The Illustrated Dictionary of
Australian English

Words and Phrases in Afferbeck Lauder

hard yakka: hard work; Especially manual labour.
From the aboriginal language Yagara, from the Brisbane region.; since the 1880s

happy little vegemite: an australian; From an advertising campaign for Vegemite, it refers especially to a young aussie in a good mood.; since 1954

half your luck!: good on you!; Short for I wish I had half your luck!; since the 1930s

ALP: australian labor party; The oldest political party in the country, with its origins dating back to the 1870s and the formation of Australia's first trade unions.; used since 1912

Al Capone: a telephone; Interestingly, Aussie slang – not American.; rhyming slang: al capone for phone

AFL: 1 australian football league; The organisation which replaced the Victorian Football League in 1990 and which regulates the national Australian Rules Football competition.
2 a game of australian rules football; The acronym AFL is used colloquially as a name for the sport when distinguishing it from other football codes, particularly in Qld and NSW.; aussie rules

knock down: to spend the entirety of your wages from a seasonal job; He knocked down his cheque at the local pub. A former habit of shearers, usually by going on an unrestrained drinking binge, frequently because they were victims of lambing down.; colonial slang

Kembla Grange: loose change; Don't forget your kembla.
After the name of the racecourse at Woolongong NSW.; rhyming slang: kembla grange for change

Kelly country: parts of north-eastern vic and across the border into nsw; The area where the Kelly Gang operated.

tallie: a 750 ml bottle of beer; The preferred term in Qld, generally called a long neck elsewhere, except WA, where the term king brown is favoured.; queensland slang

that: the idiomatic use of this word defies description; She was that excited.
That's a big building. Nah, it's not that big.
What's in the fridge?
Just meat and vegies and that.

things are crook in Tallarook: the situation is not good; Common in Victoria, the home state of the town Tallarook.
In NSW things tend to be crook in Muswellbrook or Coolongolook.

top end: the far north of australia; Covering a vaguely defined area of perhaps 400,000 sq km.
Encompassing the northern capital Darwin to the town of Alice Springs in the southern part of the NT, referred to as the Red Centre.

knock 'em down rains: a violent thunderstorm; Strong winds, lashing rain, and plenty of thunder and lightning are features of the weather in the Top End.Looks like we're in for another knock 'em down tonight.; nt slang

killed a chinaman: beset by a series of misfortunes; I must have killed a chinaman!
Referring to a putative Anglo-Australian superstition that killing a Chinese person brought about bad luck.; since the 1940s

bad trot: a period of misfortune; I've been on a bad trot lately, the wife left me, the budgie dropped dead, and some bastard nicked my car.; since the 1940s

face like a …: an ugly face …; Someone is said to have:
A face like a smashed crab.
or even:
A face like a half-eaten pastie.; bogan slang

fair cow: something distinctly unpleasant; since the 1900s

backchat: an insolent answering back; since wwii

aerial ping-pong: australian rules football; national rugby league slang

act the goat: to behave foolishly

Acca Dacca: ac / dc; The nickname for the undisputed Kings of Aussie Rock.

Aunty: the australian broadcasting corporation; Compare the acronym ABC with BBC, the British equivalent.

fair dinkum: genuine, true; Showing typical Australian honesty, guts, directness and the like.
They were all fair dinkum blokes and sheilas.
I'm fair dinkum, bloody oath I am!; since 1890

Tassie: the state of tasmania; aussie diminutive

Harold Holt ∼ to do a Harold Holt: to bolt, to flee; Referring to the former prime minister who disappeared while swimming in the ocean.; rhyming slang: harold holt for bolt

magic pudding: a never-ending or endlessly renewable source

durry: a cigarette; Short for ‘Bull’ Durham, a brand of rolling tobacco, and hence originally a roll-your-own cigarette.
Originally used by the Australian Defence Forces to refer to a rollie, but is now also applied to tailor‑mades throughout the nation.; aussie diminutive since the 1940s

Colloquialisms

There is no better way of life in the world than that of the Australian.
I firmly believe this.

The grumbling, growling, cursing, profane, laughing, beer drinking, abusive, loyal-to-his-mates Australian is one of the few free men left on this earth.

He fears no one, crawls to no one, bludgers on no one, and acknowledges no master.

Learn his way. Learn his language. Get yourself accepted as one of him; and you will enter a world that you never dreamed existed.

And once you have entered it, you will never leave it.

aussie emblems

Coats of Arms

Floral Emblems

Australian history is almost always picturesque; indeed, it is also so curious and strange, that it is itself the chiefest novelty the country has to offer and so it pushes the other novelties into second and third place.

It does not read like history, but like the most beautiful lies; and all of a fresh new sort, no mouldy old stale ones.

It is full of surprises and adventures, the incongruities, and contradictions, and incredibilities; but they are all true, they all happened.
Mark Twain, 1897

the gold rush days

This era brought words such as fossick into common usage.

The Gold Rush Days

the bushrangers

Many terms come from the bushranger tradition, such as bush telegraph, bail up, and game as Ned Kelly.

the first world war

WWⅠ added another layer of slang, such as dinkum , meaning genuine or real.

Australian English is peppered with unique slang words and particular types of phraseology such as strine and ocker.

let stalk strine!

Professor Lauder knows the answers‼

Do you have a Gloria Soame?
What are sex? What is an egg nishner? And where checque etcher londger ray?

australian gazetteer

the most comprehensive atlas you have ever seen

From Adavale (Qld) to Zeehan (Tas), this atlas will locate any town in Australia.

The Australian Gazetteer »

Australian Colours

The Australian Independent Colour Standard AS 2700 was created in 1985. It is used in choosing colour schemes in the industrial, architectural, and decorative areas.

The Illustrated Dictionary of Australian English

The Illustrated Dictionary of Australian English

The Illustrated Dictionary of
Australian English

The Illustrated Dictionary of
Australian English