The Aussie vocabulary continues to amaze and amuse and confuse. Here are a few more of the words and phrases we’ve run into lately:
Ambo: Ambulance
Chokky: Chocolate
Chrissy: Christmas
Chunder: Vomit (used in the lyrics of the song “The Land Down Under” by Aussie band Men at Work)
Fossick: To hunt or search (“The prospector is fossicking for gold.”)
Lippy: Lipstick
Lolly: Sweets, candy
Make a quid: Earn a living
Petrol busker: Gas pump
Pokies: Slot machines
Postie: Mailman
Prezzies: Presents
Piece of piss: An easy job
Rellies: Relatives
Scratchie: Scratch-off lottery ticket
Shout: Turn to buy, as in beer (“I bought the last round, so it’s your shout this time.”)
Sunnies: Sunglasses
Stickybeak: Nosy person
Telly: Television
The Gabba: Brisbane’s cricket ground (where the first game of the Ashes cricket series was played last month). Short for Wooloongabba
The Waca: Perth’s cricket ground (where the current match with the Brits is being played). An acronym for Western Australia Cricket Association
Yewy: A U-turn. Making U-turns on busy streets seems to be a national pastime for Aussies.
It’s a piece of piss munching chokky in Angaston at Chrissy, watching the Waca on the telly without your relies trading prezzies. Time you came back here and shouted us all a beer before filling pup at the petrol busker, doing a yewy, and heading for Texas to make a quid.
Wishing you and Jaime and happy and healthy 2014!!! Hopefully we will see you one of these days. Love from The Sosas, especially JD.
I reckon you’ve got a few more to add to this after our conversations on Australia Day! Maybe some phrases Jim!