Our guide to Ozzie slang

Australians refer to them as thongs and to the Kiwis they are jandals.

Kelly Jackson, General Manager for Contiki, takes a look at some common slang phrases that will help you to decode our cousins from Oz and New Zealand (P.S. thongs are not underwear – they’re what we South Africans call slip-slops).

“So you’ve arrived Down Under and you’ve overheard one of the locals say they’re going to hop in the ute, head to the Bottle-O to fill up their esky with a slab for this arvo’s barbie.

The best thing you could do is say ‘Good onya, mate, can I tag along?’ and join your new-found friends for a braai in the afternoon with a beer filled cooler box.”

Take a gander at this fair dinkum Aussie slang:

• Grommet – a young surfer
• Pash – a long passionate kiss. A pash rash is red irritated skin as the result of a heavy make-out session with someone with a beard
• Ripper – really great
• Servo – gas station. In Australia, a gas station is called a petrol station
• Tradie – a tradesman. Most of the tradies have nicknames too, including brickie (bricklayer), truckie (truckdriver), sparky (electrician), garbo (garbage collector) and chippie (carpenter)
• Ute – Utility vehicle, pick-up truck

When you’re done exploring the vast Australian continent take some time to hop ‘over the pond’ to say ‘Gidday mate, how ya going?’ in New Zealand.

Just be sure to pack your jandals and wear your togs for a trip to the beach or you might look a little sus.

• The wops – a place in the middle of nowhere or far from anything
• Carked it – is usually used when something or someone dies
• Munted – something is broken or someone is drunk
• Sus – when a situation or someone is practically suspicious
• Piece of piss – when something is easy
• Chilly bin – cooler box
• Packing a sad – having a tantrum
• Togs – swimming costume

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