100+ Australian Slang Words & Phrases

Aussies are typically a laid-back lot, which is frequently reflected in the way they talk. They have a penchant for reducing 90 percent of the words they use to generate Australian Slang.

Generally, the shortening of words is clear and straightforward to comprehend. To participate, simply delete the last few characters of a word and substitute them with a vowel sound (-a, -ie/y, -o). For example, Avocado is spelled Avo; Kangaroo is spelled Roo; Mosquito is spelled Mozzie, and so on.

However, another thread to the Aussie slang includes strange and quirky Australian slang and phrases that are difficult to translate. In this post, you’ll learn a short Australian Slang 101. We’ll teach you the jargon of Australia, reveal their interpretations and their roots, and have you speaking like a native in a short while.

Slang Words For Eating & Drinking

1. Avo – Avocado
2. A Cold One or Coldie – Beer
3. Barbie – Barbecue 
4. Billy – Tea-kettle (in the Desert on the fire) (or some Australians use it to describe a bong; but only those who want to be unique, as bongs are relatively common internationally.)
5. Booze Bus – A police van that is used to capture intoxicated drivers.
6. Bottle-O – Bottle or Liquor Store — essentially a location to buy booze that is not a restaurant.
7. Brekky – Breakfast
8. Bring a Plate – Bring a Plate – directions for bringing a plate of food to a Barbeque or event.
9. BYO – bring your own (typically in the context of alcohol)
10. Cab Sav – Cabernet Sauvignon.
11. Choccy Biccy – Chocolate Biscuit
12. Docket – Bill; or list of issues to be addressed.
13. Esky – AKA an Ice Box, Cool Box, Chilly Bin or Chest Cooler.
14. Fairy Floss – Cotton Candy, Candy Floss
15. Flake – Gummy shark meat supplied in fish and chip eateries 
16. Frothy – Beer
17. Grog – Beer, Liquor.
18. Hungry Jacks – Burger King
19. Icy Pole – Ice Lolly, Popsicle
20. Lollies – Sweets
21. Maccas – McDonald’s
22. Sanger – Sandwich
23. Skull or Skol – To drink up a beer
24. Slab – A box of beers (often 24)
25. Snag – A Sausage
26. Stubby – a beer bottle 
27. Stubby Holder – insulated sleeve which prevents your hands from making beer warm
28. Sausage Sizzle – a weekly barbecue event organised outside Bunnings.
29. Tiny – Beer Can/small boat.
30. Bush Tucker– food from Outback like witchetty grubs.

Aussie Expletives, Exclamations, Insults & States Of Being

1. Banana Bender – a person from Queensland
2. Beauty! – Excellent! Often shouted as “You Beauty”, especially when a good thing happens (in sports).
3. Bloody – Seriously. Used when elaborating a point
4. Bloody oath – it’s true, or yes
5. Bludger – a lazy person who depends on others (someone who relies on the state is called a ‘dole bludger’)
6. Bogan – a very sophisticated person. The Australian version of the US’s rednecks.
7. Bored shitless – Extremely Bored
8. Buggered – Exhausted
9. Chunder – Vomit.
10. Crack the shits – Being angry at something or someone
11. Crikey – an expression of shock
12. Cobber – A good friend.
13. C*nt / the “C” word – ‘mate’
14. Dag – a geek, goof or a nerd person
15. Deadset – That’s true.
16. Defo – Definitely
17. Devo – Devastated
18. Drongo – An Idiot or fool
19. Far out – ‘Really?!’– can be used in both positive and negative statements.
20. Galah – A dumb individual called after the Australian bird known for its ridiculous actions and loud noises.
21. Gnarly – Awesome 
22. Grouse – Terrific
23. Legless – A very drunk person 
24. Mongrel – A scoundrel person
25. Ocker – a simple person
26. Piece of Piss – Simple
27. Piss Off – Get lost, Go away
28. Piss Up – A get-together
29. Piss – To urinate
30. Pissed – Drunk
31. Pissed Off – angered 
32. Rack Off – A less aggressive way to tell people to get lost
33. Ripper – fantastic, buddy!
34. Rapt – So happy
35. Ropeable – Extremely mad
36. Spit the Dummy – To get upset  / to crack it 
37. Stoked – Pleased
38. Strewth – surprise exclamation
39. Sweet As – Awesome, sweet, good.

Australian Slang Phrases And Words For Day To Day Life

1. Acca Dacca – How Australians refer to an Australian band ACDC
2. Ambo is an abbreviation for Ambulance.
3. Ankle Biter – Child
4. Ankle Biter is an Australian slang term for a youngster (featuring a child wearing glasses and a cape with one arm in the air superman style with text overlay above with the translation)
5. Arvo – Afternoon (S’Arvo signifies this afternoon!)
6. Australian Salute – Wave to frighten the flies away
7. Bail – To terminate plans.
8. Bathers / Budgie Smugglers – Swimsuits / Speedos
9. Bathers = Swimwear in Australian slang (featuring a woman floating on her back in blue water wearing a white one-piece swimsuit with text overlay of the translation above her)
10. Barrack – To support or cheer 
11. Billabong – A pond is located in a dry riverbed
12. Bruce – An Aussie Guy
13. Umbrella – Brolly
14. Buckley’s Chance – Not a Chance; Nearly Impossible.
15. “Out in the bush” or “he’s gone bush” are two expressions for “out in the bush.” Bushman’s Alarm Clock – a Laughing Alarm Clock in the Countryside Kookaburra
16. Cactus — Deafeningly Deafeningly Deafeningly (an object, i.e. washing machine)
17. Cark-It – Doomed
18. CBD stands for Central Business District (used to refer to a city centre: Melbourne CBD, Sydney CBD etc.)
19. Choc A Bloc / Cockers – Chicken – Full Chook
20. Chrissie – Merry Christmas
21. Durry / Ciggy – A Cigarette
22. Clucky – In a maternal mood
23. Cockatoo – Cockie (bird)
24. Coppers are police officers.
25. Crook – Illness; or a criminal
26. Trousers are known as daks. Sweatpants/tracksuit pants are referred to as ‘tracky daks.’
27. Dogs Breakfast – a sloppy piece of work; a shambles (and also used to describe how someone seems!)
28. Australia and New Zealand are located in the southern hemisphere.
29. Dunny is a toilet.
30. Dunny Means Toilet in Australian slang (featuring a man and woman symbol on a round raised plaque on the wall with text overlay of the translation above)
31. Exy stands for Expensive.
32. Facey is short for Facebook.
33. Fair Dinkum – ‘Really? Honestly, yes!
34. Fair Go / Fair Crack of the Whip / Fair Suck of the Sav – To offer someone a second opportunity.
35. Shirt Flannie / Flanno – Flannelette
36. franker – franker – franker – franker
37. Australian Rules Football | Aussie Rules Football Football (not English football/soccer)
38. Furphy — unlikely or outrageous tall tales, rumours, or stories (also the name of a beer brand!)
39. G’day – Good day
40. Going off – An angry person’s response “he’s going off”
41. Good on you — excellent work
42. Goon – The best/ worse version of wine – based on your favourite. 
43. Grommet – Young surfer
44. Grundies – underwear
45. Hard yakka – Hard work
46. Heaps – lots, loads, many
47. Hoon – Hooligan.
48. Hooroo – Goodbye
49. Iffy – unreasonable and a bit risky  
50. John Dory – The Gossip / The Goss
51. Knickers – Women underwear
52. Lappy – Laptop
53. Larrikin – A person who laugh all the time, a bit of an inoffensive prankster
54. Lucky Country – Australia
55. Manchester – Linen / Sheets etc. (This one can be confusing, especially if you are from Britain)
56. Mate – Acquaintance, Friend
57. Moolah – Money
58. Mozzie – Mosquito
59. No Drama – It’s ok or No problem 
60. No Worries – No problem / no drama / it’s ok
61. In the Nud / Nuddy – Naked
62. Outback – The middle or interior of Australia.
63. Pash – To kiss
64. Pokies – Gambling Machines
65. Rage on / Rage – Party on / Party.
66. Reckon – sure. ‘Are you Reckon?’… ‘I reckon!’
67. Rello / Rellie– Relatives
68. Rock Up – To arrive / to reach
69. Roo – Kangaroo
70. Roo Means Kangaroo in Aussie Slang (displaying a Kangaroo eating on the grass at twilight, with the description above as a text overlay)
71. Root – sexual intercourse
72. Root Rat – a person who loves sex (perhaps a little too much)
73. Rooted – Broken or Tired 
74. Roster – Work schedule, Rota 
75. Runners – Sneakers, Trainers
76. Servo – Garage / Service Station / Gas Station
77. Sheila – A woman
78. She’ll be apples – Everything is going to be ok
79. Shoot Through – To leave
80. Sick – impressive/good; ‘that’s really sick, pal”
81. Sickie – a sick day off, or ‘to pull a sickie’ (to take a day break from work when you aren’t genuinely sick)
82. Smoko – Cigarette break
83. Sook /  being a sook/sulk – you’re whining (i.e. stop being a sulk)
84. Stickybeak – a nosey person / to be nosey
85. Stiffy – Erection
86. Straya – Australia
87. Straya = Australia in Australian Slang (displaying the BigAustraliaBucketList description of Australia with text overlay of the illustration above)
88. Stuffed – Tired
89. Sunnies – Sunglasses
90. A lone bed that can be rolled up similar to a sleeping bag.
91. Thongs – Jandals (New Zealand), Flip Flops (UK/USA)
92. Togs – Swimwear
93. Tradie – a tradesperson
94. True Blue (Australian) – Patriotic, Genuinely Australian 
95. Two Up – A betting game is played during Anzac day.
96. Yewy / U-IE – a U-Turn while driving
97. Up Yourself – Held up
98. Ute – Pick-up truck, Utility vehicle
99. Walkabout (Go Walkabout) — a journey by an Australian Aboriginal (initially by foot) to live in the traditional way (but please be warned that this term is often considered an intense term by native Australians)
100. Woop Woop is an Australian slang term that means “remote” or “middle of nowhere” (showcasing a little settlement in the middle of nowhere with nothing around them for mile after mile and a textual overlay with the interpretation above)
101. Woop – the centre of nothing (practically the entire state of Western Australia north of Perth and south-west of Margaret River! And almost the whole Northern Territory.)
102. Ya – You
103. Yous / youse – plural of you!