Australian Slang — The Complete A–Z Guide

G'DAY

Convict Shirts — Australian Slang Series

AUSTRALIAN
SLANG

The complete A–Z guide. History, origins, and 100+ terms defined — from convict cant to contemporary Strine. On tees, obviously.

The Language That Built Itself

Australian English did not arrive fully formed. It assembled itself — from the flash language of convicts, the vocabulary of Aboriginal loanwords, the slang of gold rush camps and shearing sheds, the compression habits of a culture that prefers efficiency to elaboration. The result is a dialect that is simultaneously older and newer than it appears: ancient words in new contexts, new words built from old patterns, a vocabulary that keeps generating itself from the same productive mechanisms.

This guide is the complete reference — the full A–Z, the categories, the history, and the mechanics. Fair dinkum. On tees, obviously.

A Brief History — Where It Came From

1788 — Convict Cant

The First Fleet arrives carrying the flash language — the criminal cant of London's underworld. Swag, lurk, rort, dob, nark, fence, mug — these terms enter Australian English from day one and never leave. The anti-dobbing ethic, the suspicion of authority, the vocabulary of looking out for your mates: all traceable to this moment.

1788 onward — Aboriginal Loanwords

European settlers borrow words for things they have never seen: kangaroo, koala, wombat, dingo, billabong, boomerang, yakka, galah. These enter the language from over 250 distinct language groups and become so thoroughly integrated that most Australians do not register them as loanwords at all.

1850s — Gold Rush

Half a million people arrive in a decade. The colonial vocabulary spreads rapidly through an enormous influx of new speakers. New terms for new conditions emerge. The distinctively Australian voice accelerates.

1880s–1900s — The Bush Tradition

Banjo Paterson, Henry Lawson, and the Bulletin magazine codify and celebrate the bush vernacular. Swagman, squatter, drover, larrikin, mate — the vocabulary of itinerant rural labour becomes the vocabulary of national identity.

1914–1918 — ANZAC

The First World War exports Australian English to an international audience for the first time. Digger, cobber, furphy, no-hoper — terms that enter the language through the particular crucible of the Western Front and Gallipoli.

1960s–1980s — Surf Culture

The surf lexicon enters mainstream Australian English: stoked, gnarly, wipeout, hang five. The larrikin aesthetic finds a new expression in beach culture that spreads from the coasts inward.

Now — Ongoing

Australian slang continues generating itself. The diminutive system — -ie, -y, -o — keeps producing new words. New terms enter from social media, from politics, from sport. The vocabulary is alive.

Browse By Category

Diminutives Insults & Banter Pub & Drinking Work & Bludging Emotions People & Characters For Tourists Places & Geography Indigenous Loanwords Food & Drink Rhyming Slang State by State Convict Slang How to Speak Aus

Diminutives

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The -ie, -y and -o suffixes that compress Australian English. Afternoon becomes arvo. Service station becomes servo. Biscuit becomes biccy. The most productive morphological process in the dialect.

ArvoServoBarbieBrekkieSmokoTradieSickieRegoAmboGarbo

Insults & Banter

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The vocabulary where the most cutting terms are the most affectionate. Being called a drongo by someone who likes you is warmth. Being called one by someone who doesn't is an assessment. Delivery is everything.

DrongoDagBoganWowserGalahBludgerWhingerRatbagMugDropkick

Pub & Drinking

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The shout, the pot, the parma, the chook raffle. Beer glass sizes vary by state in ways that can bewilder travellers. What Victoria calls a pot, New South Wales calls a middy. What South Australia calls a schooner is a different volume from everywhere else.

The ShoutPotSchoonerMiddySlabTinnieColdieParmaChook RaffleCounter Meal

Work & Bludging

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Hard yakka is admired. So is chucking a sickie when the circumstances are right. The vocabulary of Australian labour holds two values in creative tension: genuine respect for hard work and equally genuine respect for knowing when not to.

Hard YakkaSmokoSickieBludgerTradieOn the ToolsKnock OffDog Act

Emotions & States

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Strong feelings, minimal display. Devo. Stoked. Ropeable. Yeah nah. Australian emotional vocabulary operates on compression — the state is communicated, the conversation moves on.

DevoStokedRaptRopeableCrankyYeah NahNah YeahZonkedSpit the Dummy

People & Characters

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The larrikin, the bogan, the mate, the wowser, the hoon. Each term encodes a cultural value judgement — to know the vocabulary is to understand what Australians value and what they don't forgive.

LarrikinMateBoganWowserBlokeCobberHoonJackaroo

Convict Slang & Flash Language

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The foundation layer. Flash language — the criminal cant of the First Fleet — is where Australian English begins. Swag, lurk, rort, dob, nark, fence: all present from 1788, still in use today.

SwagLurkRortNarkDobFenceMug

Indigenous Loanwords

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Words from 250+ Aboriginal language groups woven into everyday Australian English. Kangaroo, koala, billabong, boomerang, yakka, galah — so thoroughly integrated most Australians don't register them as loanwords.

KangarooKoalaBillabongBoomerangYakkaGalahDingoWombat

The A–Z Glossary

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U W Y Z

Aggro	adj	Aggressive; agitated. Don’t get aggro about it.
Ambo	noun	Ambulance officer; paramedic. Call the ambo.
Arvo	noun	Afternoon. See you this arvo.
Avo	noun	Avocado. Smashed avo on sourdough.

Barbie	noun	Barbecue (the event or device). Fire up the barbie.
Bathers	noun	Swimwear. Victoria and SA term; togs in Qld, cossie in NSW.
Biccy	noun	Biscuit. Grab a biccy.
Bikie	noun	Motorcycle rider; member of a motorcycle club. Legally specific in some contexts.
Billabong	noun	Oxbow lake or isolated waterhole. From Wiradjuri bilaban.
Bloke	noun	A man; a fellow. Good bloke.
Bludger	noun	Someone who avoids work or lives off others. Stop being a bludger.
Bogan	noun	Person considered unsophisticated. Culturally complex — pejorative, affectionate, or self-applied.
Boomerang	noun	Curved throwing implement. From Dharug bumariny. Also a metaphor for things that return.
Bottle-o	noun	Bottle shop; liquor store. Run to the bottle-o.
Brekkie	noun	Breakfast. What’s for brekkie?
Budgie	noun	Budgerigar. Also: budgie smugglers (tight swimwear).
Bung	adj/verb	Broken, not working (from Yagara bung, dead). Also: to place something.

Chook	noun	Chicken (animal or food). Roast chook. Also mild term of affection.
Ciggie	noun	Cigarette. Going for a ciggie.
Cobber	noun	Close friend; mate. Primarily historical, ANZAC-era associations.
Coldie	noun	A cold beer. Crack a coldie.
Compo	noun	Workers’ compensation. On compo.
Corroboree	noun	Aboriginal ceremonial gathering. From Dharug caribberie.
Cossie	noun	Swimwear. NSW term; bathers in Vic/SA, togs in Qld.
Counter meal	noun	Pub meal served at the bar. Counter meal’s on till eight.
Crack the shits	verb	To become suddenly angry. She cracked the shits.
Cranky	adj	Irritable; mildly angry. Gets cranky before his coffee.
Crikey	excl	Exclamation of surprise. Mild register. Genuinely used.
Crook	adj	Sick, unwell (feeling crook) or dishonest/wrong (that’s crook).

Dag	noun	Socially awkward or endearingly uncool person. Can be affectionate.
Deadset	adv	Absolutely; genuinely. Deadset legend. / Deadset? (really?)
Demo	noun	Demonstration. Going to the demo.
Devo	adj	Devastated. Totally devo about the result.
Dingo	noun	Australian wild dog. From Dharug din-go. Also: a coward or treacherous person.
Dob (in)	verb	To inform on someone. Don’t dob me in. Anti-dobbing ethic is a cultural cornerstone.
Dog act	noun	A disloyal or dishonourable action. That was a dog act.
Dropkick	noun	A useless or contemptible person. From the football kick.
Drongo	noun	A fool; incompetent person. Named after a losing racehorse. Affectionate between friends.

Esky

noun

A portable cooler/ice box. Brand name that became generic. Grab stuff from the esky.

Fair dinkum	phrase	Genuine; truly; really. Fair dinkum? (really?) / Fair dinkum, it happened.
Fence	noun/verb	Receiver of stolen goods; to sell stolen property. From flash language.
Footy	noun	Football — code depends on state. AFL in Vic/SA/WA/NT; NRL in NSW/Qld.

G’day	greeting	Hello. Universal, any time of day. Use freely — reads as friendly.
Galah	noun	A fool. From the pink cockatoo (Yuwaalaraay gilaa). Silly galah.
Garbo	noun	Garbage collector. Garbo comes Tuesday.
Grouse	adj	Excellent; fantastic. Distinctively Victorian. That’s grouse.

Hard yakka	noun	Strenuous work. From Yagara yaga. Good result — hard yakka.
Heaps	adv	Very; a lot. Heaps good. / Ta heaps.
Hoon	noun/verb	Reckless driver; to drive recklessly. Hoon laws exist in multiple states.

Icy pole

noun

An ice lolly; popsicle. Icy pole from the servo.

Jackaroo / Jillaroo	noun	Male/female trainee station hand. Learning to work a sheep or cattle station.
Journo	noun	Journalist. Talking to a journo.

Kangaroo	noun	From Guugu Yimithirr gangurru. First recorded 1770. Most recognised Australian word globally.
Kindie	noun	Kindergarten. Picking up from kindie.
Knock off	verb	To finish work. Knocking off at three.
Knocker	noun	Someone who habitually criticises or dismisses. Don’t be a knocker.
Koala	noun	From Dharug gula. Not a bear.

Larrikin	noun	Irreverent, anti-authoritarian, mischievous person. Major cultural archetype.
Lippie	noun	Lipstick. Where’s my lippie?
Lurk	noun	A clever scheme or angle. From flash language. What’s your lurk?

Mate	noun/address	Friend; universal term of address regardless of actual relationship. Core of Australian egalitarianism.
Middy	noun	285ml beer glass. NSW and WA; pot in Victoria and Queensland.
Mozzie	noun	Mosquito. Mozzies are terrible tonight.
Mug	noun	A gullible fool. From flash language. Ya mug.

Nah yeah	phrase	Yes. The inverse of yeah nah. Word order is everything.
Nark	noun/verb	An informer; to inform. From flash language. Negative connotations.
No worries	phrase	You’re welcome; it’s fine. Most frequent response to thanks in Australian English.

On the clock	phrase	Being paid for time; the meter is running. We’re on the clock.
On the tools	phrase	Doing manual trade work. Still on the tools after twenty years.

Parma / Parmi	noun	Chicken parmigiana. The Victorian pub’s sacred dish. Ham goes on.
Pavlova	noun	Meringue dessert. Claimed by both Australia and New Zealand. Dispute ongoing.
Pot	noun	285ml beer glass. Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania; middy elsewhere.
Postie	noun	Postal worker. Postie came early.
Pressie	noun	A present; a gift. Birthday pressie.

Rack off	verb	Go away; leave. Rack off, ya mug.
Rapt	adj	Delighted; very pleased. Rapt with how it turned out.
Ratbag	noun	Mischievous or disreputable person. Generally affectionate.
Reckon	verb	Think; believe. I reckon it’ll rain. / You reckon?
Rego	noun	Vehicle registration. Rego’s due.
Relo	noun	A relative. Visiting the relos.
Ropeable	adj	Extremely angry. Absolutely ropeable.
Rort	noun/verb	A fraudulent scheme; to exploit a system. From flash language. Political journalism standard.

Servo	noun	Service station. Pull into the servo.
She’ll be right	phrase	It will be fine. Optimism, warranted or otherwise.
Sickie	noun	A sick day, genuine or strategic. Chucking a sickie.
Slab	noun	24-can/bottle carton of beer. Grab a slab.
Smoko	noun	A work break. A protected institution. Back after smoko.
Snag	noun	A sausage. Essential vocabulary at any outdoor event.
Sparkie	noun	Electrician. Waiting on the sparkie.
Spit the dummy	phrase	To lose one’s temper; have a tantrum. Don’t spit the dummy.
Stoked	adj	Extremely enthusiastic or happy. From surf culture.
Sunnies	noun	Sunglasses. Non-negotiable in Australian conditions.
Swag	noun	Bundle of bedding; a large quantity. From flash language (originally: stolen goods).

Ta	excl	Thank you. Brief, casual, standard. Ta heaps.
Tinnie	noun	A can of beer. Also: a small aluminium boat. Context distinguishes.
Togs	noun	Swimwear. Queensland term; bathers in Vic/SA, cossie in NSW.
Tradie	noun	A tradesperson. Finding a good one is a social achievement.
Truckie	noun	Truck driver. Truckies’ rest stop.

Undies	noun	Underwear. Clean undies.
Ute	noun	Utility vehicle; pickup truck. Culturally significant. Back of the ute.

Whinger	noun	A persistent complainer. Whinging Pom is a specific archetype.
Wombat	noun	Burrowing marsupial. From Dharug wambad. Cube-shaped faeces.
Woop woop	noun	The middle of nowhere. Imaginary but precise. Out in woop woop.
Wowser	noun	A killjoy; puritanical person. Anti-fun on principle. Rarely affectionate.

Yakka	noun	Work. From Yagara yaga. Hard yakka.
Yeah nah	phrase	No. Not a question. Word order is the entire content.

Zonked

adj

Completely exhausted. Absolutely zonked.

Australian Slang — On Tees

The complete vocabulary. On organic cotton. First Friday every month.

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A Note On Currency

Australian slang is alive. This guide documents the vocabulary as it stands in the mid-2020s, with historical context where it’s relevant. Some terms here are centuries old and still in daily use. Some are recent coinages that may date quickly. Some are regional, some are generational, some are occupational. The vocabulary is not a fixed set — it is regionally varied and culturally contested. Terms change meaning, fall out of use, get revived ironically and are coined afresh every year. If we’ve missed something important — and we have — the contact page is there. We’ll add it to the next edition, deadset.