When Suresh first moved to Melbourne, he often wondered if Aussies had a language of their own. He knew his English was on par with native speakers. But he began to question his ability to understand the language after one week in the Land Down Under. “You have to be attentive when you come to Australia because an entirely new word is created by abbreviating or lengthening it,” added Suresh.
Originally from India, he describes a funny incident while waiting for a friend at his university’s library lawn. An Aussie student, Harry, who walked past the library, spotted Suresh, and asked, “How ya going?”
Surprised that his friend was concerned about how he would make his way into town, Suresh answered, “I am walking there.” Puzzled, Harry just smiled awkwardly and walked away. However, Suresh wondered why Harry asked about his mode of transport. After all, he had no intention of driving him into town. Then, days later Suresh told another friend about his encounter with Harry and finally realised what Harry really meant to say was “How are you?”
Like Suresh and Arj, many of us have our own funny “Australian slang word” anecdotes. Read some memorable stories about words like “Bogan” or “Thongs” or “Whoop Whoop” below.
Funny Aussie slang stories
People from all over the world have shared their stories about a favourite Aussie slang word or term.
Bogan
Derly, 13 years in Australia, from Colombia
I was with some friends at a pub and wanted to know the meaning of the word “bogan”. The pub was very noisy so I asked my friends very loudly, “What is a bogan?” I got death stares from people around me. My friend immediately shushed me, with a promise to explain later. “At that time, I had no idea what I did wrong but I realised later how tactless it was for me to ask that question in a pub!”
Bogan: Australian slang for a person whose speech, clothing, attitude and behaviour are unrefined or unsophisticated.
Hundreds and thousands
Ratna, 1 year in Australia, from India
When one of my colleagues made bread for National Fairy Bread Day, she used white bread with those colourful sprinkles on them. So, I asked how she made it and she explained: “Use white bread, apply butter and hundreds and thousands.” The instructions were fairly simple to follow but I had one question. I asked, “Hundreds and thousands of what?” This sent everybody into fits of laughter!
Hundreds and thousands: Nonpareils, a decorative confectionery of tiny balls made with sugar and starch, traditionally an opaque white but now available in many colours.
Arvo
Jenna, 10 months in Australia, from the USA
Someone once said to me, “Have a nice arvo.” And all I could think was, “I’m not planning on eating an avocado today and even if I was how would they know that?” So, do you know what “arvo” means?
Arvo: Afternoon
Thongs
Josephine, 5 years in Australia, from the Philippines.
Years ago, I back-packed around Europe. And, I stayed for a few days at a youth hostel. I opted to share a room and ended up with two students from Australia as roommates. The toilets were communal so, my new Aussie friend asked me if she could borrow my thongs for the shower. I kept silent for a few seconds as I could not comprehend why she would want to use my thong (I assumed she meant underwear) and furthermore, why in the shower? She understood my reaction and quickly explained what “thongs” meant! Phew!
Thongs: flip-flops
