What is a Bogan? A Quick Guide to Australian Slang
Australian slang can be quite a confusing beast. This guide will break down some of the more popular words, providing suitable definitions. You too will be speaking “Strine” (Australian) in no time!
Here’s an introduction to some Aussie slang words. If you’re travelling to Oz, you’ll need it.
Why is avocado shortened to avo? What’s a bogan? And is goon of fortune truly the greatest drinking game known to man?
Australian slang can be really confusing. If you’ve visited the Land Down Under or watched any kind of Australian TV, you’ll probably have found yourself scratching your head at the lingo that escapes an Aussie’s lips.
Here’s a guide to Australian slang, which you should peruse before taking a trip to ‘Straya (‘Australia’, that is) so you can understand what we’re banging on about at any given time. You should also read up on these Australian travel tips before heading down under.
Bogans would wear these to keep warm in winter. I’m wearing a pair as I type this. Make of that what you will.
A Fun Guide to Australian Slang
The funny thing about Australia is that our slang isn’t just used by bogans – it’s part of the lexicon of all Australians, no matter what their class or level of education.
So, here’s a rundown of the most popular Aussie slang words and phrases. I’ve tried to limit this list to words I’ve heard others use recently and I’ve eliminated almost all the racial slang, because there’s no place for it anywhere.
NB: Some of this slang has British origins, but have been so deeply imbedded into the Australian vernacular, that it deserves a place on this list.
Agro
To be aggravated, or a bit grumpy.
Arvo
Short for afternoon.
Bail
To leave. “The dinner was boring, so Steven decided to bail.”
Biccie
A biscuit (or cookie), commonly used in the phrase “tea and biccies”, a hangover of Australia’s colonial days.
Blackfella
A form of terminology used by Australia’s Indigenous population. So, don’t freak out if you hear someone of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent refer to themselves as such in conversation. Also, don’t use it if you’re not First Nations People yourself. “Whitefella” gets used as well. If you want to get across proper terminology in Aboriginal Australia, read this post.
Bloody
Not a swear word, “bloody” is generally used for extra emphasis. I.e. Lisa was having a bloody good time at Sam’s party.
Bludger
A good-for-nothing layabout.
Bogan
A bogan is a stereotypical Australian, with a potty mouth, bad dress sense and a fondness for alcoholic beverages. Also known as an “Aussie Bogan” although I don’t know why – they are, after all endemic to Australia.
Bogan slang
A sub-branch of Australian slang. Usually consists of the most crudely shortened words and mate’s names. For example, shortening someone with the last name of “Fitzgerald” to “Fitzy” or “Robert” to “Robbo”. And so on.
Boofhead
A silly-billy. This is the nickname my family have traditionally applied to our dogs.
Bottle-o
A bottle shop or off-licence.
Brekky
The first meal of the day.
Buckleys
To have little or no chance of achieving something. “She had buckleys of getting to work on time.” That may or may not be me, most days.
Bush
The Australian bush, but is also used to refer to anywhere rural.
Carton
A case of beer.
Cashed-up Bogan
A bogan with money. Due to Australia’s mining boom, many blue collared workers have made a tonne of money in recent decades, leading to the invention of this term.
Chewy
Chewing gum.
Chips
Chips can refer to either hot chips (fries) or crisps. It’s all about the context.
Convo
A conversation.
Cooee
To be in close proximation of something, like “Tom lived within cooee of the local fish and chip shop.”
Cozzie
A swimming costume.
Crock
An injustice. “Those weren’t the best burgers in Perth! That place is such a crock.”
Crook
To be ill. “Alex was feeling crook.”
Cuppa
A cup of tea
Grabbing a cuppa in the Hunter Valley.
Dag
An eccentric or sloppy person.
Deadset
For extra emphasis, to be 100% sure. “Alex is deadset the hottest dude I’ve ever seen.”
Dero
Short for derelict. Can be applied to any noun – person, place or item.
Devo
To be devastated.
Dog
A dirty act. If Jimmy kissed Riley’s girlfriend it would be considered a “dog move”.
Dole bludger
Someone on welfare.
Dunny
Traditionally an outdoor toilet.
Exy
Expensive.
Fair call
Uttered when one is in agreement with another, when a reasonable statement is uttered. “The sky is blue and what would you know anyway, because you are colour-blind.” “Okay. Fair call.”
Fang it
To speed with enthusiasm, particularly around corners.
Far Out
An expression of exclamation, often used instead of the other F-word…
Feed
A meal. “Fancy a feed?”
Feral
Someone who is a bit of a dirty hippy.
First Peoples
Australia’s Indigenous population.
Flog
Someone who is considered to be arrogant – I’ve never heard anyone call someone or themselves a flog in NSW, but hear it ALL THE TIME in Victoria.
Franger
A condom.
Goon
Boxed wine, popular amongst the student crowd. This has led to the popular backyard game of “goon of fortune”, where the bag is removed from the box and pinned to the clothes line. It is then spun around and whoever it lands on has to have a drink, pouring it straight from the clothesline into their mouth.
Once empty, a goon bag can be inflated to form a makeshift pillow.
Grouse
Cool, excellent. “That dinner you made was grouse, Louise.”
Sydney Harbour at sunrise is a bit of an all right.
Hard Yakka
Hard work. “Walking up this hill is hard yakka.”
Heaps
Used for positive emphasis. “That concert was heaps good.”
Hills hoist
A clothing line that folds in on itself, not unlike an umbrella. Perfect for hanging your goonbag off.
Hole
Anywhere that is rather rundown and/or derelict. “Sunnydale is such a hole.”
Hooroo
A farewell.
Hottie
A hot water bottle.
Keen
To be ready, eager to do a particular thing. “Would you like to go to the movies?” “Yeah. I’m keen.”
Journo
A journalist.
Larrikin
A dying breed of Australian, who is easy-going and fun-loving, whilst being a bit cheeky.
Lollies
Sweets.
Longneck
A 750ml bottle of beer.
Maccas
MacDonalds. “I’m gonna go for a late night maccas run. Does anyone want a cheeseburger?”
Manchester
Linen and sheets. Apparently this term came about from boxes of the stuff being shipped over from England with “Manchester” being written on them. That was taken to mean what the items were, rather than the city they had come from!
Mate
This is how every Australian will constantly refer to you. People at work call me “mate” and because I’ve been out of the country for years, I find it annoying and condescending now and constantly have to remind myself that that’s not supposed to be the case.
Midi
A 285ml glass of beer, also known as a “pot” in some states.
Mole
A derogatory term often used by women to describe other women. “Sheena kissed Kylie’s boyfriend.” “Ugh. She’s such a mole.”
Mongrel
A bad tempered person.
Moolah
Money, cold hard cash.
Mozzie
A mosquito.
The big mozzie in Hexham, NSW.
No dramas
A response to someone asking a request of someone else. “Will, would you be able to get a side of garlic bread with that pizza order?” “Sure – no dramas.”
No worries!
Pretty much Australia’s national catchphrase. Used in place of “all right” and “fine”.
Nuddy
To be naked. “He ran around the backyard in the nuddy, after playing goon of fortune.”
Ocker
A rough, uncultivated Australian. The stereotypical Aussie accent is considered to be “ocker”. Yet, people from the cities don’t tend to speak that way, which is why people are constantly confused by mine.
The Outback
The desert. It’s a beautiful place and well worth visiting.
Op Shop
A charity store and where I personally buy most of my clothing.
Olds, Oldies
One’s parents or folks.
Old mate
Used in lieu of a person’s name. Particularly handy if you’ve forgotten the name of whoever you’re referring to at the time. “I saw Shelley kissing old mate the other day. You know. The guy with the hair.”
Oz
Straya, mate!
Pash
To kiss, with tongue.
Perve
To gaze upon one, with somewhat dirty intentions.
Pokies
Slot machines. Gambling is massive in Australia, particularly in New South Wales.
Pom, pommie, pommies
The English.
Pot
Similar to a midi – 285ml in size and the standard size of a drink in the state of Victoria (make sure you ask for a pint instead, if you want a bigger drink).
Prezzie
A present.
Cheers to the outback. What a grouse view!
Rage
To party. “He raged at the blue light disco all night long.”
Rapt
To be excited about something. “She was rapt as she had always wanted to go on a Backstreet Boys’ cruise.”
Ratbag
A scallywag.
Reckon
To state an agreement with someone, you’d simply answer “I reckon you’re right.”
Rego
Car registration.
Relos
One’s relatives.
Ripper
To indicate that something is good, ie “You little ripper!”
Rock up
To arrive. “Mollie rocked up to Brad’s party, half an hour late.”
Rooted
To be exhausted, I guess to the same point as what you’d be if you’d engaged in vigorous sex, as root means that too. Although that’s not my intended meaning when I get home, collapse on the couch and announce that I’m rooted – I can assure you of that!
Ropeable
To be quite angry, to see red.
Rort
To be cheated, a dishonest practice. “That was a bit of a rort.”
Sanga
A sandwich.
Snag
A sausage.
Schooner
A glass of beer at 425ml (yes, we have many different drink measurements here!)
Servo
A service station or centre.
Rocking up at Victoria’s famous rocks, the Twelve Apostles.
Sickie
To chuck a sickie is to stay home from work. You may or may not be actually sick.
Sheepshagger
Someone from New Zealand.
Shithouse
Of poor quality. “That chicken was shithouse. I will never dine at Red Rooster again.”
Shout
To treat someone. “It was his shout for drinks.”
Slab
A case or carton of beer.
Slippery-dip
As mentioned earlier, a simple playground slide.
Slag
Someone who’s a bit gross or a bit too flirtatious – often a derogatory word applied to women. “Shirley hit on Pete.” “Oh yeah, she’s a bit of a slag, isn’t she?”
Sook
Someone who’s being a bit whingy or is seeking attention.
Spewing
To be angry about something. “She was spewing because she’d left her phone at work.”
Spunk
Not what you think it means – rather, it’s someone you find attractive. “Mary thought Jarred was super spunky.”
Straya
The country of “Australia”.
Strine
Our “official” name for Australian slang!
Stuffed
To be pooped. “He’d been drinking at the beach all day and he was stuffed.”
Sunnies
Sunglasses.
The Bogey Hole in Newy (Newcastle).
Trackie-daks
Tracksuit or sweat pants.
Tradie
Someone who works in a trade – electricians, plumbers, builders, etc.
Thongs
Australia’s national footwear – everyone else knows them as “flip flops”.
Too Easy
A response when someone says thank you to you, similar to ‘no problem’. “Thanks for my pint of beer.” “Too easy, mate.”
Top End
The far north of the country – the Northern Territory.
Tucker
Food.
Turps
Alcohol. “To get on the turps” is to drink.
U-ie
To manoeuvre one’s car into a u-turn is to “chuck a u-ie.”
Unit
A flat or apartment.
Ute
A pickup truck.
Vego
A vegetarian.
Woop woop
Anywhere far away from where a conversation (or convo) is taking place. “Ah yeah, TJ lives out woop woop, doesn’t he?”
Yeah, no
Simply, no. We’re an indecisive bunch.
Do you have anymore Australian slang words to add to this list?
Other posts on Australia
Here are some tips on what NOT to do when visiting Australia, like littering and aggravating the local wildlife.
Summer is the worst time to visit Australia. Here’s why.
Want to blend in seamlessly with Aussie locals? I have some tips on how to do just that.
Australia is pretty amazing to live in, at times. Here’s why.
But… it’s also pretty weird, as these facts will demonstrate.
Here are a few reasons why Sydney is a better city than Melbourne. Team Syd fo’ lyfe.
Here are some of the best places to travel to in Australia.
And a list of fun things to do in Perth
