Enlighten this yank about Australia

[Deason]

Oh, yeah... slang. Let's see...

 

Stone the crows! Strike me pink if Strine doesn't have a whole swag of idiomatic slang expressions, fair dinkum, it does! Crikey, the bloke who could put together a definitive you-beaut list of dinky-di Oz slang could make a motza spruiking it to blow ins, but you'd be on a hiding to nothing getting the runs on the board, I reckon. There's gazillions of them. By the time you've made it to the Black Stump and back you might think you understand most of them and find yourself celebrating: You little beauty! You bottler! You corker! Go you good thing! Yep, you'd be rapt. But Blind Freddy could see it might take a while, though, to get all the nuances, even if you're game as Ned Kelly with a heart as big as Phar Lap. You might find yourself flat out like a lizard drinking trying to keep up with it all. Say, while there might be a few ratbags who want to earbash you about this and that, there'll be plenty of locals happy as Larry to be sociable to a Septic - no doubt including some good sorts, if you're single :)

 

Now, no one this side of Steve Irwin would run all those expressions together as frequently as that, but I think most of the above examples (unlike, say, "bonza cobber") are still current, especially among the older generations. The younger an Aussie is, the more American their vocabulary; I'm sure we have kids here who would struggle with some of the above paragraph :(

 

If any of the above aren't clear from context, just ask

[room010]

There are hundreds, probably thousands, of Aussie words, slang and phrases but some of the more common ones you might read or hear on TV, etc are:

 

chook = chicken

bludger = drop out/bum

bogan = trailerpark trash

hoon = showoff/dangerous driver

 

Not that you'll need it on a cruise but when I first came to Australia I couldn't understand what a "Manchester" department was in stores. To me it's a city in northern England. Anyway, it means bed and table linen or haberdashery to use an older term. It originates from the imported cotton and linen goods which back in the 19th and early 20th century were almost always manufactured in the cotton mills of northern England in the Manchester area. Now these good should probably be called "Beijing" :)

 

I can recommend a little book produced by Lonely Planet called "Australian Phrasebook - Understanding Aussies and Their Culture".

[Deason]

PS

 

Every time I re-read the original post I find more questions to answer! :)

 

On holidays: ANZAC Day, Australia Day, Christmas and Easter are probably the main ones. (We don't do Thanksgiving and we don't do Halloween.) We love a long weekend and we get a few through the year, though the timing can vary by state. The main school holiday is over Christmas, usually six weeks' break that ends the school year.

 

On values: "Fair go!" is perhaps number one: everyone should be entitled to one, and a mob of total strangers will call for it in support of someone they think is being deprived of it. We don't like people with "tickets on themselves", and we have a tendency to want to "cut down the tall poppies".

 

We like to think we have the bush (outback/country) virtues but we're one of the most urbanised nations on the planet in terms of where the population lives. We're relaxed, value a sense of humour and not being "stuck up" (or worse, "up yourself"). Some of us love to pull legs, especially of visitors, and will do so with the straightest of deadpan faces. Doesn't mean you should'nt be careful of drop bears, bunyips and yowies, though.

[Passin Thru]

Stay away from anything American! Go to B & Bs eat spaghetti on toast for breakfast once, tell them you are from (Your state here) when they say "Youre an American", XXXX beer called 4 X, dont hold up fingers for 2 beers as it means .... You! Tell them youre there to pay respects to them for helping us in any war from WWII, Vietnam, etc and you'll be the hero, dont know why they turned it around on me but they did. Stay out of Sydney, its just another NY. The Outback is juat that, nothing with a lot of nothing and heat. Kangaroos jump 1 jump to the center of your lane in the evening to commit suicide. Koalas are very slow at night on the road, the toast is "We'll drink to that" to anything you can dream up and a Roundabout is a traffic circle.

[Passin Thru]

When you are full say "I'm stuffed!" It will get you applause. Guaranteed.

[NCCruzQueen]

When you are full say "I'm stuffed!" It will get you applause. Guaranteed.

 

mmmm, I think I'll stay away from that phrase. :eek:

[karmacruiser]

Stay away from anything American! Go to B & Bs eat spaghetti on toast for breakfast once, tell them you are from (Your state here) when they say "Youre an American", XXXX beer called 4 X, dont hold up fingers for 2 beers as it means .... You! Tell them youre there to pay respects to them for helping us in any war from WWII, Vietnam, etc and you'll be the hero, dont know why they turned it around on me but they did. Stay out of Sydney, its just another NY. The Outback is juat that, nothing with a lot of nothing and heat. Kangaroos jump 1 jump to the center of your lane in the evening to commit suicide. Koalas are very slow at night on the road, the toast is "We'll drink to that" to anything you can dream up and a Roundabout is a traffic circle.

 

LOL! Just goes to show there is a lot of diversity here in the USA too. We have roundabouts in my town, instead of kangaroos we have deer that jump in front of cars at night, and the skunks are a little slow at night on the road. And many of the folk in Seattle think where we live is a whole lot of nothing with heat, but we love it. Stop in to many of the local bars here, and most of the guys would drink to most anything especially after a hard days work. Hmmm,:rolleyes: seems we have more in common with Australians than folks from Oklahoma.

 

I have been enjoying the posts, can't wait for our trip to Australia in January.

[stanc61]

 

Visible prices everywhere already include all taxes. If you buy any big ticket items, keep the receipts and you can claim a refund on the GST when leaving the country.

 

 

There are some specific conditions relating to this point that catches out a lot of overseas tourists leaving Australia. You can't actually claim the 10% GST back until you have passed through Customs; in particular when it comes to claiming on oversized goods (e.g. surfboards, didgeridoo or golf clubs), these must be presented for sighting prior by Customs Client Services prior to actually checking in through your airline. All information is provided in the attached document:

http://www.customs.gov.au/webdata/resources/files/fs_trs070511.pdf

[stanc61]

Stay away from anything American! Go to B & Bs eat spaghetti on toast for breakfast once, tell them you are from (Your state here) when they say "Youre an American", XXXX beer called 4 X, dont hold up fingers for 2 beers as it means .... You! Tell them youre there to pay respects to them for helping us in any war from WWII, Vietnam, etc and you'll be the hero, dont know why they turned it around on me but they did. Stay out of Sydney, its just another NY. The Outback is juat that, nothing with a lot of nothing and heat. Kangaroos jump 1 jump to the center of your lane in the evening to commit suicide. Koalas are very slow at night on the road, the toast is "We'll drink to that" to anything you can dream up and a Roundabout is a traffic circle.

 

The beer from Queensland is actually labelled on the bottle or can as XXXX and called 4X; that is because Queenslanders can't spell S**T. This is an Australian joke, XXXX is actually a good drop though my recommendation would be VB (Victoria Bitter).

[Passin Thru]

Wombats kill more people than any poisonous animal. What hapens is this. The Wombat runs in the road in front of a truck and gets hit. This makes the animal grumpy so he waits til a car comes and runs out in front of him either totalling the car killing its occupants or making them swerve off a cliff. If you find a Wombat hole never reach in to see if one is in there. The vibrations will cause him to think his cave roof is falling down and he will arch is back against your hand, crushing it and the more you struggle the more he arches crushing it more until you bleed to death proving they are the most dangerous animal in the world. Fair Dinkum!

[heyduke55]

when i first created this thread I thought it would bring some fun... real simple here I just want to have some fun when I am in Australia... does sound a bit like Texas so I think we may have a "buttload" in common... XXXX and VB are now on my list and don't really "give a hoot" about all the mythical creatures there because they have nothing on the snipes and jackalopes here... hope to run into to a good time while seeking my first VB (hope it is as good as my first CD in New Zealand and my first OV from Canada)... see you soon!

[stanc61]

Wombats kill more people than any poisonous animal. What hapens is this. The Wombat runs in the road in front of a truck and gets hit. This makes the animal grumpy so he waits til a car comes and runs out in front of him either totalling the car killing its occupants or making them swerve off a cliff. If you find a Wombat hole never reach in to see if one is in there. The vibrations will cause him to think his cave roof is falling down and he will arch is back against your hand, crushing it and the more you struggle the more he arches crushing it more until you bleed to death proving they are the most dangerous animal in the world. Fair Dinkum!

 

Here in OZ we have a word for the story you have posted above, it's called a 'YARN'.

 

The difference between story and yarn is that whereas story is the conventional word for a fictional account, yarn often has the idea of a story told by a colourful character and it has a lot to do with the storyteller's personality. When you hear the word yarn, you imagine a group of people gathering round to hear a story from someone who has had interesting experiences over a long time.

 

Anyway, suffice to say Passin Thru . . . I'll have some of whatever your on. As an Aussie with almost 50 years behind me and having grown up in country (wombat) areas. I have never heard that colourful yarn before, but I sure as eggs won't forget it!

 

BTW, just who told you this yarn . . . LOL

[Cruisin_on_th_net]

james boags is a good drop of beer! 4x (xxxx) will make you gag, although elephant beer was popular in it's day - haven't seen it around so much now! Carlton Middie is also a decent drop and lower on the alcohol content. In most pubs it would be ok to just ask for a schooner / pot of "what's on tap." The bar staff will pour you something wet and drinkable!

 

Oh and don't forget the water "flushes" "flows" in the opposite direction. Most folks who "aren't up 'emselves" will call the toilet the "loo"

 

Totally agree with comments about Sydney. It's lovely and the burbs are very Australian, but as most tourists only get to the touristy spots, it's probably not great exposure to the real aussie feel, as it's far more cosmopoliton (or "up town") than the rest of aussie.

 

The fair go and mateship stuff also comes through in the tipping culture (or lack there of) taxi drivers for example get paid crud money and work in crud conditions so most people will round their fare up to the nearest $ to $5 mark as an effort to "help out old mate" (ie tip!) Otherwise people will often deliver (what is considered) outstanding service, just because "that's what you do" it's about not ripping people off if that makes sense, so they are surprised when someone would "tip" them for doing what they should do anyway!

 

Yes Aussies are VERY blunt. AND quite vocal on some cussing words at times! Especially if sport is concerned!

 

Regional Aus is very different to City Aus, Regional Aus perfect strangers will grab your heavy suitcase walk a km in the opposite (to their) direction in full heat and sun. (or cold and wet) to "help" you with your bags to your car. Just what you do. No tip - just a thanks and a grin!

[narrell]

 

Speaking of food: your "jelly" is our "jam", your "jello" is our "jelly"; your "candy" is our "lollies" or "sweets"; your "crackers" and "cookies" are both our "biscuits", and your "biscuits" are basically not available!

 

Your "biscuits" are the same as our scones and can be purchased in most bakeries. :)

[moyaroo]

Your "biscuits" are the same as our scones and can be purchased in most bakeries. :)

Not quite. They are similar in that they are a baking powder raised quick bread related to Scottish scones and bannocks and English crumpets, but each are different.

 

Put it that way Lamingtons and brownies are both cakes.

[Deason]

Not quite. They are similar in that they are a baking powder raised quick bread related to Scottish scones and bannocks and English crumpets, but each are different.

 

I concur. You'd have as much hope of finding "scones and gravy" in Australia as you would "biscuits and cream" in the States, and neither really substitutes for the authentic and more usual combinations. In my opinion, anyway.

[room010]

If you ask for a "biscuit" in Oz you will get a cookie or a cracker. We don't really have what Americans would know as a biscuit although a scone is probably the closest equivalent. However we eat them with things like jam or cream, not gravy!

[Captain Canuck]

have some friends who visited from Oz..they loved our ROOTS store in West Edmonton Mall...

 

my favourite australian pick up line...heh Sheila wanna shag....

 

and from what I understand tipping is a foreign concept...but check that out as I could be dated or wrong

[Captain Canuck]

just realized most of you probably don't know that Roots is a clothing line with hoodies, sweatshirts etc with the name "ROOTS" on the front...given the rude meaning of that word in Oz it was kind of like the FCUK brand only up a level

[turtlemichael]

and from what I understand tipping is a foreign concept...but check that out as I could be dated or wrong

 

When in Australia I regard Tipping as a city in China :)

[Globaliser]

just realized most of you probably don't know that Roots is a clothing line with hoodies, sweatshirts etc with the name "ROOTS" on the front...given the rude meaning of that word in Oz it was kind of like the FCUK brand only up a level

Reminds me of the (fictional) book title: Eats roots, shoots and leaves; and its adult version: Eats, roots, shoots and leaves.

[Captain Canuck]

whats the difference between a Canadian and a canoe

 

 

a canoe might tip

[Cruisin_on_th_net]

Mmmmmmmm I love lamingtons, and brownies... don't care what either of them are called, classified or categorised ! LOL! :D

[sparky-elpaso]

Mmmmmmmm I love lamingtons, and brownies... don't care what either of them are called, classified or categorised ! LOL! :D

 

I had to look up lamingtons - they sound good. And in looking up Australian brownies (which sound pretty much like the American version) I found this site:

 

http://www.taste.com.au/

[Goldygolfer]

I use the "Taste" website whenever I'm looking for inspiration for just about any food situation - family dinner, entertaining, barbecuing, etc - it's excellent.

I particularly like that most recipes have a photo - definitely helps in aquiring inspiration.