Australians are generally a very easy-going bunch, and this is often reflected in how they speak. They have a reputation for shortening 90% of the words they use to create what is known as Australian Slang – I mean – where else in the world is McDonald’s (the world-renowned fast-food chain) called Maccas?!

For the most part, this shortening of words is pretty straightforward and easy to understand/translate. And if you want to join in, just remove the last few letters of a word and replace with a vowel sound (-a, -ie/y, -o). Avocado = Avo; Kangaroo = Roo; Mosquito = Mozzie etc.

But there is another string to the Aussie slang bow which features weird and wacky Australian slang words and phrases that are not so easy to translate/guess/understand. And this is where we come in. If you don’t know your Cark-it from your Cactus or your Goon from your Grundies, scroll down for a quick Australian Slang 101. We’ll help you understand the Aussie lingo, share their meanings and origins and have you speaking like local in no-time (although your accent will probably need a little work if you start with regular old British English or American English!)

Disclaimer: Almost all posts on this site contain affiliate links, and this one with 150+ Australian Slang Words & Phrases (learn to speak like an Aussie!) is no different. This means that if you click on any of the links in this post (and make a purchase) I may receive a small commission at absolutely no cost to you. Each post is carefully crafted to (hopefully!) answer all your questions and recommendations are made where we believe they will improve your trip and help with your planning. As such we thank you in advance should you decide to click & buy. Read my full disclosure here.

Australian Slang Words for Eating & Drinking

A Cold One / Coldie – Beer

Avo – Avocado

Barbie – Barbecue (because we’ve all heard, ‘throw another shrimp on the barbie‘, right?!

Billy – Teapot (In the Outback on the fire) (or some Aussie’s use it to refer to a bong; but only the ones that wanted to be different, as bong is pretty standard worldwide.)

Booze Bus – Police vehicle used to catch drunk drivers

Bottle-O – Bottle Shop or Liquor Store – basically a place to buy alcohol that isn’t a hospitality venue.

Brekky – Breakfast

Bring a Plate – instructions to bring a plate of food to contribute to a BBQ or party/event.

BYO – bring your own (usually in the context of booze)

Cab Sav – Cabernet Sauvignon. Never has wine sounded so refined.

Choccy Biccy – Chocolate Biscuit

Docket – Bill, receipt; or list of items to be dealt with.

Esky – Also known as a Cool Box, Ice Box, Chest Cooler, Chilly Bin.

Fairy Floss – Candy Floss, Cotton Candy

Flake – Gummy shark flesh sold in fish and chip shops

Frothy – Beer

Grog – Liquor, Beer

Hungry Jacks – Burger King

Icy Pole – Ice Lollie, Popsicle

Lollies – Sweets

Maccas – McDonalds

Sanger – Sandwich

Skull / Skol – To down a beer

Slab – A carton or box of beers (usually 24)

Snag – A Sausage

Stubby – a bottle of beer

Stubby Holder – Used so your hands don’t get cold when holding your beer, or to stop your hands making your beer warm!

Sausage Sizzle – a practically weekly BBQ event held outside Bunnings.

Tinny – Can of beer or small boat

Tucker – Food. ‘Bush Tucker’ tends to be food found in the Outback such as witchety grubs.

 

Aussie Expletives, Exclamations, Insults & States of Being

Banana Bender – Somebody from Queensland

Beauty! – Great! Most often shouted emphatically as “You Beauty” when something good happens, particularly in sports.

Bloody – Very. Used to extenuate a point

Bloody oath – Yes (or, it’s true)

Bludger – Someone who’s lazy, generally also who relies on others (when it’s someone who relies on the state they’re often called a ‘dole bludger’)

Bogan – Someone who is not very sophisticated. The Aussie equivalent of US’s rednecks.

Bored shitless – Very Bored

Buggered – Exhausted

Chunder – Vomit.

Cobber – A very good friend.

Crack the shits – Getting angry at someone or something

Crikey – An expression of surprise

C*nt, the “C” word – Not going to lie, I don’t like it. But it is part of the Aussie vocabulary for a lot of folks. If someone calls you the C word (and you haven’t done anything to annoy or enrage them) it’s actually considered a term of affection and that you are considered a ‘mate’.

Dag – Someone who is a bit of a geek, goof or a nerd

Deadset – True or, that’s true.

Defo – Definitely

Devo – Devastated

Drongo – A Fool or an Idiot

Far out – ‘Really?!’ (exclamation) – can be used with a positive or negative sentiment.

Galah – A stupid person named after the Australian bird with a reputation for its silly antics and the noise it makes.

Gnarly – Awesome (often used by surfers)

Grouse – Great, terrific

Harold Holt – to leave or disappear quickly. (Named after the former Australian PM who disappeared while swimming of the coast of Victoria in 1967. That’s Aussie dark humour for you).

Kangaroos loose in the top paddock (a few) – Someone who is not that bright

Legless – Someone who is really drunk

Mongrel – Someone who’s a bit of a scoundrel or a dick

Ocker – an unsophisticated person

Piece of Piss – Easy (as pie)

Piss Off – Go away, Get lost, F’ Off

Piss Up – A party or get together

Piss – (To Piss) to urinate

Pissed – Intoxicated, Drunk

Pissed Off – Annoyed

Rack Off – Another, and less offensive way to tell someone to go away or ‘F Off’!

Ripper – ‘You little ripper’ = That’s fantastic mate!

Rapt – Very happy

Ropeable – Very angry

Spit the Dummy – To crack it / get upset

Stoked – Happy, Pleased

Strewth – An exclamation of surprise

Sweet As – Sweet, awesome, good.

 

Australian Slang Phrases and Words for Day To Day Life

Accadacca – How Aussies refer to Australian band ACDC

Ambo – Ambulance

Ankle Biter – Child

Arvo – Afternoon (S’Arvo means this afternoon!)

Aussie Salute – Wave to scare the flies

Bail – To cancel plans.

Bathers / Budgie Smugglers – Swimsuit / Speedos

Barrack – To cheer on, support

Billabong – A pond in a dry riverbed

Brolly – Umbrella

Bruce – An Aussie Bloke

Buckleys Chance – Not a Chance; As good as impossible.

Bush – “Out in the bush” or “he’s gone bush”. In the countryside away from civilisation

Bushman’s Alarm clock – a laughing Kookaburra

Cactus – Dead, Broken (an object, i.e washing machine)

Cark-It – To die

CBD – Central Business District (used to refer to a city centre: Melbourne CBD, Sydney CBD etc)

Choc A Bloc / Cockers – Full

Chook – Chicken

Chrissie – Christmas

Ciggy / Durry – A Cigarette

Clucky – Feeling maternal

Cockie – Cockatoo (bird)

Coppers – Policemen

Crook – Being ill; or a criminal

Daks – Trousers. ‘Tracky daks’ are sweatpants/tracksuit pants

Dogs Breakfast – a poor piece of work; a mess (and sometimes used to describe how someone looks!)

Down Under – Australia & New Zealand

Dunny – Toilet

Exy – Expensive

Facey – Facebook

Fair Dinkum – ‘Honestly? Yeah honestly!

Fair Go / Fair Crack of the Whip / Fair Suck of the Sav – To give someone a chance

Flannie / Flanno – Flannelette shirt

Flat out – Crazy busy

Footy – Australian Rules / Aussie Rules Football (not UK football/soccer)

Furphy – Tall tales, rumours or stories that are improbable or absurd (also the name of a brand of beer!)

G’day – Hello

Going off – The reaction of an angry person “he’s going off”

Good On Ya – Good work

Goon – The best (or worst) version of wine – depending on your preference. Goon is a cheap, boxed wine that generally plays a key role in the Aussie backpacking experience. For me it’s ‘worst’ – but I understand it serves a purpose! (and was actually invented in Australia!)

Grommet – Young surfer

Grundies – underpants / underwear

Hard yakka – Hard work

Heaps – loads, lots, many

Hoon – Hooligan / Someone driving badly.

Hooroo – Goodbye

Iffy – Bit risky or unreasonable

John Dory – The Goss / The Gossip

Knickers – Female underwear

Lappy – Laptop

Larrikin – Someone who’s always up for a laugh, bit of a harmless prankster

Lucky Country – Australia (where else?!)

Manchester – Sheets / Linen etc. (If you’re from the UK, this one is particularly confusing!)

Mate – Friend, Acquaintance

Moolah – Money

Mozzie – Mosquito

No Drama – No problem / it’s ok

No Worries – No problem / it’s ok

Nuddy / In the Nud – Naked

Outback – The middle/interior of Australia.

Pash – To kiss

Pokies – Gambling Machines

Rage / Rage on – Party / Party on.

Reckon – For sure. ‘You Reckon?’… ‘I reckon!’

Rellie / Rello – Relatives

Rock Up – To arrive

Roo – Kangaroo

Root – sexual intercourse

Root Rat – someone who enjoys sex (maybe a little too much)

Rooted – Tired or Broken

Roster – Rota, work schedule

Runners – Trainers, Sneakers

Servo – Service Station / Garage / Gas Station

Sheila – A woman

She’ll be apples – Everything will be alright

Shoot Through – To leave

Sick – awesome / good; ‘that’s really sick mate’

Sickie – a sick day off work, or ‘to pull a sickie’ would be to take a day off when you aren’t actually sick

Smoko – Cigarette break

Sook – to sulk / or if you are being a sook – you’re whinging (i.e. stop being a sook)

Stickybeak – to be nosey / a nosey person

Stiffy – Erection

Straya – Australia

Stuffed – Tired

Sunnies – Sunglasses

Swag – Single bed you can roll up, a bit like a sleeping bag.

Thongs – Flip Flops (UK/USA), Jandles (New Zealand)

Togs – Swimwear

Tradie – a tradesperson

True Blue (Aussie) – Genuinely Australian, Patriotic

Two Up – A gambling game played on Anzac day.

U-IE/ Yewy – a U-Turn when driving

Up Yourself – Stuck up

Ute – Utility vehicle, pick-up truck

Walkabout (Gone Walkabout) – a journey (originally on foot) undertaken by an Australian Aboriginal in order to live in the traditional manner (although please be aware it is considered a contentious word by indigenous Australians)

Woop Woop – the middle of nowhere (pretty much most of Western Australia north of Perth and south west of Margaret River! And practically ALL of the Northern Territory.)

Ya – You

Yous – (youse) plural of you!

 

And that’s a wrap. Whether you live in Australia (and a non-native!) or are planning to visit in the near future – or just wanted to improve your English vocabulary (or American English vocabulary) with some fair dinkum Aussie words before the next Australia Day; we hope that some (or all!) of these Australian words in our Aussie slang dictionary have helped you understand Australian Slang a little better – and if not, they just brought a smile to your face.

And if you don’t mind sharing the love for this Australian Slang Dictionary List, a tweet, flip, pin, or Facebook share would be much appreciated! (Full-sized pins available by clicking the share bar on the left – and all the images above are pins too!)

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