Sa

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sacred site

a place of spiritual significance

They may be hills, rocks, waterholes, trees, plains and other natural features of the landscape, ranging in size from a single stone or plant to an entire mountain range. In coastal and sea areas they may include features which lie both above and below water.
Some are obvious, such as ochre deposits, rock art galleries, or spectacular natural features. In other instances they may be unremarkable to an outside observer.
They are recognised and protected as an integral part of the national cultural heritage, under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act and the Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act.

first nations

sandgroper

a person from western australia

Either born in WA, or regards it as his or her home.

salute ∼ the great australian salute

to brush flies away

Also known as a barcoo salute or bush salute, it is the waving of one's hand in front of the face at regular intervals in order to prevent bush flies from landing on it, or entering one's nose or mouth.

saltbush

a plant that grows in saline areas

A familiar sight over large areas of the dry desert country of Australia, it is a sprawling grey-blue shrub growing up to 3m high. It is a long living plant, growing strongly after periods of summer rain, producing long tassels of flowering seed heads. Indigenous Australians collect the seeds to grind and roast to make damper.

saltie

saltwater crocodile

The swamps, rivers and estuaries across the north are home to one of the biggest, fiercest — and perhaps most misunderstood — predators in the world.
Crocodylus porosus are the world’s largest living reptile, growing up to 6m long and weighing up to a tonne.
Protected since 1970, the population is around 100,000 in the NT alone and probably more than 150,000 Australia-wide.

aussie diminutive

Salvos

the salvation army

The Army's purposes are:

The advancement of the Christian religion… of education, the relief of poverty, and other charitable objects beneficial to society or the community of mankind as a whole.

It is also the nickname of their op-shops.

Let's go down to the salvos.

founded by william booth in 1865

sanga ∼ sambo

a sandwich
aussie diminutive

sav

saveloy

A highly seasoned sausage, boiled and consumed at fairs, fêtes, agricultural shows and sporting events. Often covered in dead horse and served on a slice of bread or in a bread roll.Also known as a cheerios or little boys.

aussie contraction

 

Sc

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scallywag

rascal  , mischievious person Typically a child, who behaves badly but in an amusingly mischievous rather than harmful way; a rascal.

schnozz

the nose

Likely from Yiddish שנויץ ~ shnoyts or German schnauze.

school of the air

a system of schooling for children in rural and remote areas

Pioneered in Australia in 1951 to supplement correspondence education. Teachers use high-frequency, two-way radio to broadcast lessons and communicate with students. Email, the internet, video, and fax are also used today.
It remains the most important means of education for children who have no access to school.

schooner

1 a 285 ml glass of beer in queensland

2 a medium glass of beer in south australia

This word is understood around the country.
For more information see
beer, middy, and seven.

scozzer

a flannie-clad, mullet-sporting yobbo

Australia-wide known as a bogan

Qld:	bevan
NSW:	westie
Tas:	chigger

vic slang

scratchy

instant lottery ticket

Played by scratching the ticket to reveal a prize (if won).

aussie diminutive

screamer ∼ two pot screamer

a person who has a low tolerance of alcohol

screamer

a spectacular overhead mark

Regarded by many fans of aussie rules as the epitome of skill.

aussie rules

scungies

a brief men's swimming costume

See speedos for a full set of synonyms.

scungy

unpleasant

 

Se

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secret business

ceremony and ritual that is open only to a particular group

The word business in this term is from First Nations English, and means ‘traditional First Nations lore and ritual’, and is recorded from 1907. Secret business is first recorded much later in 1986, and from it have developed terms with a more specific reference.
Secret men's business for ceremony and ritual that is open only to men, and Secret women's business for ceremony and ritual that is open only to women. From the late 1990s the terms transferred into standard aussie english where they are used jokingly in non-Aboriginal contexts.

Kingswood driving is secret men's business – just like pushing a shopping trolley straight is secret women's business.

first nations

septic tank ∼ seppo

an american person rhyming slang: septic tank for yank

servo

petrol station

seven

a seven fluid ounce glass of beer

Throughout the country when you order a beer  you will get a seven fluid ounce glass.
See beer, schooner, middy and glass for more information.

shag

sexual intercourse

shaggin' wagon

a panel van

Usually set up with padded velvet, soft lights and stereo, for purposes of seduction.
See panel van for more information.

shag on a rock

someone isolated, lonely, exposed

Everyone pissed off and left me like a shag on a rock!

shithouse

of poor quality, unenjoyable

The movie was shithouse.

shit house

lavatory

sheep shagger

a new zealander first recorded in 1894

sheep's back ∼ on the sheep's back

a reference to the wool industry

The source of Australia's colonial prosperity, started by the squatters.

sheila

a girl or girlfriend, a woman

Derived either from Sile, an Irish girl's name, or Sile, Gaelic for an effeminate man or homosexual. The first written use of the term appeared in a 1928 edition of the Monitor, which reported on a Saint Patrick Day street brawl in Sydney.

…many a piteus Sheila stood wiping the gory locks of her Paddy.

It is basically a bloke's word; women on the whole do not use it. Some men seem to think it is a neutral word, rather than a derogatory one, and formerly this may have been the truth, but nowadays women in general don't much like being called sheilas.Don't call me a sheila!

first recorded in 1828

shonky

unreliable, dubious, underhanded

The word originated from shoniker, an offensive term for a Jew in American slang. In Australia it separated from its anti-semitic past in the late sixties.

since the 1970s

shoot through ∼ like a Bondi tram

make a hasty departure

Two trams typically left the Sydney CBD for Bondi together, the first an express tram which would shoot through from Darlinghurst to Bondi Junction.

since 1945

shout

turn to buy

Usually a round of drinks.

the etiquette of a shout

• Immediacy Never accept beer if you do not intend to shout on that evening. Shouting ‘next time’ is not acceptable no matter how much interest is involved.
• Reciprocal Even worse than the previous rule is accepting beers from the drinking party and then just buying one for yourself when it is your turn.
• Consistency Changing drinks on people during a shout is considered poor form, for example, shouting everyone VBs then asking for a ‘boutique’ beer on the return leg.
• Accountability Knocking over someone else's beer will only be tolerated if there is a full replacement on the table.
  In some mining communities, the spilling of ones beer requires the guilty party to receive a punch in the arm from all other members of the party which could be up to 60 people.
• Egalitarian No matter how much money is earned by each of the party members, or where their money came from, the same shouting rules apply.
• Free will The order of the round is determined by each individual volunteering that it is his or her shout. Fellow members should not never have to remind an individual of their obligations to the group. They will only do so in the event of a breach.
• Abstaining From time to time an individual may wish to stop getting drunk. Ideally, they should wait till the completion of every group member's rounds before abstaining from future rounds.
  If it is essential that they abstain mid-round, they should request a non-alcoholic beverage. This ensures that the first volunteer is not punished for putting their hand up first.
  It ensures group equality and it also ensures that the person buying the next round does not feel like a bludger by being remiss in their obligations.
• Gender neutral Should a women be given a drink that has been purchased in the course of buying a round, she is subsequently part of the round. All the previous rules thus apply. A round can consist of only two people.

first recorded in 1850

shower

an admonishment that one has more intelligence than another assumes

I'm not stupid, I didn't come down in the last shower!

show pony

someone who tries hard, by his dress or behaviour, to impress those around him

 

Si

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sickie

a period of sick leave, often one day

Usually with the implication that there is insufficient medical reason for the absence from work.Surf's up! I'm chuckin a sickie!

aussie diminutive

skerrick

a small amount

Originally British dialect.

first recorded in 1854

skite

boast, brag

skull

to consume a drink – usually alcohol

Drunk in a single draught without taking a breath.

slab

a carton of beer

Usually containing two dozen of either stubbies or cans.

sleepout

a veranda, porch, or outbuilding

Used for sleeping accommodation, especially during hot weather that encourages people to sleep in a sheltered area that might receive cooling night breezes.
Sometimes it may be enclosed with windows or walls, eventually becoming a permanent extra bedroom.

first recorded in 1915

slouch hat

australian military headdress

Since its inception more than a century ago, the slouch hat has become one of the most distinctive and defining items of Australian clothing. It is made with rabbit-fur or wool felt and has one side of the brim pinned to the side. It has been suggested the pinning made it easier to sling a rifle over the soldier. While that may have been the case, other countries never felt the need to pin one side of their hats to the side in order to sling a rifle over the shoulder.
In other words, although the need to sling a rifle over a shoulder was not unique to Australia, no other countries decided to have their soldiers wearing the hat in such a way.
Perhaps the Australian soldiers pinned the hat because they put pragmatism over style. Alternatively, military commanders might have encouraged the hat to be pinned because it distinguished Australian soldiers from other soldiers in British allied forces. This distinguishment helped build a unique social identity of the Australian soldiers, which was good for morale.

slushy

a cook's assistant or kitchen hand

sluggos

a brief men's swimming costume

See speedos for a full set of synonyms.

smoko

a break from work for a smoke, coffee, tea, etc.

An institution symbolic of working culture, and even of workers' rights. The Industrial Relations Commission has arbitrated cases of industrial action over workers' entitlement to a smoko, so nowadays even non-smokers can take a smoko break.

snag

a sausage

Probably from British (mainly Scots) dialect meaning a morsel or a light meal.

since 1937

sook

one who is soft, inoffensive

 

Sp

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spanner water

very cold water

Because, of course, it tightens the nuts, especially for icebergs.

since the 1930s

speccy ~ speckie

a spectacular overhead mark

Regarded by many fans of aussie rules as the epitome of skill.

aussie rules diminutive

speedos

a brief men's 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 See budgie smugglers for more.

a trademark used generically

spewin'

very angry

spew

to vomit

splayd

spoon, knife and fork

In addition to an overall spoon shape with four fork tines, it has two hard, flat edges on either side, suitable for cutting through soft food.

They often have a geometric rather than rounded bowl, with two longitudinal folds in the metal. The Splayd has medical uses, having been recommended as a solution for feeding difficulties following or during treatment of the arm. It was a popular wedding gift in Australia in the 1950s and 1960s.

created in sydney by william mcarthur in 1940

spruiker

someone employed to verbally encourage potential customers

sprung

caught doing something wrong

spit the dummy

have a tantrum

sport ∼ a good sport

fair minded person

a good sport is anyone easy to get on with, one who will be in anything.

spunk

a person of either sex who is regarded as sexually attractive

squatter

someone who settled on crown land

One of a group of rural landowners, either free settlers or ex‑convicts, who first took up Crown land in order to graze livestock without government permission. They gained its usage by being the first (and often the only) settlers in the area with a lease or licence and became rich and influential, especially on the sheep's back.

colonial era term recorded in 1825 The term soon developed a class association, suggesting an elevated socio-economic status and entrepreneurial attitude.
By 1840 squatters were recognized as being amongst the wealthiest men in the colony of New South Wales, many of them from upper and middle‑class English and Scottish families. Eventually the term came to refer to a person of high social prestige who grazes livestock on a large scale without reference to the title by which the land was held. The term is still used to describe large landowners, especially in rural areas with a history of pastoral occupation.
Hence the term, squattocracy, a play on aristocracy.

recorded in 1841 See bunyip aristocracy for a related term.

squirrel grip

to grab and crush someone's testicles

To go the squirrel is the practice of gripping another player's testicles in a scrum, maul or tackle in either Rugby League or Rugby Union and is in common use throughout NSW, Qld and the ACT.

rugby slang

squizz

a look

Take a squizz at this.

 

St

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stack

accident, crash, fall

stacks

lots of something

Come over, I've got stacks of beer.

stack on a blue

become extremely angry

stickybeak

a nosy person

stirrer

one who causes trouble

A contraction of shit-stirrer.

stoked

very pleased

I'll bet you're stoked with your new car.

originally surfie slang

stolen generation

first nations children who were taken from their families

From 1883–1969 thousands of children were placed in institutions or fostered with white families.

first nations

stonkered

perplexed, defeated, cornered

stoush

a fight or brawl

Hence, an argument or altercation.
Used by soldiers to refer to war or a battle.
WWI was commonly known as The Big Stoush.

since the 1890s

strewth!

god's truth !

Strewth! That bloke's got no strides on!

a mild oath in strine

strides

trousers

A pair of long trousers, as opposed to stubbies.

strine

aussie slang and pronunciation

Do you have a Gloria Soame? What is an egg Nishner?
What are sex?
And can you tell me where checque etcher londger ray?

Professor Lauder knows the answers!

stubby

a short, squat beer bottle

With a capacity between 330 ⁓  375 ml, the bottle is short and thick in comparison with the tall and slender 750 ml beer bottle. The expression a stubby short of a sixpack, recorded from the late 1990s, means very stupid; insane’. It combines the Australian stubby with the borrowed American sixpack (a pack of six cans of beer), demonstrating how readily Australian English naturalises Americanisms.

See also Darwin stubby.

invented in 1965

stubbies

a pair of short pants

As opposed to strides.

a trademark used generically

stuffed

1 very tired

2 broken

stump

a seat

Bus driver welcoming a passenger:
Grab a stump!

stroppy

in a bad mood, being difficult

subbie

sub-contractor
aussie diminutive

suicide season

a feeling of oppression during the approach of the wet season

Afflicts residents of the top end during the build-up to the wet season and marked by an increase in heat and humidity, causing tension and irritability.
Also called mango madness or simply troppo.

sunnies

sunglasses
aussie diminutive

surfies

people who go surfing

suss

suspicious

That bloke looks pretty suss.

suss it out

check something

Something's wrong, I'll go and suss it out.

swag

1 the possessions of one travelling, usually on foot in the bush

2 the blanket-wrapped roll carried by a swagman

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.

swagman ∼ swaggie

an itinerant worker or a drifter