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
Youth, popular and digital culture
Schoolyards, advertising, screens and the slang of changing generations.
50 entries · Search and filter this theme →
big lunch
The main school lunch break, especially when contrasted with little lunch.
billycart
A child's homemade go-cart, historically sometimes pulled by a goat.
bulk ace
Very good; excellent, with bulk acting as an intensifier before ace.
Read the note on usagebush doof
An outdoor electronic dance party or rave, typically held in a rural or bush setting.
cashed-up bogan
A newly affluent person perceived as retaining stereotypically bogan tastes or behaviour.
Read the note on usagecrack the shits
Become suddenly angry, annoyed or exasperated.
Read the note on usagedak
To pull down another person's trousers as a prank or humiliation.
Read the note on usagedeener
A shilling in pre-decimal Australian currency.
Read the note on usagedevo
Devastated or very disappointed.
Read the note on usagedo a Melba
To retire or stage a farewell and then return, especially more than once.
Read the note on usagedog act
A contemptible, disloyal or unfair action.
Read the note on usagedrop bear
An imaginary predatory koala-like animal used in tall tales and pranks, especially on tourists.
Read the note on usagedurry
A cigarette, especially a roll-your-own.
Read the note on usagefull up to Dolly's wax
Completely full after eating, or thoroughly fed up.
fully sick
Excellent, impressive or very good; separately, literally very ill.
Read the note on usageget on the beers
To drink beer, especially socially; also a pandemic-era catchphrase/meme.
Read the note on usageget your hand off my penis
A catchphrase from the viral 'Democracy Manifest' arrest footage.
Read the note on usagegood on ya
An expression of approval, thanks, encouragement or sometimes ironic rebuke.
happy little Vegemite
A cheerful, contented or satisfied person.
Read the note on usagehow good is…
A productive enthusiastic formula meaning 'isn't X great?', sometimes used ironically.
Read the note on usageiso
Isolation or self-isolation, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read the note on usageit's the vibe
A comic formula for an intuitive, hard-to-articulate justification.
Read the note on usagelife wasn't meant to be easy
A stock response to complaint or difficulty, often used stoically or ironically.
Read the note on usagelittle lunch
A mid-morning school break or the light food eaten during it.
mate's rates
A discounted price or favourable deal offered through friendship or personal connection.
milkshake duck
A person or thing that becomes an online favourite before troubling information rapidly turns public opinion against them.
muck-up day
A final-school-day tradition in which Year 12 students celebrate and play pranks.
not happy, Jan
An expression of displeasure, frustration or dissatisfaction.
Read the note on usageold mate
An unnamed or contextually obvious person; sometimes an older man, sometimes merely 'that bloke/person'.
Read the note on usagerona
Coronavirus/COVID-19; the pandemic, in informal shortening.
Read the note on usagerooted
Broken, exhausted, ruined or in serious trouble; also a vulgar sexual sense.
Read the note on usageschoolies
The end-of-Year-12 celebrations, especially a holiday or week of celebrations; also a participant in them.
sharpie
A member of the distinct Australian working-class youth subculture/gang culture of the 1960s–80s.
Read the note on usagespewing
Extremely disappointed or annoyed.
Read the note on usagestraight to the poolroom
Worthy of proud display or treasured status.
Read the note on usagestrollout
A rollout criticised as excessively slow, especially Australia's COVID-19 vaccine rollout.
Read the note on usagesucculent Chinese meal
A meme phrase from a widely circulated arrest video.
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 derogatorytell him he's dreaming
That price or expectation is unrealistic, from The Castle.
Read the note on usagetoo easy
An assurance meaning certainly, no problem or understood.
Read the note on usagetoo right
Certainly; absolutely; an emphatic expression of agreement.
Read the note on usagetoolie
A non-school-leaver, usually an older person, who attends or gatecrashes Schoolies celebrations.
trey
A threepence coin in pre-decimal Australian currency.
Read the note on usageVegemite kid
A typical Australian, derived from Vegemite advertising.
wag school
Stay away from school without permission.
widgie
A young woman associated with the 1950s bodgie subculture.
Read the note on usagewigwam for a goose's bridle
A joking non-answer to a child's question.
Read the note on usageyonnie
A stone or small rock.
Read the note on usageyou're terrible, Muriel
A playful expression of disapproval.
Read the note on usage