With all appoligies to Daryus...the Times printed the following in their Special Section on the games...
Glossary: A list of difficult, technical, or foreign terms with definitions or translations--in this case the Australian version.
Aerial ping-pong: Australian rules football. Ankle biter: Small child. Back of beyond: Way out there somewhere, remote. Barbie: Barbecue. Barrack: Cheer, as in "barrack for the Socceroos." Battler: Someone who tries hard despite money problems. Beaut: Great, terrific. Billabong: A water hole in a dry river bed. Billy: A metal can, usually tin, used for making tea over an open fire. Bitumen: Paved road. (Pronounced: "bitch-a-men"). Bloke: A male, a guy, a mate. Bludger: A person who does little or nothing; slothlike. Blue: To have an argument or a fight. Bonnet: Hood of a car. Boot: Trunk of a car. Bottle shop: Liquor store. Buckley's chance: Absolutely no chance. "He's got two chances: Buckley's and none." Bull: Water buffalo. Bung on an act: To exaggerate the circumstances. Chemist: Pharmacy or drugstore. Cuppa: Cup of tea or coffee. Drongo: Stupid, clumsy person. Derived from the name of a hapless racehorse. Drover: Australian cowboy or stock herder. Esky: Insulated container (usually to keep beer cold). Eyeful: A beautiful or attractive woman. Fair dinkum: Something that is genuine, true or fair. Fair go: A chance, an equal opportunity. Flake: Shark meat, what you usually get in fish and chips. Flat out: Very busy. Footy: All-encompassing term for soccer, rugby and Australian rules football. Give it away: Give up. G'day: Greeting, as in "Good day." Get a rat up ya: Hurry up. Gone bung: Broken. Goodonya: Well done. "Good one." Grazier: Cattle or sheep farmer. Grog: General name for all alcohol. Hard yakka: Hard work. Holiday: Vacation. How much can a koala bear? How much can a person take? Jackass: Another name for the Australian bird, the kookaburra. Jackeroo: Young male ranch hand. Jillaroo: Young female ranch hand. Journo: Journalist. At the Olympics, a sportswriter. Kiwi: Person from New Zealand. Knock-off: The end of the work day. Larrikin: Mischievous, irreverent person. Used admiringly. Lift: Elevator. Lolly: Candy. Lay-by: To buy on installment; layaway. Mate: Friend. Matilda: Sleeping bag or bedroll. Meat wagon: Ambulance. Milk bar: General store. No worries: Don't worry, no problem, everything is OK. Nuddy: The swim in the nude. Ocker: A genuine Australian, usually a person from the bush who regularly uses Aussie slang. Offsider: Assistant or partner. Out of pocket: Spent more than received. Pavlova: A meringue pie shell filled with fruit and whipped cream. If Australia has a national dessert, this would be it. Perve: To be a peeping Tom, to look with lust. Pommies: Englishmen. Possie: Position or spot. Ratbag: Weirdo. Razoo: An imaginary coin of no value; to have no money. As in, "He didn't have a brass razoo." Roll a racehorse: To roll one's own cigarette. Roo: Kangaroo. Ropable: Extremely angry or bad-tempered. Sealed: Paved, as in a "sealed road." Septic or seppo: An American, from rhyming slang for "Yank" (as in "septic tank.") Now more than a bit outdated, according to sophisticated locals. Shellacking: Criticism for a thorough, shameful defeat. Shonky: Dubious, unreliable. Shopstealing: Shoplifting. Shout a beer: To pay for a beer. As in, "My shout." Singlet: White tank T-shirt. Often worn alone by certain Aussie males. Smoke-o: Cigarette break. Strine: Australian slang. Sunbake: Sunbathe. Swagman: A tramp, itinerant worker. Ta: Thank you. Takeaway: Takeout food. Tinnie: Can of beer. Tucker: Food. Derived from what Australian cowboys (drovers) could tuck into their saddlebags for a day. Windscreen: Windshield. Yobbo: Uncultured lout
------------------ This is a place of business, not a peewee flopphouse! ~C. Montgomery Burns
"Woman is deprived of rights from lack of education, and the lack of education results from the absence of rights. We must not forget that the subjection of women is so complete, and dates from such distant ages, that we are often unwilling to recognize the gulf that separates them from us."
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Indeed. Penn's Woods. And we didn't even name it. It was that bloke on the British throne at the time. Penn wanted to name it simply "Sylvania."
Don't youn's ed'jacated folks knowdat? An' I thought youn's were all smart 'anat. Jagoffs.
------------------ "Ed Gruberman, you fail to grasp Ty Kwan Leap. Approach me, that you might see." -- The Master
posted
I have a lock of those words already in my vocabulary. i don't know where people got the idea that Australia invented them at an impromptu book-signing brainstorming.
------------------ Remember December '59 The howling wind and the driving rain, Remember the gallant men who drowned On the lifeboat, Mona was her name.
posted
It probably wasn't intended to be a list of words that are strictly Australian. Rather, words that are used in Australia, but not necessarily where the reader is from. For example, "mate" meaning "friend" is also used in England besides Australia, but not in the US. As for referring to a pharmacy as the "chemist", I don't know if it's used elsewhere, but I know I've never heard it here in my little corner of the US. I mean, a pharmacist might be a chemist, sure, but no-one says they're "going to the chemist" when they're going to go get a prescription filled...
------------------ "It's like the Star of David or something. But without the whole Judaism thing." -Frank Gerratana, 17-Aug-2000
posted
I once say a documentary about pest control in Australia(some sort of bird I guess) and one of the guys they were talking to had such a heavy accent they needed subtitles. No joke.
posted
The Times, like all newspapers, writes to the lowest common element in the city / town / area. The sports editors think it's cute and they hope that the readership think the same way.
I think it's rather silly really.
I mean, no one with even half a brain think that Kangaroos are stroling down the streets of Sydney or that people have koala bear on leashes in Perth parks.
Although I do find it interesting that so many poisonous things, other than Daryus , live there.
But I thought that all the Australian folks who frequent the boards might think it interesting what other parts of the world are printing about your fine land.
The Times is also running...also rather silly... something called G'Day L.A. / Insights into the Australian way of life.
Including such the Word Of The Day: Bushie: An unsophisticated or uncultured person.
Proper usage: The Olympic Arts Festival is not for bushies. Improper usage: Anyone who votes Republican this fall must be a bushie. (again the liberal bias of the media)
AND
Celebrity Of The Day (good thing this stuff only lasts two weeks ) PAUL HOGAN, actor * Hometown: Sydney
* Residences: Los Angeles, Sydney * On being Australian: "I'm deeply Australian. You can send a kangaroo to the San Diego Zoo, but he's still an Australian. I'm from the old school with convict ancestors. I'm proud of that."
------------------ This is a place of business, not a peewee flopphouse! ~C. Montgomery Burns
, live there.
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