagemore hide than a rhinoceros
Exceptionally cheeky or presumptuous.
Read the note on usagemore hide than Jessie
Exceptionally cheeky, presumptuous or thick-skinned.
Read the note on usagenot the full quid
Not very intelligent or not entirely sensible.
Read the note on usageocker
A stereotypically uncouth, broad-accented or aggressively 'Aussie' person; also adjective.
on your Pat Malone
Alone or by yourself.
Read the note on usagepoke your bib in
Interfere or intrude in someone else's business.
pommy
A British person, especially an English person.
Read the note on usagepull a swifty
Use a quick trick or deception.
pull your head in
Stop behaving arrogantly, foolishly or aggressively.
put the acid on
Pressure someone for a favour, money or action; make a demand that is hard to resist.
put the hard word on
Press someone firmly for agreement, money, information or a romantic response.
ratbag
A troublesome, eccentric, disreputable or mischievous person.
Read the note on usagereffo
Historically, a refugee, particularly a European refugee after the Second World War.
Read the note on usagerellie
A relative or family member.
ripper
Excellent, great or first-rate; historically also a remarkable person/thing.
schmick
Smart, stylish or excellent.
seppo
An American; shortened from septic tank = Yank.
Read the note on usagesheila
A woman.
Read the note on usageskip
An Australian, especially one of British descent; coined in migrant Australian usage.
Current but potentially derogatoryspunk
A sexually attractive person.
Read the note on usagestickybeak
A nosy person; also to pry, investigate or look around inquisitively.
stoush
A fight, dispute or vigorous contest.
talk the leg off an iron pot
Talk at exceptional length.
tall poppy
A prominent or successful person targeted for criticism.
Read the note on usagetall poppy syndrome
The perceived tendency to cut successful people down.
Read the note on usageten pound Pom
A British migrant who came under the Assisted Passage Migration Scheme.
Read the note on usagetrue blue
Genuine, loyal or authentically Australian.
Read the note on usagewhat do you think this is, bush week?
A protest against being treated as naive, foolish or easily exploited.
Read the note on usagewhip the cat
To complain or vent frustration about something that cannot now be changed.
Read the note on usagewog
A migrant label later reclaimed in some communities.
Read the note on usagewogball
A derogatory historical Australian term for soccer/association football.
Read the note on usagewouldn'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 usagewowser
A puritanical person who disapproves of drinking or pleasure.