strewth!it's the

The Illustrated Dictionary of
Australian English

Words and Phrases in Afferbeck Lauder

Ta

TAB
totaliser administration board
The name given to monopoly totalisator organisations in Australia and New Zealand, who operate betting shops and online betting. Originally government owned, but in Australia most have been privatised.
tacker
a young child
Originally from the British dialects of Devon and Cornwall.
since the 1940s
tag
1 in afl , to continuously follow an opponent closely
Hence a tagger  is a player designated to tag  an opponent.
 aussie rules 2 a schoolyard game
Used throughout the country, but the favoured term in the ACT.
Also known as chasey.
schoolkids slang
tail 'em
to make the coins land tail upwards
The opposite of head 'em, in the game of two-up.
tailie
one who consistently bets on tails
The opposite of a headie, in the game of two-up.
tailor-made
a cigarette
roll-your-own cigarette As opposed to a hand-rolled rollie.
take down
to defraud, cheat, or swindle since the 1890s
take out
to win a prize, trophy, or the like
She took out the Gold Logie for the second year in a row.
since the 1970s
tall poppy
a person who stands out from the crowd
By being successful, rich, or famous.
When such people seem to get above themselves they are cut down to size by the aussie penchant known as the tall poppie syndrome.
This is sometimes misunderstood.
It isn't success that offends aussies, it's the affront committed by anyone who has tickets on themselves and puts on superior airs.
since 1902
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
tall timber
a very tall footballer
Collingwood have got some tall timber amongst their forwards.
aussie rules slang
tantie
a temper tantrum
A diminutive form highlighting the childishness of the behaviour.
aussie diminutive
Tassie
the state of tasmania
 See map of Tassie for more.
aussie diminutive
Taswegian
a person from tassie
Also called a Tasmaniac.
aussie slang
 

Te

tee up
organise something
Are we teed up for tomorrow?
ten
a ten fluid ounce glass of beer
 Formerly a term in common use, now used mainly in Tas & Qld; it is the same as a middy in other states.
See beer, seven, schooner, and middy for more information.
that
the idiomatic use of this word defies description
That's a big building. Nah, it's not that big.
What's in the fridge? Just meat and vegies and that.
She was that excited.
that's the shot!
that is the right way to do something since the 1960s
thingo
something that you have forgotten the correct name for
since the 1960s
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.
tickets
be conceited
Anyone with a high opinion of themselves is said to
Have tickets on himself, and may be a tall poppy.
tiff
argument or disagreement
Especially between a couple.
tightarse
one who is mean with his money
tingle
telephone call
Give me a tingle this arvo.
tinny
1 can of beer
2 small aluminium boat
tissues
cigarette papers
A Tasmanian word for what is known everywhere else as papers.
taswegian slang
 

To

toey
1 of a racehorse, eager to run
2 fast, speedy
3 anxious, apprehensive
If you are really toey then you are as toey as a Roman sandal.
togs
clothing
As in working togs, swimming togs, etcetera.
If you are all togged up you are wearing your best clothes.
top end
the far north of australia
top end
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.
too right!
definitely!
Toorak tractor
a derogatory term for a city-only four-wheel-drive
Toorak tractor
melbourne slang
 

Tr

trackies
running shoes
trackie-daks
tracksuit pants
tree of knowledge
a heritage-listed tree
tree of knowledge It was a 200-year-old ghost gum, Corymbia aparrerinja, located in front of the railway station in Barcaldine, Qld which was the headquarters of the Australian Shearers Union.
It was under this tree that workers of the 1891 Shearer's Strike confronted employer delegations arriving from the south.
The town was also where the 1892 Labour Party manifesto led to the formation of the ALP.
It symbolises the foundation of the organised representation of labour in Qld and is an icon of the Labor Party and Trades Unions.
In 2006, in an act of vandalism, the tree was poisoned with glyphosate. An arborist declared the tree dead on 3 October 2006. The ALP offered a reward of A$10,000 for any information that would help identify those responsible. The remains of the tree — 7 metres tall and 2 metres across — were removed in 2007 and are undergoing a process of wood preservation. In 2008 the tree was successfully cloned.
Several cuttings propagated from the tree before its death are now growing in Barcaldine. A clone of the tree has also been planted at the Ecosciences Precinct in Brisbane.
heritage listed on 21 october 1992
trots
1 horse and buggy racing
2 diarrhoea
3 one 's luck
A run of bad luck is a bad trot, and vice versa.
troppo
a state of tropical madness
To have lost the veneer of civilisation after spending too long in the tropics
Also called mango madness or suicide season.
aussie diminutive
truckie
truck driver aussie diminutive
true blue
a patriotic australian
john williamson true blue
tucker
food
There's good tucker, lousy tucker, plenty tucker and not enough bloody tucker.
Aussie tucker is all right — provided you have some funds tucked away in your kick
first recorded in 1858
tuckered out
very tired, exhausted
turps ∼ on the turps
drinking heavily
two-up
a traditional aussie gambling game

Two coins, placed tails up on a flat board called the kip, are tossed in the air.
Bets are placed on a showing of two tails or two heads.

How To Play Two-Up

Away from the attention of management or the law, aided by the cockatoo, a look-out who warns players of incoming police raids, a circle of 20 ft radius is drawn in the sand, known as the 'ring'.

The boxer or owner of the game provides the pennies, the kip, and a money tray. He sits where he can see the whole ring.

He supervises the side bets and gets a rake off from all winnings.

The ringkeeper or ringie runs the centre of the ring ensuring that the coins are tossed at least 10 ft in the air, land within the circle, and the spinner remains in the center whilst throwing.

If the ringie is not happy with the throw a "foul toss" or "barred" is called.

When the game is ready the boxer calls to the crowd for a spinner to toss the coins.

The spinner bets that he will "head 'em" , meaning both coins land head-up three times in a row.

Once the center has been set the other players are free to bet with each other. The sleeper catcher, an accepted participant in the game, retrieves bets left on the floor by tardy backers.

When all bets are placed the ringie places the pennies on the kip, tails up, and the boxer gives the call…
Come In Spinner

The coins are then tossed by the spinner.

  • Two heads means the spinner wins.
  • Two tails means the spinner loses both their bet and also the right to throw.
  • Odds or "one them" means the spinner throws again.

Variations revolve around the definition of "win" and "lose" for the spinner. Some variations include:

  • The spinner only wins after successive heads.
  • If three heads are required before a tails, with any number of odds, then "odds, heads, odds, odds, heads, odds, heads" is a win.
  • If the spinner throws successive odds they lose.
  • If five odds thrown before a tails loses while three heads are required to win, then "odds, heads, odds, odds, heads, odds, odds" is a loss.
 The game was an extremely popular pastime with ANZAC soldiers.
The Anzac Day March is followed by gatherings of veterans, in a pub or an RSL club, including a game of two-up.
 
strewth! it's the

The Illustrated Dictionary of
Australian English

Words and Phrases in Afferbeck Lauder