Australian slang

About this list

Much Australian slang is shared with New Zealand, and where Wiktionary marks a word as both, it appears on both lists. The words that lead are the ones that are mostly slang, not everyday words with one slang sense.

200 words

and that

And the others; used after a name to denote the friends or social group of that person.

get down on

To acquire or obtain (something), usually illicitly; to steal (something).

hard out

Impressive; awesome.

deal it out

To attack (someone); to have it out.

bit on the side

A secondary lover, a mistress.

stuff up

To make a big mistake.

good value

Someone who is friendly and easy-going.

good oil

The truth; genuine information.

get a dog up you

An expression meaning "have another drink"

give a stuff

To care about something; to give a damn.

after dark

A bookmaker's clerk.

king hit

A blow intended to incapacitate in one hit, often delivered without warning.

sweet as

Wonderful, extremely good.

dog shot

A sudden blow, especially when delivered without warning; a king hit; (rugby) a deliberate and potentially illegal late tackle.

white lady

Methylated spirit.

bag out

to criticise someone

bridge up

To approach threateningly; to gesture aggressively; to show off as if to fight.

kick on

To continue; to struggle on, especially to continue drinking or partying.

ice-cold

A cold serving of beer.

dead horse

Tomato sauce.

blow through

To quickly leave.

chat

A louse (small, parasitic insect).

nick off

To leave, especially in a hurry.

on your bike

Go away.

on the nose

Smelly; malodorous.

go down like a cup of cold sick

To be received very poorly; to be highly unpopular.

Captain Cook

A look

crash hot

Very good, excellent; very well.

crash-hot

Excellent; superb.

flash

Expensive-looking and demanding attention; stylish; showy.

Z car

An official government car, especially a Comcar.

shell-like

The ear.

bag of fruit

A suit (clothing).

John Hop

A police officer.

calm your farm

Calm down.

Oscar

cash; money.

beef

To sing or speak loudly; to cry out.

mystery bag

A sausage.

nose beer

Cocaine.

give it a red-hot crack

To attempt something with maximum effort, even when success seems uncertain.

copper

A police officer, especially one in uniform.

off tap

Ostracized and made the target of revenge or punishment.

do one's block

To lose one's temper; to get angry.

cheap Charlie

A cheapskate, a miser.

cop shop

A police station.

government stroke

The deliberately slow pace of work supposed to be typical of government workers.

laughing gear

The mouth.

bobby

A police officer.

arc up

To become upset or angry.

skip

An Australian of Anglo-Celtic descent.

Liverpool kiss

A headbutt.

liquid laugh

An act of vomiting; vomit.

chuck-in

A piece of good luck.

full as a boot

Very drunk.

chuck off

To insult or verbally abuse (someone); to tease, sneer at or demean (someone).

rat house

A mental hospital.

water rat

A member of the water police.

never-sweat

An idle or lazy person.

Joe Blake

A snake.

brass out

To scam or trick (someone).

day dot

A very long time ago; as far back as one can remember.

bust up

To spend money wildly, especially on alcoholic drinks.

mud map

A roughly drawn map or set of directions, especially one drawn on the ground.

nut out

To find a solution (for something), especially in a group discussion; also, to work out the finer details (of something).

password child

A child whose name is used by their parents in computer passwords, and therefore supposedly their favourite child.

six bob a day tourist

An Australian soldier serving in World War I, especially a volunteer.

lamb down

To spend all one's money; to induce someone to spend all their money; to take all of someone's money when gambling.

Mediterranean back

A feigned illness allegedly used by a laborer to justify malingering.

touch cloth

To be just on the point of soiling oneself.

wouldn't work in an iron lung

Is lazy.

apples

Nice, fine.

bump across

Synonym of bump into.

sky the wipe

Synonym of sky the towel.

have a lend of

To tease (somebody) by trying to convince them of something false; pull someone's leg.

mint

Attractive; beautiful; handsome.

toss it in

To quit doing something.

give a toss

To care.

burke

To murder by suffocation.

sky the towel

To give up; to surrender.

mickey

A young bull, especially one which is unbranded and running wild; a bullock.

brown bomber

A parking officer, employed to issue parking tickets (i.e. fines) to vehicles parked illegally or for longer than the permitted time.

para

Very drunk.

Oxford scholar

A dollar.

lid

A bodyboard or bodyboarder.

hairy

A haircut (the act of cutting of hair).

rosa

to hide, vanish, shadow

tiger toast

A combination of Vegemite and cheese strips on toast.

Rex Hunt

An extremely unpleasant or objectionable person.

horny

A cow.

amber fluid

Beer.

not much chop

Not very good; unimpressive; of poor quality.

cane

To produce extreme pain.

crack hardy

To keep a brave face, to suppress one's feelings, to grin and bear it.

sacked

Bothered; willing to make an effort.

spit chips

To be extremely angry.

Ned Kelly

A figure or person akin to the iconic Australian bushranger Ned Kelly, typically denoting someone with audacious recklessness or morally questionable business dealings, or who opposes or defies authority.

stitch up

To maliciously or dishonestly incriminate someone; to set up (in the sense trap or ensnare)

booze artist

One who drinks habitually; a drunkard.

in the pudding club

Pregnant.

dog's dinner

A complete mess.

carry on like a pork chop

To make a foolish fuss.

sheila

A woman.

pavement pizza

A patch of vomit on the pavement, road or ground.

barney

A noisy argument.

feds

The federal level of government, viewed as a collective group of people. Typically its law enforcement agencies and officers.

map of Tasmania

The female pubic hair.

poo tickets

Toilet paper.

on one's Pat Malone

Alone, on one's own

crook

Bad, unsatisfactory, not up to standard.

sprung

Caught doing something illegal or against the rules.

cactus

Non-functional, broken, exhausted, dead.

murder noodle

A venomous snake

no duff

Indicating that this is not a drill or training exercise.

bog in

To start eating with gusto.

fang

To drive, ride, etc. at high speed or recklessly.

fang it

To drive fast; to floor it.

Chap laps

The recreational practice of driving up and down Chapel Street in Melbourne.

giggle suit

Army fatigues.

do a perish

To suffer privation or hardship of any kind.

giggle hat

Synonym of boonie hat.

gin jockey

Synonym of gin burglar.

heaps

Indicating a large amount or number.

strides

Trousers.

rolf

To vomit.

lair it up

To behave flamboyantly; to act out; to be showy.

sketchy

Disturbing, or indicating possible danger.

soap dodger

An Englishman; a Briton; a person of British descent. Supposedly borne from the historical canard that the English only bathe once a year.

bundy off

To check out; to clock out.

bundy on

To check in; to clock in.

could eat the crotch out of a low flying duck

Am/are/is extremely hungry.

howl on

To complain to or about (someone).

bachelor's handbag

A roast chicken sold in a disposable plastic carry bag with a handle.

telly tennis

The game of Pong, or any TV game closely based on it.

Chateau Cardboard

Box wine.

grouse

Excellent.

grub

A dirty person.

spoof

To ejaculate, to come.

Noah's

A nark.

toot

A toilet.

banger

A sausage.

chuck a wobbly

To have a sudden fit of anger; to throw a tantrum.

Yank tank

A large American car.

goof off

To dawdle, lollygag; to waste time aimlessly or engage in idle activity or inactivity.

mush

The face.

Noah's ark

A shark.

barbecue stopper

A topic of conversation which is controversial and of contemporary significance. Hence, a social gaffe.

a kangaroo loose in the top paddock

Things that are not quite right in one's head; a situation of mental confusion or insanity.

mull up

To mix cannabis with tobacco.

Larry Dooley

A beating, a hiding, a ticking-off; aggro.

Al Capone

a telephone.

dag out

To be lazy.

bub

A baby.

grundy

A pair of underpants

butcher's

A look (short form of butcher's hook)

crawler

A sycophant.

babbling brook

A cook, especially a cook working in the Australian outback or in military service.

perv

An ogle; an act of leering or voyeurism.

Anzac wafer

Hardtack.

bruv

Brother, mate, friend.

maggot bag

A meat pie.

nang

A metal bulb filled with nitrous oxide gas, inhaled for its disassociative effects, normally intended as a propellant for whipped cream.

scoff

To eat food quickly.

jocks

Male briefs.

devo

Devastated.

scone

To hit on the head.

dob

To report a person to someone in authority for a wrongdoing. (For transitive forms see dob in, dob on.)

dob in

To contribute (something).

grog artist

One who drinks habitually; a drunkard.

on the grog

Drinking alcoholic beverages to excess.

choco

An army reservist.

on the wallaby track

out of work; unemployed

frothy

A serving of beer.

spit tacks

To be extremely angry.

chippy

The youngest member of a team or group, normally someone whose voice has not yet deepened, talking like a chipmunk.

dinky-di

Genuine, true.

Woodbine

A British soldier.

bung

Broken, not in working order; damaged; injured.

bung on

To affect a personality, origin or accent one doesn't have; to pass oneself off as something untrue.

on the bung

Not working properly; kaput.

poon up

To dress up in order to impress others.

wombat

A slow and stupid person; a dullard.

hammy

The hamstring.

snotty

The lion's mane jellyfish, which secretes a mucus that can foul fishing nets.

doss

To sleep, especially in the open or in a makeshift bed, commonly in a derelict building because one is homeless.

peppy

A tree of species Agonis flexuosa, commonly known as Western Australian peppermint or peppermint tree.

unleaded

Having low alcohol content.

sambo

A sandwich.

spunky

Of a person, stunningly beautiful; good-looking.

acca

An academic.

nong

An idiot.

aggro

Aggressive behaviour; loud, intimidating behaviour that convincingly threatens violence without necessarily actually becoming violent.

stinker

A hot day.

rager

A boisterous and out of control party.

slushy

A kitchen helper.

chuck a spaz

Synonym of chuck a wobbly.

motherless

very, completely (especially in reference to drunkenness)

ning-nong

A stupid person; an idiot.

quod

Confinement in a prison.

scummy mummy

An unpleasant or unattractive mother.

dinger

A catapult, a shanghai.