AUSTRALIAN SLANG
From arvo to hard yakka
Everyday abbreviations, classic expressions and modern Australian slang—clearly explained.
An ambulance officer or paramedic.
Australian slang for afternoon.
An afternoon snack or light meal.
Australian rules football.
Avocado.
A very remote inland location.
The green cricket cap worn by Australian Test players, or the team tradition it represents.
A barbecue or event involving barbecued food.
A swimming costume, common in parts of southern and western Australia.
An ordinary person who works hard and persists despite hardship.
Excellent, useful or pleasing.
An expression of approval meaning excellent or very good.
A biscuit or cookie.
A metal pot or can used to boil water over a campfire.
Biting insects such as mosquitoes or sandflies.
A man or male person.
A strong Australian expression of agreement.
A supporter of the New South Wales State of Origin team.
A stereotype for an unsophisticated or working-class Australian, sometimes used affectionately and sometimes insultingly.
Excellent or first-rate, now often considered old-fashioned.
A retail shop selling takeaway alcohol, often shortened to bottle-o.
Australian slang for a bottle shop or liquor store.
Australian slang for breakfast.
A bricklayer.
Brisbane.
A playful or ironic nickname for Brisbane.
Little or no chance, from the expression Buckley's chance.
Very tired, broken or ruined; mildly vulgar in some contexts.
Nonsense or an untrue claim, a milder variation of a vulgar expression.
A sausage in bread sold at a community fundraiser outside a Bunnings store.
Rural or undeveloped country away from cities and towns.
A campfire watched for entertainment while camping.
Food native to or traditionally sourced from the Australian bush.
A person from or comfortable in the Australian bush.
Bring your own, often referring to alcohol at a restaurant or event.
Broken, useless or no longer functioning.