Travel Tips

Ever wanted to learn slang Australian?

The modern kind, still used today, not just the outback kind (some of which stopped being used years ago but is still in the slang dictionary)

Well, now you can learn, but it won't be 3 easy lessons!
Have fun! It will surely help reduce some of the culture shock/language barriers if you plan to visit.
(Il y a un version francais dans quelques sections aussi).

PS - I leave out the crude ones so there's quite a few missing!

ESSENTIALS SECTION

Grub or tucker! = food (outback usage mostly - elsewhere food is food) = Nourriture, aliments (particulierement dans l'Outback)

Food in the bush = bush tucker (what some of the Aborigines still eat) = Nourriture, aliments (Outback, Aborigenes)

Bar meal = A cheap meal at a pub that you eat at the bar instead of in the restaurant.
(+/- petite restauration de bistrot, bouffe bon marche)

Esky - insulated cooler for picnics etc = frigo box pour picnics

Skillet, frying pan = Frying pan = poelle a frire

Bangers, sangers, snags = Sausages = saucisses

Chook = chicken =poulet

Shish-kebabs = Meat on skewers, marinated & BBQ'd = Viande marinee cuite a la broche au BBQ

Spuds = Potatoes (common) = patates, pommes de terre (familier)

Plonk = wine (can be cheap wine) = vin, ou plus souvent vinasse, piquette

Boozer ? drinker = buveur, picoleur (familier)

Dig in/bog in = to start eating with gusto (enthusiasm) = commencer a manger avec entrain, avec plaisir

Piker = somebody who leaves parties too early (a bit of a spoil sport) = personne qui quitte une fete trop tot (souvent un gacheur d'ambiance)

Your 'shout' = when it's your turn to buy the beer! (Important, LOL!) = quand c'est a vous d'acheter, de payer les bieres, votre tournee !
Pig out = A big feast or slang for smorgasbord meal =(un grand, grand repas)

Bikkie = Biscuit
Coleslaw = A kind of raw cabbage salad with other stuff and salad dressing on.
Sangers = Sandwiches
Hot Dog/Saveloy = Hot dog
Burgers = Hamburgers
Fries = Chips (frites)
Spag Bol = Spaghetti
Cab Sav = Cabernet Sauvignon

McDonalds ---------- McChucks!

Grog = beer - (la biere)

MEALS

Breakfast = Breakfast, Brekkie = petit dejeuner
Morning Tea = morning tea or smoko
Lunch = Lunch (or sometimes dinner - can be confusing) Dejeuner (et quelquefois aussi diner)

Entree = starters, entree
Dinner = Tea or dinner - diner
Supper = Supper
Dessert: = sweets or dessert

Arvo = Afternoon - apres midi
Real =dinkum
Small lies = White Lies or fibs
Idiots = dorks, Nerds, wankers
Angry = Ropeable, Steamed, Cheesed off = Fache, furieux)
Broken =- cracked, stuffed, 'had it', 'had its chips', 'kaput' =Chose (ou personne) casse, qui n'est plus bonne a rien
Tired = stuffed, exhausted, pooped, tuckered out, 'had it' = Fatiguee, vanne, creve
Easy = cinchy, cinch, a breeze = facile
Gee! Wow! = Crikey! Gee! = Ca alors!
Joke - to be joking = to pull someone's leg, to be joshing, to be kidding Plaisanter, charrier

Brickie = Bricklayer macon (ouvrier)
Brumby = A wild Australian horsecheval sauvage australien
Derro - hobo or disheveled looking person who looks like they're homeless pers. echevelee ou ?mal fagottee? qui a l?apparence d?un vagabond
Divvy van - = police divisional van (v. common) voiture de police (familier) 'camionnette de flics'
Boogie board = a 1/2 size surfboard petite (1/2) planche de surf
Blue (as in to have a blue) = To have an argument/disagreement argument, differend
Vege out = to take it easy, ie lounge in front of the Tv doing nothing. = se la faire relax, cool, passer son temps devant la t?l? ? ne rien faire

To be barking up the wrong tree = to have the wrong idea/theory about something = avoir une idee erronee a propos de qq chose

An eye on the main chance = always looking to get ahead, get promoted, etc - wants to get to the top avoir de l'ambition d'etre au top, etre toujours a l'affit d'une opportunite, d'une promotion

Didn't come down in the last shower
= Wasn't born yesterday (shower of rain) - ie one knows what's going on
= it's obvious what's happening. =Qui n?est pas ?ne de la derniere pluie?, qui sait ce qui se passe, il est evident que ca doit se passer.

Fossicking = to dig or prospect for gold (surface gold or using gold detector) chercher de l?or (en surface ou au d?tecteur)

'Sit on it a while' = to hang onto something (keep it in hand before you may give it away) or to mull (think) over an idea for a while. Il faut posseder ou avoir qque chose en mains avant de pouvoir le donner /ou reflechir un moment a une idee.

Jack of all trades =Usually a handyman who can do almost anything homme (manuel) qui sait tout faire ou ?de toutes les situations?

Like a dog with a bone = somebody who just won't give up - persistent or obsessed

=To take a short walk off a long pier,
To take a hike = get lost, go away, bugger off, beat it.

To take the bull by the horns = You decide to take charge of some situation and become decisive quickly about it.
= 'Prendre le taureau par les cornes', decider de s'occuper d'un probleme et le resoudre sans attendre.

Give an inch, take a mile= Give someone a small chance, and they'll take much more than that (German equiv: offer a finger, and they'll take your whole hand!)

To have a frog in one's throat = d'avoir un chat dans le gorge = (to have a cat in the throat). = Basically to have a sore or itchy throat.

Seeing stars = Usually after a blow or knock to the head! voir "des etoiles" apres avoir recu un coup (particulierement sur le crane !)
Under the weather = smashed, plastered, to be under the table drunk! etre bourre, rouler dessous la table, completement saoul.

Play the larrikan = Usually a fun loving, enjoyment seeking, often humourous practical joker - a real aussie who likes to play jokes

Come a cropper = To fall down, fall off something, injure yourself doing so.

Willy nilly - indiscriminantly

Putting the cart before the horse = To make later plans without doing the preliminary plans =mettre la charrue avant les boeufs !

Up s***t creek =Up the creek without a (boat) paddle - In deep trouble/
In trouble with not much to save you

To come to the party = To be in agreeance, to agree to a signed deal or other deal - sb organises something and you consent to the deal. quelqu?un a arrange un deal, un contrat et vous le signez, ou il a organise qque chose a votre insu et vous etes d?accord.

Don't be a sticky beak/nosy parker (Said to kids usually) = Don't be nosy ne sois pas curieux, arrete de fouiner ! (surtout pour les enfants)

Put the wind up somebody = To scare somebody - maybe by saying you saw them somewhere and you won't say where and they get worried.

Loaded = To be filthy rich or a millionaire = d'etre tres riche, comme une milliardaire
Earwigging = Eavesdropping on other people's conversations

Getting the boot or the arse = Getting the sack from your job, being kicked out of home, etc (very common phrase)
Taking a sickie = taking the day off work or school when you're perfectly well.
1st cab off the rank = The one who starts something: ie at a conference, the 1st speaker would be the 'first cab'

Sth 'fell off the back of a truck' = Ie, when somebody asks you where something you have came from and you've stolen it or found it somewhere and kept it. So you say it came off the back of the truck (v. common)
Nicked = stolen volee

Box of tricks = ie a box with your equipment in

Good as gold - ie something is perfectly fine. When referring to a person (ie children) it means 'well behaved'.

Cop out. = Excuse, not the real truth. Maybe a part spoken truth
Fob off = you've done something wrong but you don't want to admit it. You come up with an excuse..

Fib = A slight 'white lie' or evasion, so as to convey the wrong impression and avoid the whole truth. un petit mensonge

Tattletale, Dob, Dobber = Somebody who tells on somebody else (kind of like a police informer, but a normal person doing it)
Flat out = Working busily (or if said in the Aussie sarcastic tone, lying down in the sun saying you're working!)

To paint the town red = To go out and spend lots of money - on clothes, entertainment and beer, etc. A depenser beaucoup de l'argent pour soi
Keep the wolf from the door = Sometimes a snack you eat to last you till meal time

Getting sprung = Getting caught at something you shouldn't be doing.

If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen! = If you can't handle the situation, go/run away or get lost, etc.

Even keel = To keep an even emotional equilibrium
Hit for six = (a cricket term that in normal Aussie means that you've been really stunned by something that's happened and you can't believe it
Up the ante = Increase the stakes (usually gambling/pokie machines)
Do a runner = What Australia's Christopher Skase did several years ago with millions of people's money, then escaped to Majorca where he lived and couldn't be prosecuted. Basic: to escape with the cash.

Go belly up = Like as in a dying fish, or something else that's died. Or a failed company even.
Crack up = A: Laugh yourself silly. A rire beaucoup
B: Have a nervous breakdown or major life crisis
Conk out = Usually when your car runs out of petrol and it stops. Also applies to other items of machinery stopping.
Cark it = something that's died/stopped working
Kaput = Something that's broken or won't go - like your car =Quelquechose cassee ou qui ne fonctionne plus est 'kaput'
Put the brakes on = Slow down what you're doing
Into overdrive = Working too hard, overdoing things
Something fishy = Something is suspicious (v common) quelquechose suspect
Under the table deal = A cash in hand deal without notifying the tax department of income, or a shady (dodgy) deal.

To go off half cocked =To do something half pied, To not do something properly - to charge off without knowing what you're really doing (v.common)
Half pied is only doing something half well, or half hearted (probably you don't want to do it anyway)

Count me in = I'm in on that!
In like Flynn = Really straight into that! No hesitation.
Above board = It's all legitimate, not a dodgy deal.

How's it hanging? = How are things going? Ca va? (and there can be a double entendre sexual meaning for the 'it'!)
Get a load of?.. = Will you look at THAT!
On the ball = Alert, ready for action. Concentrating.

A couple of bricks short of a load or
A couple of sandwiches short of a picnic/Bats in the belfry/
The lights are on but nobody's home - All basically mean the same - somebody is a bit slow or dumb or not too intelligent (all v. common)

Shaping up to be = Turning out to be.
Dinkum, true blue Aussie = Real Australian people, or, the truth of a matter Un/e vrai/e Aussie
Dingbat, moron = Idiot
Old Digger = Usually a retired war serviceman from WW2
Vietnam Vet = A Vietnam war veteran, whatever age
Crony = Usually an old (longtime) friend or associate, usually male.
Mate = A friend, whatever age. Or a form of address (instead of Sir or whatever) un/une ami/e, ou une addresse a quelqu'un

A bit of alright = A girl you fancy (v common)
Bolt = A: a kind of nail, B. to run away from sth or somebody.
To charge in where Angels fear to tread = To charge ahead and to do something that is normally
frowned upon for not being the right thing to do or being tactless and going your own way without
considering others.
Scurry = Hurry along, or away
Dust Bowl = A very dusty area or dry lake
Codger, old codger = Old man, old guy
Crick neck = Stiff neck (like what you get being too long on a computer all day)
Ripper = Good, great
Dim wit, half wit = Idiot
Tad.... = Bit un peu....
Wouldn' t touch it with a 40 foot pole = Wouldn't do that/go there at any cost
To lead someone on a merry chase (or dance) = Normally a girl playing hard to get
Blight = A. An affliction.
B . A crop disease
I'm easy = I don't care what we do/where we go. It's up to you, kind of thing.
Fishing for compliments = Dropping hints to somebody and/or looking for somebody to compliment you.
Put a sock in it! = Be quiet! Belt up, shut up! taisez-vous!
Batten down the hatches! = Lock everything up/prepare for a storm (or cyclone)
To let the cat out of the bag = To let out a secret you were trying to hide/keep
To go to the dogs/To go to pot = A: To go to see greyhound racing. B: more usual, to fall into rack and ruin (disrepute) and be ruined.
Out to it = Unconscious. Usually alcohol related sleep.
Whinger = A complainer. A Pommy Whinger is an Englishman who comes out to Australia and complains about almost everything.
Quelqu'un qui se plaindre tout le temps
Pip Squeak = A derogatory name for a kid small for his/her size un gosse qui est assez petit
Get Comeuppance = To get what (bad) you deserve for what you've done.
Got the runs = Having troubles at the toilet (dirrahoea) -ie ate something bad, too much alcohol etc.
Betting:= Gambling parier - horses, pokies, lotto, raffles, the outcome of a yabbie race (a yabbie is a freshwater creature like a prawn & can be eaten or used for fishing

Knocked off = Stolen, nicked volee
Happy-go-lucky = Sunny disposition, always happy un/une personne qui est toujours heureux
Get wind of = To discover a hint or clue to something somebody's been hiding....

Mob = A flock - usually of sheep, but can be a large group of people gathered. un grand group de qqc

CLOTHES

Shorts = They're your short trousers le short
Undies, underwear, under-dacks, jocks, boxers = underpants calecon
Runners, trainers, sand shoes = sport shoes chaussures de sport
Thongs = A type of flat shoe usually used for the beach - on the thong principle. (the underwear thong is still called that)
Jumper = Sweater, pullover, usually woollen (as opposed to windcheater below) pull (de laine)
Skivvy = Usually a thin long sleeved top with a round or fold down round neck collar (chemise sans boutons)
Windcheater = Goes over top of the skivvy. Usually fluffyish material, polarfleece or tracksuit material/winterweight.
Slacks, pants = Trousers (long) pantalon
Dri-za-bone = It's a long, waterproof oilskin coat, usually brown, with a hood and sometimes zip off arms to turn it into a vest. An icon. Mostly used by farmers.. un manteau typiquement Australien
Akubra = It's the Australian famous brimmed hat - not exactly like American Stetson, but rounder, and for the bushman. le chapeau Australien de la brosse
Bushman's hat = Similar thing but the hat brim may be floppy and
softer leather, or you may have crocodile teeth sewn on leather around the rim, or snakeskin
Long Johns = Long, normally thermal underwear for guys (calecon longue).

Car parts:

In the boot - is in the trunk or back storage compartment. (le coffre)
Dipstick = Can be a word for idiot, but mostly it's the long stick you check your car oil levels with.
Donuts = A: An edible donut. (un beignet)
B: doing circular skids with your car.
Burnouts - more skids, leaving a trail of smoke and burned rubber.
U-ie = A U Turn une demi tour
Bumper = A 'bumper crop' is a good season's crop, but normal usage, is the front and back plastic parts of a car.
Bull Bar/Roo Bar - a big metal bar/frame on the front of your car to prevent some of the destruction if you hit a kangaroo.
A 'Shoo Roo' = a device on the front of your car which emits sound at a higher frequency than the ear can hear and is supposed to scare animals away from your car before they hit it.
The Stacker or Boot Stacker = your multiple disk car CD player.
To cut the engine = To turn off the engine
To step on the gas = To accelerate

Whose go is it? = Whose turn is it? (ie to deal the cards, to play the game, take the next shot)
Get cracking = Get your back into it C'mon, work harder!
What a slacker! = How lazy can you be! Vous etes tres paresseux!

A Quack = A bad doctor, or inefficient or sth like that
Dumbo = Dumb, silly, idiot (minor insult)

TOILET:
Outback usage = the long drop, the can, the dunny, the thunder box!, the outhouse (mostly outside dunny).......everyday society = The Toilet, the loo, the powder room, the Dunny, the Little girls/boys room, the bathroom. The only one not used much now is thunder box.

Toilet Humour = Australian male's fascination with Fart Jokes, and other associated jokes.

Gone through to the keeper/
gone straight over the head/
gone straight through = A cricket term, for when the ball is bowled and it goes straight through to the guy behind cause the batsman misses.
It's also a term for when somebody tells you a joke, and it just goes over your head because you don't understand the significance or you don't realize there's a double entendre to it.

Lollypop Lady = The woman who stands at childrens school crossings at start/end time and holds a STOP sign on a stick to stop traffic while the kids cross the road.
Cockie = A: cockatoo bird, un cacatoe or
B: a country name for a Farmer/grazier -un agriculteur

Stingers = Very small, painful stinging jellyfish les peits meduses
Crocs = Crocodiles
Snag= A : a small problem or 'hiccup' une petite probleme
B: a sausage. C: when your fishing line gets caught on rock or stick!

Mug = A derogatory name - usually directed at guys. No particular meaning but not complimentary (comme idiot) Footballers use it on each other a lot. 'Have a go, you mug!' (ie, go on, try and hit me!) B: it's also a drinking cup, ie a coffee cup.

RHYMING NONSENSE SLANG

(just hope you don't need it because there are many and even I only know a few.) Usually outback usage only. Here is just a sample:

Dog and bone = Phone
Dead Horse = Tomato sauce.
Take a 'Captain Cook' = To look around

OLDER SAYINGS

My grandmother had quite a lot of really old sayings which were quite funny & different to usual.
'On shank's pony' (means riding around in a car that's either not yours or borrowed and not very good, I think.)

As old as the hills = very old tres vieux
Gone to the devil= ie I don't know where it is but it's gone!)
I'll give it the boot = I'll kick it or get rid of it.
I'll give it the flick = I'll get rid of it.
It's been fried - A: cooked. B: it's been destroyed (or 'fried' electrical wiring)

'Toot a loo' (from WW2. Adapted from the French goodbye ' A tout a l'heure. ' Still sometimes used

GOODBYE:
I'm off
See ya's
Off to..
Gotta hop/pop off
Gotta duck off
Gotta fly
Hooroo
Got a train/plane to catch (no, you haven't, you're just in a hurry!)

IF YOU HAVE REACHED THE END....WELL DONE!*
Si tu l'as fini, bravo!