For any international student or a migrant it is difficult to settle at a new place for obvious reasons. What makes it a little simpler are some good people you know. To make friends one need to belong to a place and what better way is there than understanding the lifestyle of people and how they talk. Here are some popular Aussie slangs that you must know to mingle in the crowd.
Expressing yourself
Aggro: Angry
Full on: Intense/Wild
Heaps: A lot or very i.e. ‘heaps good’
No worries: Don’t worry about it/It’s OK
Ordinary/Average: These two words can mean what they’re supposed to, but they can also be a mild insult, indicating that something is of poor quality
She’ll be right: It will be fine
Try hard: Someone annoyingly enthusiastic or who tries too much to please others
Slangs used at school
Biro: pen
Dodgy: Poor quality/Not reliable/Suspicious
How ya going/How’s it going?: How are you?
How good is that?: This is a rhetorical question so you don’t have to answer. It just means ‘that’s good’
Mobile/Mobes: Cell phone
Rubber: Eraser
Pacer: Mechanical/refillable pencil
Reckon: Think/Figure,/Assume
Uni: University
Wag: To skip class
Zed: The letter ‘Z’
Outing
Arvo: The afternoon
ATM: Teller Machine/Electronic banking outlet. Stands for Automatic Teller Machine
Avo: Avocado
Barbie: BBQ
Bikkie: A biscuit
Bottle-o: Liquor store
Breckie: Breakfast
Bucks: Dollars
Budgie Smuggler: A pair of Speedos
Cuppa: A hot beverage
Chemist: Drug store/pharmacy
Dunny: Toilet
Durry: Cigarette
EFTPOS: Machine for electronic (card) payments. Stands for Electronic Funds Transfer at Point Of Sale
Esky: Ice cooler
Flat White: Coffee with milk or cream
Footy: Football (the game or the ball)
Goon: Cheap wine in a bag.
Grog run: A trip to go and buy alcohol
Jelly: Jell-O
Knock: To criticise something
Macca’s: McDonald’s
Mate: Friend
Mozzie: Mosquito
Petrol: Gas
Pokies: Poker Machine
Sanga: Sandwich
Servo: Service station/gas station
Straya!: Australia
Stubbie: A bottle of beer
Snag: Sausage
Spud: A potato
Vegies: Vegetables
Woop woop: The name of an imaginary town, used to indicate a place far away/ in the country
Slangs used in office
ASAP: As soon as possible
Bludger: A lazy person
Call it a day: Finish what you’re doing
Fair go: A fair chance
FYI: For Your Information
Give someone a bell/a holler: Call someone on the phone
Lift: Elevator
Moving forward: Thinking about the future/Moving on to the next thing
Reach out: Get into contact with
Sickie: A day off work due to illness (related: Chuck a sickie: To pretend to be sick to get a day off work)
Whinger: Someone who complains a lot.
