Australian hospitality slang

Ace

Awesome, great

“Ace!”

Arvo

Afternoon

“I am busy tomorrow arvo.”

Avo

Avocado

“Avo on toast.”

Bail

To cancel plans

"Sorry, I am going to have to bail. I am not feeling well."

Barbie

Barbeque

“Chuck a sausage on the barbie.”

Bathers

Swimmers, swimsuit

“Don’t forget to pack bathers for the beach.”

Bevvies

Having a couple of bevvies means you’re having a few drinks, or maybe you’re having a whole goon bag to yourself (we won’t judge you).

“Wanna grab a couple of bevvies tonight?”

Bogan

A person whose speech, mannerisms, clothing, and behaviour are considered unsophisticated, crude or feral.

“That person is such a bogan!”

Bottle-o

Bottle shop, liquor store

“Can you grab me some drinks from the bottle-o”

Bloke

Male

“He’s a great bloke.”

Bucks

Dollars

“The coffee cost me ten bucks.”

Bugger off

Go away

“Bugger off, mate!”

Buggered

Extremely tired, exhausted

“I am absolutely buggered after work!”

BYO

When you’re looking for where to eat you want to check for these three magical letters B.Y.O.
B.Y.O basically means you can bring your own alcohol, avoiding the ridiculous prices you are otherwise going to be charged.

“BYO drinks to Sunday lunch”

Dodgy

Suspicious, poor quality. A dodgy area means the area is unsafe.

Suspicious, poor quality. A dodgy area means the area is unsafe. "I don't want to go to that restaurant. Last time I went, their steak looked super dodgy."

Chuck a sickie

For anyone looking to work in Australia, you’re probably going to need to know this phrase. Chuck a sickie is basically when you don’t want to go to work that day (everyday) so you pretend to be sick to have the day off. When you’re going for job interviews, it’s probably best to pretend you don’t know this one yet.

“I am chucking a sickie for work on Monday.”

Dunny

Toilet

“I need to go sit on the dunny.”

Good on ya

Good work (sometimes sarcastic)

“Good on ya mate!”

Footy

AFL, Australian Football

“The footy is on tonight.”

Froth

To froth something is to say you really like it. Backpackers usually froth goon, cheap meals and a sunny day at Bondi

“I’m frothing the sun today!”

G’day

Hello

“G’day, mate!”

Going off

The surf can be going off, a party can be going off, even dinner can be going off (and we don’t mean mouldy)... going off means something is really, really good.

“Oi mate! The surf is going off today!”

Good on ya

Good work (sometimes sarcastic)

“Good on ya mate!”

Goon Bag

Alcohol in Australia is ‘spenny’ as hell (expensive)! Unless you want to go without, you might want to become acquainted with an Aussie legend, the goon bag. These magical silver bags are filled with cheap wine and also double as a pretty sweet travel pillow.

“I went to the bottle - and got a goon bag”

How’s it going?

Translation: “How are you?"

“How’s it going mate?”

Jumper

Sweater

“It’s cold. I am going to put on a jumper.”

Knackered

Exhausted, tired, worn out

“Sorry I can’t come out tonight, I’m absolutely knackered.”

Maccas

McDonald’s

“Want to grab a Big Mac from Maccas?”

Mate

Friend

“Have you met my mate, Sven?

Old Mate

Many travellers have gotten confused, thinking Old Mate must be the life of the party that everyone knows but really Old Mate is a friendly Australian term to describe basically anyone.

“Ask old mate, he might know what time the bus leaves!”

Reckon

I think, I agree

“I reckon that’s a great idea!”

Rip off

To cheat someone, often used if something is overly expensive

"I paid $900 for that TV, and it doesn't even work. What a rip-off!

Servo

Service station, Gas station

"I need petrol. Do you know any servos nearby?"

She’ll be right

That will be fine, it should all work out, don’t worry it will work out.

"Don't worry. She'll be right."

Slack

Being lazy

"He slacked off."

Slab

24 cans of beer

“Can you please buy me a slab of Carltons?”

Smoko

Smoko is a short break at work, particularly used for tradies (tradesmen). You’ll want to try and nab as many of these as possible if you’re working in Australia

“Should we go on smoko now?”

Snag

Sausage

“Would you like a snag for lunch?”

Spewin’

Really annoyed, not happy, bummed out, upset

"I'm spewin' that I missed the party yesterday because I was sick."

Spud

A potato. Sometimes used to describe a person who behaves like a potato

“Can you check on the spuds in the oven?”

Sunnies

Sunglasses

“Do you like my new sunnies?”

Ta

Thank you

“Ta”

Taking the piss

Taking the piss has nothing to do with urinating. Instead it’s about having a joke, usually at someone else’s expense.

“Are you taking the piss mate?"

Thongs

In Australia, thongs are what you wear in the hostel shower so you don’t catch a bunch of foot diseases, not what you’d see in a Sisqo film clip. If a tour guide tells you to wear thongs we promise they’re not being creepy (well probably not).

“Don’t forget your thongs for the beach.”

Trackies

Tracksuit pants

“It’s cold, I am going to put trackies on.”

Uni

University

“I have uni today.”

Vegemite

Popular Australian breakfast spread

“Vegemite on toast”

Veggies

Vegetables

“Steak with steamed veggies on the side.”

Veggo

A vegetarian

“Lucy is a veggo.”

Wag

Truant, Skip school, skip work

“I think I am going to wag school today.”

Whinge

complain, carry on

“Stop whinging and get on with it!”

Whoop Whoop

If you’re looking for directions and someone says it’s in woop woop, chances are you have a fair way to go. Woop Woop means something is in the middle of nowhere.

“He lives in whoop whoop.”

Wonky

Not straight, bent

“Check out how wonky this sheet of metal is”

Ya

You

“Why did ya do that?”

Yeah, Nah

Translation: “No”

“Do you want to go to work today?” “Yeah, nah”

Yeew!

Yeew is like an exclamation mark out loud. It’s used when something is really really good or you’re really stoked (excited)

“The surf is going off! Yeew!”