that part of someone's body that you should keep off of
People who get on your back are trying to persuade you to do something against your will; who nag at you; who harp on the subject of your deficiencies. Get off my back, will ya?
backblocks
1 a long way out in the bush
2 the outer suburbs of a city
since the 1860s
backchat
an insolent answering back since world war ii
back o'beyond
anywhere remote
since the 1870s
back of Bourke
any remote outback area
Bourke is a town in north-west NSW.
since 1896
back pocket
a playing position in aussie rules
Either of the two players who defend the areas on either side of the goal front.
2 after farting , an exclamation to avoid being punched
According to their unwritten law, a schoolkid who has farted must quickly exclaim Badger! and then whistle, before those of the offended nose can react with a punch.
bad news
a troublesome person
That guy is bad news.
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.Similar to killed a chinaman.
since the 1940s
baffle with bullshit
deceive with lies
Tell the truth, stop baffling me with bullshit.
bag
1 to criticise or to put someone down
Me mates bagged me for buying light beer. 2 an ugly woman
My blind date was an absolute bag. 3 negative term for an older woman
Bloody old bag! 4 five goals scored by one player
In Aussie rules football.
bagasse
crushed , juiceless remains of sugar cane
Used to produce paper, electricity, fertiliser, etc.
Known as magasse on the north coast of NSW.
baggy green
A baggy green cap worn by Aussie test cricketers.
To don the baggy green is to represent Australia at test cricket.
cricket slang
bagman
1 a person who collects bribe money
2 a bookmaker or his clerk
3 a swagman , tramp , or travelling pedlar
Historically, such men were said to belong to the bagman's union.
As suffered by travellers to the island of Bali in South East Asia.
Hence applies to any such affliction, from any part of the world.
redgum i've been to bali too
ball and chain
the wife
Used in a jocular way, originally US Black English.
since the 1920s
balls ’n all
enthusiastically
There's no giving up now, I'm in it – balls ’n all!
balls-up
bad mistake
What a complete balls-up!
banana bender
a derisive term for a person from queensland
bananas
going crazy
She's gone bananas!
banana prawn
a prawn of northern tropical waters
There are two varieties:
regular banana prawns Penaeus indicus have red legs, and white banana prawns Penaeus merguiensis have cream and yellow legs.
banana republic
an economy based on production of a single crop
A politically unstable country with an economy dependent upon the exportation of a limited-resource product, such as bananas.
If this government cannot get a sensible economic policy, then Australia is basically done for.
We will end up being a third-rate economy… a banana republic. paul keating 1986
bandicoot
1 any of various small , omnivorous , somewhat rat-like marsupials
The wintarro is a short-nosed bandicoot of central Australia, distinguished by the golden brown fur on its back.
Bandicoots are the inspiration for a number of metaphors such as: Bald as a bandicoot Miserable as a bandicoot on a burnt ridge
2 to dig up potatoes
Whilst leaving the top of the plant undisturbed.
Long a common practice, done either to get the larger spuds while leaving the smaller ones to grow, or in order to steal spuds without the owner knowing.
banged up
pregnant
banjo
a shovel
Especially one used by miners.
since the 1910s
banker
a river flowing as high as its banks
After a week of rain the river's running a banker.
banksia
a shrub with cylindrical flowers
Heavy producers of nectar, they are a vital part of the food chain in the Australian bush.
An important food source for all sorts of nectarivorous animals, including birds, bats, rats, possums, stingless bees and a host of invertebrates.
Named after Joseph Banks, the botanist on the Endeavour.
bar
1 if you won't have a bar of something
It means you won't put up with it
since the 1930s 2 to carry a passenger on a bicycle or horse
Same meaning as dink and barie
queensland and northern nsw slang 3 not able to be tagged or caught
You can't touch me, I'm bar.
A place can be bar, as in All trees are bar.
queensland schoolkids slang 4 establish a right
To reserve something by making the first claim on it.
Same meaning as bags.
queensland schoolkids slang
barbed wire
castlemaine xxxx beer
A popular beer in Queensland.
queensland slang for a queensland beer
barbie
a barbecue
Both the cooking apparatus and the social event.
Once fashioned from cracked stump‑jump ploughs and rocks …
since the 1970s
Barcoo
a district and a river in south-western queensland
Well represented in aussie slang. The most common terms are: Barcoo rot ⁓ a type of scurvy Barcoo salute ⁓ brushing away flies from your face Barcoo spews ⁓ an illness due to cyanobacteria Barcoo lawyer ⁓ a bush lawyer
bardie
an edible grub found in the bark of certain trees
We been eating bardi since the Dreamtime.
The old people knew when to find them.
After the first rains. Better than beef they reckoned.
from nyungar south-western wa
bare-bellied joe
a ewe that has been shorn
The phrase is found in the song Click Go The Shears.
The ringer looks around and he's beaten by a blow
And he curses the old snagger with the bare-bellied joe.
The joe part of this phrase is a variant of the word yoe, an archaic word meaning a sheep.
written by c. c. eynesbury in 1891
barie
to carry a passenger
On a bicycle or horse.
Same meaning as dink, shortened to bar
nsw slang
barley
a cry to gain immunity from being caught in a game of chasings
From the French parlez, meaning to talk.
schoolkids slang
barney
a fight or argument
bark painting
a picture painted on bark
Originally created as ceremonial art in Arnhem Land, NT
Famously used in the Barunga Statement in 1988.
created as ceremonial art
barrack
encourage , support , cheer on
The Victoria Barracks were adjacent to the South Melbourne Cricket Ground and St. Kilda Cricket Ground, both used as football grounds.A group of boys were always first to notice the Barrack Personnel walking across the playing fields to support their team, and would cry out: HERE COME THE BARRACKERS!It is also used outside of sporting contests.I barracked for Whitlam back in the seventies.
A silvery-grey food fish of excellent quality. Lates Calcarifer is found in coastal rivers and estuaries of tropical northern Australia and the Indo-Pacific.
acclaimed as australia's finest table fish
barrel
1 to knock over by running into or striking hard
I'll barrel the bastard.
2 to drive quickly
We were barrelling along the highway.
3 the hollow tube of a wave
Wicked waves today, I got barrelled umpteen times.
surfie slang
Barunga Statement
a statement of indigenous political objectives
In 1988, as part of Bicentennial celebrations, Prime Minister Bob Hawke visited the NT where he was presented with a statement of Aboriginal political objectives at the Barunga festival.
It was painted on a 1.2 metre square sheet of composite wood.
Called for Aboriginal self-management, a national system of land rights, compensation for loss of lands, respect for Aboriginal identity, an end to discrimination, and the granting of full civil, economic, social and cultural rights.Hawke wished to conclude a treaty between Aboriginal and other Australians by 1990, but his wish was not fulfilled.
Controversy erupted over the exposure of sacred material in the bark painting, leading some Indigenous leaders to call for its return.
Some leaders alleged the presentation of the painting resulted in at least ten deaths due to munya, which translates as remorse in the Aboriginal system of payback.In 1991, his last act as Prime Minister was to hang the Barunga Statement at Parliament House.
...its presence here calls on those who follow me, it demands of them that they continue efforts that they find solutions to the abundant problems that still face the Aboriginal people of this country.
The Australian Aboriginal band, Yothu Yindi, wrote the hit song ‘ Treaty ’ to commemorate the statement. Lead singer Mandawuy Yunupingu, with his older brother Galarrwuy, wanted to highlight the lack of progress on the treaty between Aboriginal peoples and the Federal Government.
Bob Hawke visited the Territory. He went to this gathering in Barunga. And this is where he made a statement that there shall be a treaty between black and white Australia.
Sitting around the camp fire, trying to work out a chord to the guitar, I said, Well, I heard it on the radio, and I saw it on the television.
That should be a catchphrase, that's where ‘ Treaty ’ was born.
yothu yindi treaty
bash
1 to attempt or try something
Come on, give it a bash. 2 a party
I'm having a big bash for my birthday. 3 a dent put into a man's hat to make it look better since the 1950s
bastard
An extremely useful noun, as valuable to Aussies as the coconut is to Polynesians.
1 an unpleasant or despicable person
Piss off you stupid bastard. 2 any person, whether they are a bastard or not
Let me buy you a beer, you old bastard. Poor bastard, it wasn't his fault. 3 anything that causes difficulty or aggravation
What a bastard of a day, it hasn't stopped raining. This old computer is a bastard. That was a bastard of a thing to do.You may, if you feel like it, refer to yourself as a bit of a bastard, and the definition will be accepted.
But until you become familiar with all the shades of meaning of the word it is best to leave it out of your conversation, otherwise you will aquire a reputation as a know‑all bastard, which means that you know nothing at all.
Who works doggedly for little reward and displays courage in so doing.
A man is judged by the way he ‘measures up’ to life.
And the bloke who ‘does his best’ at all times, the bloke who is an ‘unlucky poor bastard’ but who can still smile, who can still find reserves of strength and courage to try again – and again – and again – is a ‘battler’.
Often with few conveniences. He's got a batch down the road.
A shortening of the word batchelor, and now also used of a woman living away from home. She was batching in the city.
a wave that will take you to the beach. surfie slang
beak
a judge , a magistrate
Originally British slang from 16th century thieves cant.The late Sir John Fielding, of police memory, was known among family people by the title of ‘the Blind Beak’.
beam
the backside
She was pretty wide in the beam.
beaut
good , excellent , wonderful
You've been beaut, thanks.
since the 1910s
beauty!
joyful praise , excited approval
You little beauty!
Often pronounced bewdy
since the 1890s
Bedourie shower
a dust storm
beer
the national drink
Aussies believe that any brew which is not served ice-cold, with a reasonable head on it, and containing a large proportion of alcohol, should not be called beer.
In Vic, WA, Qld and elsewhere if you order a beer you will get a seven fluid ounce glass. In other states and territories you will probably be asked:What size?
In NSW a popular size glass is the middy, a word understood around the country, as is schooner and seven in Qld.
be in it
to be actively involved
You've got to be in it to win it. since the 1920s
bees dick
very small , very close
I missed it by a bees dick.
bees knees
the best , something really good
behind
a score of one point
Occurs when the ball passes over the line between a goal-post and an outer or behind post, which are shorter than goal posts and stand each side of them.
aussie rules
Bellambi handbag
a cask of wine
Used in Wollongong NSW, after the township of Bellambi.
Also called a Dapto briefcase.
bell
telephone call
I'll give you a bell later.
bend the elbow
to drink beer
berk
a detestable person , a jerk or prat rhyming slang: berkeley hunt for cunt
a person who tries to shove christianity down other people's throats
biffo
a fight
Especially between opposing players at a rugby match.
nrl slang
big A
the arse , as in the sack
Got the big A from the boss yesterday.
big ask
a request or expectation
One that is difficult to fill, an imposition on your generosity.
big girl's blouse
a wussy , effeminate bloke , a sissy
big-note
to exaggerate your own importance
Don't listen to him; he's just big-noting himself.
big-noter
a racecourse tipster or urger
big smoke
the city or any built-up area originally aboriginal pidgin english
big sticks
the goal posts , as opposed to the behind posts
Also called the big white sticks.
aussie rules
bikkies
money
Pronounced with a hard initial K.
aussie diminutive
bilby
either of two australian bandicoots
Especially the rabbit-eared bandicoot Macrotis lagotis, a burrowing marsupial of woodlands and plains of drier parts of mainland Australia.
There were originally two species but the Greater Bilby is now commonly referred to simply as 'the Bilby' as the Lesser Bilby Macrotis leucura became extinct in the early 1950s.
They feature in the songs and stories of First Nations Australians, who refer to them by up to 20 different names.
Also known as dalgyte in Western Australia and pinky in South Australia.
first nations language
billabong
a pool or lagoon
This word translates to: dead river – when the water flow ceases with bila meaning river and bong / bung meaning dead.
2 a tin or enamel cooking pot with a lid and wire handle
The quintessential item for living in the Aussie bush, used for boiling water and especially for making tea.
To boil the billy means to take a break for tea or other refreshments, so you don't even have to have a billy to boil.
A proper billy, loved and cherished and worth its weight in gold, should be battered, blackened by the fires of countless camps, stained by thousands of gallons of strong tea, and should never have been washed. To make a brew in a billy, you get the water boiling, throw a handful of tea in, and then swing the billy by its handle around and around in vertical circles. This ‘settles the tea’.
from scottish english: a utensil called a billy-pot
billy grips
metal tongs for lifting a hot billy off the fire
Also called billy lifters, billy tongs, spondicles, and spongs.
billycart
a child's four-wheeled go-cart
billy-o
the devil , hell
Used euphemistically in various phrases.
Run like billy-o means Run like the devil
Go to billy-o means Go to hell
If something is off to billy-o it is far away, or a long way off course.
bindi-eye
one of several plants bearing barbed fruits
Especially herbs of the widespread genus Calotis.
See jo-jo for more information.
from yuwaalaraay and gamilaraay of northern nsw
bingle
a collision
Originally a fight or skirmish, from a Cornish dialect bing meaning 'a thump or blow'.
Frequently used to refer to a car collision.
Somewhere over the horizon, north, south, east or west of wherever you happen to be is the charcoal-covered butt of a long-dead, burnt out tree.
What kind of tree it was originally is not specified. How long it has been there is not known.
It marks a boundary. Not a physical boundary, because no one has ever seen it. But it stands as a symbol of the limit of measurable distance.
And the biggest bastard this side of the black stump would be a man whose bastardry is as immense as that distance.
The biggest, the best, the smallest, the worst, the most stupid, the ugliest, or the most beautiful of anything or anybody this side of the black stump rules out all comparison.
Because on the other side of the black stump there is nothing but an infinity of sand hills, or gibber plains, silent under the life-killing sun, where no man lives, and where no trees grow.
Head west of the black stump, sail right past Woop Woop, keep on going and finally you might hit Urandangi, the town without a postcode.
first recorded in 1900
blind Freddy
an obvious thing
Blind Freddy is dead, but his spirit lives on, and is frequently called upon to measure the lack of physical or mental perception exhibited by your workmate or companion. The race was rigged – even Blind Freddy could see that!Blind Freddy could've seen that!
Alluding to Sir Frederick Pottinger (1831-1865), an English aristocrat who moved to Australia and became a policeman.
He was forced to resign after he rode in a horse‑race at Wowingragong, NSW, unaware that the bushrangers he was chasing were right beside him, enjoying a day off too!
He then accidentally shot himself, bringing his glorious career to a close.
first recorded in 1911
blind mullet
excrement floating in the water you are swimming in
Known as a Bondi cigar in Sydney, in Vic they are called Werribee trout, australia-wide as a brown trout.
block
the head
Used in the phrases lose your block or do your block, meaning to lose your temper. If you knock someone's block off, you have thumped them in the head.
blockies
circuits of a block of streets
I'll do a blockie to check the brakes.
Usually for the purpose of entertainment, but also to check that the car is performing properly after some maintenance.
Also called bog laps or lappies.
bloke
general term for a man
Especially a man's man, a down-to-earth man without pretensions.
a good bloke is one of the highest accolades that can be bestowed, slightly lower on the scale is a man who is not a bad bloke.
A really bad man is a bastard.One of the few Aussie words borrowed from Romani (often known as Gypsy). Loke means "man" and bloke originally meant the boss, before coming to mean any man.
from romani loke» bloke
blokey
crassly masculine
The new club is a bit blokey to take your sheila to.
since the 1990s
blood's worth bottling
an accolade
One who displays courage, loyalty, and mateship, who performs well, or renders you superb personal service over and above the call of duty.
See bottler for a related phrase
bloody
a word used to add emphasis
Bloody this, bloody that…
It is also inserted into the middle of other words. Abso-bloody-lutelyIt used to be the iconic aussie swearword and was known as The Great Australian Adjective, but was always taboo and never used in polite society. Nowadays it has lost its former glory to the f-word, which took over the title in the 1960s.
the great australian adjective
bloody oath!
emphatically yes!
Bloody oath I saw that!
blotto
very drunk
blow
1 a euphemism for 'damn'
Well I'll be blowed!
since the 18th century2 to brag or boast
He was blowin' about what he'd done in London
since the 1850s3 a rest from work
I'd been working all morning so it was time to have a blow.
since the 1910s4 a furious wind or storm
Looks like we're in for a blow, better tie the boat down.
since the 1930s5 to abscond or decamp
I've had enough; I'm going to blow.
since the 1950s
blower
telephone
blowies
blow flies
Most are metallic blue or green, about the size of a house fly or a little larger, and are essential agents in the breakdown of organic matter.They also cause the condition known as sheep strike.
The female fly locates a sheep with an open wound in which she lays her eggs, from which the emerging larvae cause large lesions on the sheep, which may prove to be fatal.
since the 1900s
blow in
uninvited person
blow in the bag
undergo a breathalyzer test
bludge
a temporary state of idleness or the lack of something
A bloke out of work temporarily could be having a bit of a bludge, whilst one who is temporarily out of tobacco may bludge a smoke.
bludger
a person who does not make a fair contribution
A bloke who does as little work as possible, and who is always cadging, is a bludger. See dole bludger for more.
from flash language bludgeon
blue
1 a fight or argument There's a blue on at the pub! 2 an error I made a blue when I fixed the car. since the 1940s3 a nickname for a bloke with red hair since the 1930s4 a blue flyer kangaroo
bluey
1 a swag
The collection of possessions, traditionally wrapped in a blue blanket, carried by a person travelling in the bush.
Now the term applies to any luggage, especially a single item such as a back-pack. 2 a summons
I got a bluey in the mail!Especially for a traffic offence. They were originally printed on blue paper. 3 a ten dollar note
Also called a banjo. 4 a bluebottle jellyfish
The common bluebottle found in Australia is Physalia utriculus, which is smaller and less venomous than its larger, more venomous Atlantic cousin, Physalia physalis, also known as the Portuguese Man o' War. 5 a blue-tongued skink
Comprising the Australasian genus Tiliqua, which contains some of the largest members of the skink family.
A prominent characteristic of the genus is a large blue tongue that can be bared as a bluff-warning to potential enemies.
They are also bred in captivity and sold as house pets. They are relatively shy in comparison with other lizards, and also significantly slower due to their short legs. 6 a blue heeler
Mixing native dingoes with collies and other herding dogs, George Elliott developed the Australian Cattle Dog in 1840. A solid, sturdy and compact dog with an alert, ready‑to‑work stance. Slightly longer than tall with curved, hanging tails, they have muscular legs and strong necks and broad, somewhat rounded heads with pointy ears. Their dense, weather-resistant coats come blue, blue mottled, blue speckled or red speckled — both with possible dark or tan markings.The name blue heeler refers to a dog with a blue coat, while the red‑coated variant is sometimes referred to as a red heeler.
Something that is unreliable, false or counterfeit.
since the 1950s
bodyline
a cricketing tactic
Also known as fast leg theory bowling, it was devised specifically to combat the extraordinary batting skill of Don Bradman by the English cricket team during their 1932–33 Ashes tour of Australia.A bodyline delivery was one where the cricket ball was bowled at the body of the batsman, in the hope that when he defended himself with his bat, a resulting deflection could be caught by one of several fielders standing close by.
Critics considered the tactic intimidating and physically threatening, to the point of being unfair, in a game that was supposed to uphold gentlemanly traditions.England's use of this tactic ultimately threatened diplomatic relations between the two countries before the situation was calmed.
a wave that forms over a submerged offshore reef or rock
A diminutive of bombora, the word is also used for the reef or rock itself.
aussie diminutive since 1871
Bondi tram ∼ shoot through like a Bondi tram
make a hasty departure
Two trams typically left the Sydney CBD for Bondi together, the first an express which would shoot through from Darlinghurst to Bondi Junction.
since 1945
bong
open-mouth water pipe for smoking marijuana
A word play from the pun on billabong, billy bong
Also called a billy.
bonzer
outstandingly good
boofhead
an absolutely stupid person
Less commonly, a person with a big head
boomerang
1 a crescent-shaped wooden implement
Used as a missile or club, in hunting or warfare, and for recreational purposes.
aboriginal language
2 an item on loan that must be returned
Borrow my pen? Don't forget, it's a boomerang!
aussie english
booze bus
police vehicle used for random breath testing
Also used for random drug testing.
bo-peep ∼ have a bo-peep
have a look
boss
1 the male owner of a rural property
Responsible for managing the property outside the homestead, which is run by the missus.
2 an employer
3 a general term of address
What time does the next train go, boss?
bottler
a person worthy of high praise
One who performs well, or earns money for his backers.
A person who renders you superb personal service, over and above the call of duty, deserves the accolade of little bottler.
Supposing the temperature is well over 100 degrees, and your thirst is fierce, and it's too hot to go ‘up to the pub’, and a friend arrives with clinking ice-cold dew-wet bottles of your favourite brew. There is no better way to express your feelings of surprise, gratitude, elation, and restored belief in the essential goodness of humanity than by a sincere and heartfelt:
You little bottler, Bertie — you bloody little bottler!
aussie english by john o'grady (nino culotta) 1965
bottle-o
a bottle shop
Licensed to sell alcohol to be consumed off the premises.
Known in the UK as an off-licence and in the USA as a liquor store.
aussie diminutive
bottom of the harbour
a tax avoidance scheme
In the late 1970s a large number of such schemes were operating in corporate Australia.
The schemes involved buying a company with a large tax liability, converting all the liquid assets to cash, and then ‘hiding’ the company by, for example, selling it to a fictitious buyer.
Thus the company, and often its records, vanished completely—figuratively sent to the bottom of the harbour ( in reference to Sydney Harbour)—with an unpaid tax bill.
The urinals were plumbed by the Sydney Brass Company that featured a plaque under the rim of the porcelain.
Punters could see only the second line, which read Brass Co.
brass
money
I haven't got a brass razoo!
Brissie
brisbane
Named after Major-General Sir Thomas Brisbane (1773-1860), appointed Governor of NSW 1821-1825.
Under pressure to send the worst convicts elsewhere he dispatched Lieutenant John Oxley to lead an expedition north in 1823.
They settled at a large river flowing into Moreton Bay which they named after Sir Thomas.
In 1823 the first convicts arrived, and the settlement was declared a town in 1834. It was opened to free settlement in 1839.
In 1859 the territory to the north of the twenty-ninth parallel of latitude was proclaimed a separate colony, under the title of Queensland.
capital city of queensland
bride's nightie ∼ off like a …
to depart quickly , to move with a sudden burst of speed
bring a plate
an invitation to bring food to share at a social gathering
There are many stories of new arrivals in Australia being bamboozled by this instruction. As the locals know, a plate alone will not do. In earlier days the request was often ladies a plate, followed by gentlemen a donation.
brown eye
to expose one's bum to someone
brumby
a native australian horse
Found in many areas around the country, the best-known are in the Australian Alps region. Most of them are found in the NT, with the second largest population in Qld.
A group of them is known as a mob or band. They are the descendants of escaped, abandoned, or lost horses, dating back to those belonging to the colonial settlers, including the ‘Capers’ from South Africa, Timor Ponies from Indonesia, British pony and draught horse breeds, and a significant number of Thoroughbreds and Arabians.
Especially when out on his buck's night 2 a dollar
Originally an Americanism, short for buckskin, the skin of a buck or deer, which was formerly an accepted form of exchange on the US frontier.
since 1966
bucket
to criticise or denigrate
Buckley's chance
no chance at all
A word-play on Buckley & Nunn, a department store well-known in Melbourne from 1851 to 1982. You've got two chances—Buckley's and none!
As an injective it is shortened to You've got Buckleys!
Australians in states other than Victoria generally believe the idiom derives from the adventures of escaped colonial convict William Buckley.
buck's night
a party exclusively for men for the groom-to-be
Also called a buck's turn or buck's party.
The male counterpart of the hen's night.
budgie
a small parrot
Native to the outback, Melopsittacus undulatus is a long-tailed, seed-eating parrot often kept as a pet.
aussie diminutive
budgie smugglers
a skimpy male swimming costume
There are a host of terms for tight-fitting (and revealing) men's swimwear: sluggos, cock jocks, CJs, DTs, dick togs, dick daks, racers, scungies
bugger
1 a general term for any person
Anybody from your most hated enemy to your closest friend. Piss off you miserable bugger. He's a silly old bugger. That naughty child, he's a little bugger. Good to see you, you old bugger.
2 a nuisance or difficulty
It's a bugger of a day.
3 to ruin , wreck , or bamboozle
That's buggered it! Buggered if I know!
buggerlugs
a mock abusive term used affectionately
bugger!
an exclamation of disgust
Bugger you lot, I'm going home. Ahh – bugger it! Bugger! I've spilt my beer
bugger all
not much or nothing
This cost me bugger all.
bugger around ∼ play funny buggers
waste time , fool around
Stop buggerizing around and start work!
bugger me!
exclamation of amazement
More forcefully, Bugger me dead!
bugger off
1 to decamp , to leave in a hurry
They buggered off before anybody was awake.
2 an invective used to tell another to leave
Bugger off! And don't come back.
buggered
broken , very tired
I'm totally buggered.
buggered if I know
i haven't got a clue
buggery
There exists an unidentifiable place called buggery. No one knows where it is, but if you annoy an aussie he may suggest you go there. You can go to buggery!
build-up
the approach of the wet season
Marked by an increase in heat and humidity, causing tension and irritability, in the tropical north.
Also called mango madness, suicide season or simply troppo.
bullseye
a reddish-pink , large-eyed marine fish
Of the family Priacanthidae, common along the eastern coast of Australia.
bulldust
a kind of fine powdery soil found in inland australia
bullrush
a schoolkids chasing game
This term is found in Qld, NSW, and the ACT.
Also known as British bulldog.
bullshit
nonsense , rubbish , a lie
Used as an exclamation to reject what someone else has said. Bull is a euphemistic shortening.
bull's roar ∼ not within a bull's roar
not anywhere near
bummer
a big disappointment
An Americanism adopted in Oz in the early 1980s. Couldn't get tickets for the concert. Major bummer.
Formerly a swagman, a usage long forgotten.
bumper
1 something larger than normal
We had a bumper harvest of grapes.
Originally 18th century northern English dialect, now virtually Standard English. 2 a cigarette butt
Something of little value is not worth a bumper.
since the 1890s
bum sniffer
a derogatory term for a rugby player
Referring to the packing of scrums.
Bundy
1 rum made in bundaberg
A popular drink australia-wide.
2 the town of bundaberg
Located in north Queensland, the city name Bundaberg, colloquially known as Bundy, is thought to be a combination of bunda, a local Aboriginal word denoting an important man, and the suffix -berg (town) from Old English.
bundaberg honey
golden syrup
bung
1 incapacitated , exhausted , broken
My car has gone bung. 2 put or place
Bung that pie in the oven.
aboriginal language yagara, from the brisbane region
bunny
1 a gullible person
2 a person who accepts responsibilty
All right, I didn't do it but I'll be the bunny. 3 a poor batsman in cricket
Said to inhabit rivers and deep pools.
Not to be confused with the yowie.
aboriginal language wembawemba of vic and southern nsw.
bunyip aristocracy
a derogatory term for the australian peerage
The term bunyip aristocracy, still occasionally used in Australia to deride the pretentious, was invented by the young Irish politico Daniel Deniehy in a speech against Wentworth's self-serving proposal for a hereditary colonial noblesse. In fact, Deniehy was puzzled how to classify them.
Perhaps it was only a specimen of the remarkable contrariety that existed at the Antipodes.
Here they all knew the common water-mole was transformed into the duck-billed platypus, and in some distant emulation of this degeneration, he supposed they were to be favoured with a bunyip aristocracy.
See wombat for more information.
A baggy green cap worn by Aussie test cricketers.
There are two varieties:
The wintarro is a short-nosed bandicoot of central Australia, distinguished by the golden brown fur on its back.
A popular beer in Queensland.
Well represented in aussie slang. The most common terms are: 
We been eating bardi since the Dreamtime.
Originally created as ceremonial art in Arnhem Land, NT
A silvery-grey food fish of excellent quality. Lates Calcarifer is found in coastal rivers and estuaries of tropical northern Australia and the Indo-Pacific.
In Vic, WA, Qld and elsewhere if you order a beer you will get a seven fluid ounce glass. In other states and territories you will probably be asked:What size?
Especially the rabbit-eared bandicoot Macrotis lagotis, a burrowing marsupial of woodlands and plains of drier parts of mainland Australia.
This word translates to: dead river – when the water flow ceases with bila meaning river and bong / bung meaning dead.
The quintessential item for living in the Aussie bush, used for boiling water and especially for making tea.
Especially a man's man, a down-to-earth man without pretensions. 
Most are metallic blue or green, about the size of a house fly or a little larger, and are essential agents in the breakdown of organic matter.They also cause the condition known as sheep strike.
The collection of possessions, traditionally wrapped in a blue blanket, carried by a person travelling in the bush. 
Also called a banjo.
The common bluebottle found in Australia is Physalia utriculus, which is smaller and less venomous than its larger, more venomous Atlantic cousin, Physalia physalis, also known as the Portuguese Man o' War.
Comprising the Australasian genus Tiliqua, which contains some of the largest members of the skink family. 
Mixing native dingoes with collies and other herding dogs, George Elliott developed the Australian Cattle Dog in 1840.
Two trams typically left the Sydney CBD for Bondi together, the first an express which would shoot through from Darlinghurst to Bondi Junction.
A word play from the pun on billabong, billy bong
Used as a missile or club, in hunting or warfare, and for recreational purposes.
Also used for random drug testing.
I haven't got a brass razoo!
Native to the outback, Melopsittacus undulatus is a long-tailed, seed-eating parrot often kept as a pet.
Located in north Queensland, the city name Bundaberg, colloquially known as Bundy, is thought to be a combination of bunda, a local Aboriginal word denoting an important man, and the suffix -berg (town) from Old English.
Said to inhabit rivers and deep pools. 
it's the