| Aussie Words |
Definitions |
Comments |
| handle |
Beer glass with a handle |
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| hard yacka |
Hard work |
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| hatter |
Person living alone and rough in the bush - maybe crazy |
"Mad as a HATTER" |
| heaps |
A lot |
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| hire |
To rent, as "to hire a car" |
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| his nibs |
The boss |
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| homestead |
Residance of a station (ranch or farm) owner or manager |
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| hooley |
Wild party |
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| hooly-dooly |
An expression of surprise |
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| hoon |
Idiot, hooligan, yahoo |
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| hooroo |
Goodbye |
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| hotel |
Often just a pub |
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| hottie |
Hot water bottle |
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| how are ya? |
Standard greeting |
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| hq |
Second most revered Holden car |
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| hump |
To carry |
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| humping bluey |
Carrying a swag, travelling rough and light (looking for work - or tucker) |
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| humpy |
Temporary, makeshift dwelling (originally Aboriginal shelter, gunyah) |
Aboriginal (Jagara): 'yumbi |
| icy pole |
Popsicle, lollypop |
Ice block, where I came from |
| identity |
Celebrity |
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| iffy |
Doubtful, questionable |
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| illywacker |
A con man who preyed on the gullible at country shows/fairs |
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| in full feather |
In fine health |
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| in yer boot! |
An expression of disagreement (archaic) |
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| it's a goer |
Something that will definitely occur |
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| Jack Shay (Jack Shea) |
Quart pot, metal drinking vessel / container |
Rhymes (to the Irish) with tea (pot) |
| jack-in-the-box |
Person who can't sit still |
|
| jackaroo |
A male station hand (a station is a big farm/grazing property) |
In station life, Jackaroo has long meant an Englishman getting 'colonial experience' (often not paid … but ate with the magager, not the men!) [Originally, ie very early colonial, it meant a white man living beyond the boundary of settlement - possibly Aboriginal word 'dhugai-iu', (Jagara)] |
| jillaroo |
A female station hand |
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| jingoes! |
Exclamation of wonder |
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| jocks |
Men's or boys' underpants |
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| Joe Blake |
Snake (rhyming) |
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| Joe Bloggs |
The average citizen |
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| joey |
Baby kangaroo, still in the pouch |
Originally baby possum - trans. to kangaroo, then any young marsupial … eventually comes to mean child! |
| johnny cake |
Small, thin, loaf of damper (bush bread) |
Trans. from US flat oat cake |
| journo |
Journalist |
|
| jumbuck |
Sheep |
Probably an Aboriginal word for 'cloud' or 'mist' (a distant mob of sheep?) |
| jumped-up |
Full of self-importance; arrogant |
|
| kanga or kangaroo |
Shoe |
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| keen as mustard |
Enthusiastic |
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| kelpie |
Australian sheepdog originally bred from Scottish collie |
Breed is descended from champion short-haired collie named 'Kelpie' |
| kerb |
Alternative Australian and British spelling of "curb" |
|
| kerbside quiche |
Vomit |
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| kerfuffle |
Argument |
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| kero |
Kerosene |
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| kick |
To share or join in |
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| kick-in |
To provide your share |
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| kindie |
Kindergarten |
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| king brown |
Type of venomous snake or tall bottle of beer |
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| kip |
Sleep or nap |
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| kiwi |
New zealander |
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| knackered |
Worn out, rooted |
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| knackers |
Testicles (also love spuds, nuts, nads) |
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| knock |
To criticise |
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| knock back |
Refusal (noun), refuse (transitive verb) |
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| knocker |
One who criticises |
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| kombi |
Multi-purpose van-like vehicle, often modified so the back seats were folded dow |
|
| koori |
Aborigine (mostly south of the Murray River) |
Also all of NSW (except for Yuin in south east) ... Murri -then Bama to north in Queensland - Yura, then Nunga to west, in South Australia |
| lair |
Layabout, hooligan |
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| lairise |
To behave in a vulgar, flamboyant manner |
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| lamb-brained |
Stupid |
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| lamington |
Sponge cake cut into squares, covered in chocolate and coconut |
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| larrikin |
Ruffian or hoodlum, but viewed with some admiration |
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| lay-by |
To put a deposit on an article so a shop will hold it |
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| licensed |
Legally permitted to sell alcoholic drinks |
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| like a bandicoot on a burnt ridge |
Lonely and vulnerable |
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| lingo |
The language |
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| lippy |
Lipstick |
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| liquid laugh |
Vomit |
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| lob, lob in |
Drop in to see someone ("the rellies have lobbed") |
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| lollies |
Candy or sweets |
|
| lolly |
Money |
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| London to a brick |
Absolute certainty ("it's London to a brick that taxes won't go down") |
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| loo |
Lavatory or toilet |
English, 19th c. (Water)loo |
| lot |
The whole thing |
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| lubra |
Aboriginal woman |
Aboriginal word (se Tasmania) 'lubara' |
| lucky country, the |
Australia, where else? |
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| lurk |
Scheme, sometimes viewed with envy |
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| ma stater |
Resident of New South Wales |
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| mad |
Crazy (seldom means anger) |
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| Mallee |
Remote bushland of Victoria, low scrub |
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| manchester |
Household linen |
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| mate |
This usually means a friend but it can be used to talk about or to anyone - even |
|
| mate's rate, mate's discount |
Cheaper than usual for a "friend" |
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| matey with |
Familiar or friendly with |
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| matilda |
The belongings of a swagman, wrapped in a blanket or bedroll |
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| meat safe |
Ventilated fly-proof cage for storing meat carcasses without refrigeration |
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| merino |
Breed of sheep with fine strands of fleece |
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| metho |
Methylated spirits |
Denatured alcohol/rubbing alcohol |
| Mexican |
A person from south of the (Queensland) border |
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| mickey mouse |
Excellent, very good |
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| middy |
285 ml beer glass (New South Wales) |
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| milk bar |
Corner general store |
Not NSW usage - corner shop had to have milk licence, but a 'milk bar' was principally a (milk & soft) drink shop … almost = US "drug store" |
| milko |
Milkman |
|
| mob |
Family or herd (?) of kangaroos / herd of sheep or cattle |
(transference ?) |
| mob |
Group of person or things (not necessarily unruly) |
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| moke |
Horse (not a good one!) |
Original meaning was donkey |
| mole (native) |
Platypus … to a Pom who isn't any sort of naturalist |
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| moleskin(s) |
Trousers of moleskin (untwilled cotton fustian fabric) |
Typical sailors' wear on British sailing ships |
| moll |
Girl(friend), disreputable girl, tart, Dona |
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