Four years ago, when I first came to Australia, I wouldn't have understood a word of this. Now I find myself saying all sorts of Aussie words! Here are a few you might find useful:
Budgie Smuggler - A speedo swimsuit (this is a visual term as budgies are small birds)
Fair Enough - What you say to someone when you don't want to argue anymore (but don't necessarily agree)
Arvo - Afternoon. As in, "My parents are coming over this arvo for an early dinner."
Chuck a Sickie - Call in sick to work.
Smash a Pav - Eat a pavlova (an Aussie traditional dessert, very tasty!)
Pash - To kiss passionately.
Ratbag - An untrustworthy person.
Panel Beater - A person who does body work on cars.
Knackered - Tired. "I was knackered after that run this morning."
Kanga Banga - A kangaroo sausage. (I really just like saying this one.)
And if you don't have a nicname, just add an -azza on the end:
Sharon - Shazza
Jeremy - Jezza
Karen - Kazza
Daren - Dazza
My previous co-worker broke the mold with me though; she called me "Corka". Basically, the key to understanding Aussie slang is to pretend you are drunk and learning English for the first time. And shorten every word. Even "thanks" -- they say, "Ta."
No comments:
Post a Comment