Dictionary of Australian Slang Terms
By Students’ Academy
Copyright@2011Students’ Academy
Smashwords Edition
Chapter 1: A
Ace! : Excellent! Very good! E.g. That cover drive is an ace, mate!
Aerial Ping-Pong: Australian Rules football. E.g. I have no idea about Aerial Ping Pong.
Amber fluid: beer E. g. Drink some amber fluid, it will cool you down.
Ambo: ambulance, ambulance driver. E. g. Call an ambo, he is hurt!
Ankle biter: small child. E.g. Grownups are all right but I can’t handle ankle biter.
Apples, she'll be: It'll be all right
Arvo: afternoon. E.g. I will meet you in the avro.
Aussie: Australian. E. g. He is an Aussie, and not an Indian.
Aussie salute: brushing away flies with the hand. E.g. You are Aussie saluting, are flies disturbing you?
Avos: avocados. E. g. I could eat some of these fresh avos.
Chapter 2: B
B & S: Bachelors' and Spinsters' Ball - a very enjoyable party usually held in rural areas. E.g. Last night we had a ball at B & S.
Back of Bourke: a very long way away. E.g. Please go by car, it’s back of Bourke.
Bail (somebody) up: to corner somebody physically. E.g. He was not so strong, so I easily bailed him up.
Bail out: depart, usually angrily. E.g. He did not agree and bailed out quickly.
Banana bender: a person from Queensland. E.g. He is a banana bender and I like him. I have been to Queensland.
Barbie: barbecue. E. g. Nice smell! There is a barbie in the garden.
Barrack: to cheer on (football team etc.)
Bastard: term of endearment
Bathers: swimming costume
Battler: someone working hard and only just making a living
Beaut, beauty: great, fantastic
Big Smoke: a big city, especially Sydney or Melbourne
Big-note oneself: brag, boast
Bikkie : biscuit
Billabong: Billabong is a kind of lake which is usually formed when the course of a creek or river changes, leaving the former branch with a dead end.
Billy: teapot. Container for boiling water.
Bingle: motor vehicle accident
Bities: biting insects
Bitzer: mongrel dog (bits of this and bits of that)
Bizzo: business ("mind your own bizzo")
Black Stump, beyond the: a long way away, the back of nowhere
Bloke: man, guy
Bloody: very (bloody hard yakka)
Bloody oath! : That’s certainly true
Blow in the bag: have a breathalyzer test
Blowie: blow fly
Bludger: lazy person, layabout, somebody who always relies on other people to do things or lend him things
Blue: fight ("he was having a blue with his wife")
Blue, make a: make a mistake
Bluey: pack, equipment, traffic ticket, redhead
Bluey: blue cattle dog (named after its subtle markings) which is an excellent working dog.
Bluey: heavy wool or felt jacket worn by mining and construction workers.
Bluey: bluebottle jellyfish
Bodgy: of inferior quality
Bog in: commence eating, to attack food with enthusiasm
Bog standard: basic, unadorned, without accessories (a bog standard car, telephone etc.)
Bogan: person who takes little pride in his appearance, spends his days slacking and drinking beer
Bogged: Stuck in mud, deep sand (a vehicle).
Boil-over: an unexpected (sporting) result
Bondi cigar: see "brown-eyed mullet"
Bonzer: great, ripper
Boogie board: a hybrid, half-sized surf board
Boomer: a large male kangaroo
Booze bus: police vehicle used for catching drunk drivers
Boozer: a pub
Bored shitless: very bored
Bottle shop: liquor shop
Bottle-o: liquor shop (originally a man with hessian bags going around picking up beer bottles in the 50's and 60's)
Bottler: something excellent
Bottling, his blood's worth: he's an excellent, helpful bloke.
Bounce: a bully
Bourke Street, he doesn't know Christmas from: he's a bit slow in the head. (Bourke Street is a brightly lit Melbourne street)
Bowl of rice, not my: not my cup of tea; I don't like it
Brass razoo, he hasn't got a: he's very poor
Brekkie: breakfast
Brick shit house, built like a : big strong bloke
Brickie: bricklayer
Brisvegas: Brisbane, state capital of Queensland
Brizzie: Brisbane, state capital of Queensland
Brown-eyed mullet: a turd in the sea (where you're swimming!)
Brumby: a wild horse
Buck's night: stag party, male gathering the night before the wedding
Buckley's, Buckley's chance: no chance ("New Zealand stands Buckley's of beating Australia at football")
Budgie smugglers: men's bathing costume
Bull bar: stout bar fixed to the front of a vehicle to protect it against hitting kangaroos (also roo bar)
Bundy: short for Bundaberg, Queensland, and the brand of rum that's made there
Bunyip: mythical outback creature
Bush: the hinterland, the Outback, anywhere that isn't in town
Bush bash: long competitive running or motorcar race through the bush
Bush oyster: nasal mucus
Bush tally: campfire
Bushie: someone who lives in the Bush
Bushman's hanky: Emitting nasal mucus by placing one index finger on the outside of the nose (thus blocking one nostril) and blowing.
Bushranger: highwayman, outlaw
Butcher: small glass of beer in South Australia - From the theory that a butcher could take a quick break from his job, have a drink and be back at work
BYO: unlicensed restaurant where you have to Bring Your Own grog, also similar party or barbecue
Chapter 3: C
Cab Sav: Cabernet Sauvignon (a variety of wine grape)
Cactus: dead, not functioning ("this bloody washing machine is cactus")
Cane toad: a person from Queensland