Marxist
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- Sep 20, 2001
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LEARNING AUSSIE AND STRINE
I told our guide, Peter, that I was learning 'Strine' as a second language. I was only joking, but ran into words and phrases that might as well have been another language, and before long found I had spoken some truth. Here is a list of my understanding of the "Foreign Tongue." I divided it into: Strine (Australian phonetic shortcut words and phrases), Words descriptive of the Australian Continent, and Aborigine words I ran across. Forgive me my guesses, as another Australian word was often my only translation.
Remember in pronunciation, most "a" sounds are ah, as in father, except when otherwise. "I" is also pronounced ah, "ay" becomes ah-eye, and "o" sometimes sounds like uh. "R" seems to become "h" except sometimes at the beginning of a word or with another consonant, or where absolutely necessary, and excess letters may be dropped any time you want. Other than that, there are no rules.
Strine- (Au)-STR-(al)-I-(a)-N
See how it is done? A phonetic shortcut.
Abo- Slang for Aborigine.
Aussie- Familiar term for Australian citizen.
Aussie rules- Australian football, not soccer, not rugby.
Avago- Have a go, try it.
Avagoyermug- Traditional rallying call at cricket match.
Barracking- Cheering for your team.
Battler- One who fights the odds, hangs on. Also a Goer.
Beg yours- I beg your pardon.
Bloke- Man.
Bloody- Swear word, implying intercourse during menstruation.
Bluey- Blanket, swag.
Bugger- Swear word, implying anal sex pervert.
Chook- Chicken.
Chuck a U-ey- Do a U-turn.
Cooee- a call or yell like whoopie, something exciting. I'm lost!
Crook- Sick, broken down, useless, badly made, substandard.
Cut lunch- Sandwiches.
Dead finish- The best.
Dead in- Definite yes.
Dead out- Definite no.
Dinki-di- The real thing, Dinkum.
Dinkum, Fair-dinkum- Honest, genuine.
Dole bludger- Welfare cheat.
Donk- Car or boat engine.
Don't come the raw prawn- Don't try to fool me.
Drongo- Dimwit.
Drouth- Thirst.
Dunny- Toilet.
Fair go- Fair chance.
Flash- not completely broken horse, spirited.
Get stuffed- Swear words, meaning get layed.
G'Day- Pronounced g-die, good day, hello.
G'die mite owser goin ah'royt?- the complete hello.
Go-er- A persistent battler.
Good on yer- Well done.
Garbo- Garbageman.
Greenie- Conservation activist.
Hoon- Fool, idiot.
Knockin down his cheque- Drink until the money is gone, has historical roots.
Larrikin- Street rowdy, rascal.
Lolly- Candy, lollipop, sign held by a flagman, traffic cop.
Mate- A man's friend, buddy, partner.
Mob- Any group except a gang.
No worries- It's OK.
Ocker- Down to earth Aussie, Archie Bunker down under.
Oz- Nickname for Australia.
Pom, Pommie- English person (Immigrant became Jimmie Grant then Pommie Grant).
Ring, tingle (give someone a)- Call someone up.
Scrum- Football huddle. Sydney Opera House is called, "Nuns in a scrum."
Sheila- Single girl.
She'll be right- It will turn out alright.
Shout him a beer- this beer is on me.
Smoke-O- Smoke break, also extended to include tea.
Snag, banger- Sausage.
Snorter- On a rampage, aggressive.
Stone the crows- Beyond belief!
Stubbie- Two liter beer.
Tinny- Aluminum beer can.
Troppo, gone troppo- The tropics, gone to Darwin.
Whinge- Complain, whine, gripe.
Wowser- Officious moralist, killjoy, spoilsport, puritan.
Yobbo- Uncouth aggressive person.
Words and phrases peculiar to the Australian Continent.
ANZAC- Australian New Zealand Army Corps, a joint force in Crimean War.
Billabong- Water hole left by a dried-up stream. Oxbow stream segment.
Billy- Tin can for boiling tea.
Bitumen- Paved road, bitumenized.
Bullbars- Large strong bumpers on trucks, to protect when hitting animals.
Bullock- Oxen.
Bullroarer- Flat bark on a string, when swung makes a roaring sound.
Bush- The uncivilized back country, the rough land.
Bushranger- Outlaw.
Bushwalking- Hiking.
Brumbies- Wild horses, mustangs.
Chemist's- Drugstore.
Clay pans- Dry lake bed, salt lake with clay bottom.
Coach- Bus.
Cyclone- Hurricane, typhoon.
Damper- Big biscuit dough bread, baked in hot coals of a fire.
Dingo- Wild dog of Australia. Howls, but never barks.
Do not overtake- No passing zone.
Down under- Southern Hemisphere, but especially Australia.
Dreamtime- Aboriginal belief in the beginning of the world.
Drover- Rider on a cattle drive across country.
Dry- Dry season, April to November, in northern Australia.
Dust corrugations- Washboard road, corduroy road.
Esky- Trade name for Eskimo box, ice chest.
Eco-tour- Tourism with a nature or ecological focus.
Eucalyptus- One of 600 varieties of "gum". Name means, "well-covered"(seed).
Facilities- Nice name for bathrooms.
Flake- Shark meat, used in fish and chips.
Flying Doctors- Airborne, radio-dispatched medical service for the outback.
Fossick- Prospect for gold or gems.
Freshies- Fresh-water crocodiles.
Fridge- Refrigerator.
Gallah- Stupid. Rose breasted cockatoo because of silly antics.
Gap- Rocky pass or cleft.
Ghan- Railroad to The Alice, named for the Afghan camel trains it replaced.
Goanna- Monitor lizard, 3-4 feet long.
Grazier- Rancher.
Grid- Cattle crossing guard in the road.
Gum- See Eucalyptus. Some have sap used for glue. Oily leaves really burn.
Inside- Outback from an outback reference. Deep within the bush.
Jackaroo- Cowboy (itself a distortion of Spanish, "caballero", horseman).
Jillaroo- Cowgirl.
Joey- Baby kangaroo.
Jumbuck- Sheep.
Lemonaide- Any lemon-flavor drink, 7-Up, Sprite, Slice, but not real lemonade.
Make way- Yield right-of-way.
Matilda- Pack, sack or bedroll, when walking the bush country.
Merinos- Breed of sheep with fine wool.
Milk bar- Small store, mom and pop market.
Moreton Bay Bugs- Saltwater crayfish.
Mullach heap- Mine tailing piles, notably at the opal holes at Coober Pedy.
Nullarbor plain- Simplistic Latin for "No Trees."
Outback- Remote interior country, wild bush land, away from settlements.
Outbush- Gone to the interior.
Out in the mulga- Away from civilization, the mulga is an outback tree.
Panel beaters- Dent removal.
Pokies- Poker-playing slot machines.
Pub- Public house, tavern or bar with rooms and meals available.
QANTAS- Queensland And Northern Territory Air Service. Australian airline.
Road train- Truck with three trailers, between Port Augusta and Darwin.
Rocks, The Rocks- Sydney old-town district.
Salties- Salt-water or estuarian crocodiles, the dangerous crocs.
She-oak- Tree named after the oaks of home, but inferior (female). Not an oak.
Silk-oak- Nostalgically named oak, but really a Grevillea tree.
Smash repairs- Body and fender shop.
Southern Cross- Four bright stars, cross shaped, pointing south.
Spinifex- A sharp-bladed Australian grass.
Squatter- Homesteader.
Station- Sheep or Cattle ranch.
Stingers- Box jellyfish with poisonous tentacles.
Stockman- Rancher.
Sultanas- Raisins.
Sundowner- Swagman who arrived in time for supper, but too late to work for it.
Swag- Pack, sack or bedroll, Matilda, gear, possessions
Torch, electric torch- Flashlight.
Tucker, tuckerbag, tuckerbox- Food, food container.
Ute- Utility vehicle or pickup truck. One new brand name is Ocker. (see ocker)
Walkabout- The Aborigine custom of cross-country walks, long walking trips.
Waltzing Matilda- Walking the back country, carrying a swag.
Wattle- Acacia trees, sentimentally thought of as old-world willows.
Wet- Wet, rainy season (the green) December through March, northern Australia.
Wether- Castrated male sheep.
White ants- Termites, not really ants.
Willy-willy- Whirlwind, dust devil.
Yabbies- Small freshwater crayfish.
Aboriginal Words
Some Aborigine words I have been told may stand some editing, as there are several hundred tribes and dialects. All were phonetic transcriptions to Australian sounds (which are themselves subject to interpretation). Taken in the spirit of exploration and with a grain of salt, I give you:
Boomerang- A bent throwing stick (135 degrees) actually not bent but taken from the already bent branch of a tree. The surface is shaped with wing aerodynamics; and when thrown correctly, circles and returns to the thrower. Not much good for hunting, the returning boomerang is more for show, or to scare game back toward the hunter to be dispatched with a spear. The non-returning boomerang is called a stick (ha, ha.) Its bend is not so pronounced, is heavier, and is intended to hit something on the outward trip. The throw was like the policeman's baton, low, whirling parallel with the ground, intended to cripple legs. The animal, stopped, could then be speared.
Coober Pedy- The Aborigine words for Man in a hole. The mining of opals is in some of the hottest dryest land, and some of the miners live in the holes they have dug, just to keep cool. Underground was a spooky place to Aborigines and they couldn't understand why the white man wanted the rocks so much that they would risk going in a hole for them. Other white men would go "in the hole" to buy them.
Woomera- The Aztecs called it Atl-atl, a stick with a hook on the end. Parallel worlds, or ocean-transported technology? When fitted into the back end of a spear, it effectively increased the length of the man's arm, adding distance and power to the throw. Woomera was the name of Australia's Cape Canaveral, or rocket base deep in the barren outback.
Minga-rama- Crazy ants. That is the name given to the white climbers up the side of Uluru (Ayer's Rock), their sacred place. A photo from far off says about the same thing.
Didgeridoo- Easy to say, harder to play. A termite-eaten tree limb is chosen by tapping and listening for the right sound. Hot coals are pushed through to clear out the insides and harden the wood. Secret designs are added and ritual secret words are said to make the instrument. Blowing with "circular breathing" (air goes out the mouth while breathing in through the nose) and sound shaping with lips and throat create some complicated sounds that carry a long way. The music, a rhythmic chant accompanied by clicking sticks, is used with symbolic steps in Corroboree dances.
Murrumbidgee meant big water. Tocumwal meant big fish. Kangaroo meant: I don't know what you mean. Koala meant this animal drinks no water. Quinkan was a furry, evil god. No doubt these were all from different tribes.
More than half of the place names on the Australian map are Aborigine names, most are long and difficult to pronounce. What do they all mean? The average Aussie hasn't a clue.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--Joe Pontius
Australia Journal Table of Contents
Mark's Travel Page
I told our guide, Peter, that I was learning 'Strine' as a second language. I was only joking, but ran into words and phrases that might as well have been another language, and before long found I had spoken some truth. Here is a list of my understanding of the "Foreign Tongue." I divided it into: Strine (Australian phonetic shortcut words and phrases), Words descriptive of the Australian Continent, and Aborigine words I ran across. Forgive me my guesses, as another Australian word was often my only translation.
Remember in pronunciation, most "a" sounds are ah, as in father, except when otherwise. "I" is also pronounced ah, "ay" becomes ah-eye, and "o" sometimes sounds like uh. "R" seems to become "h" except sometimes at the beginning of a word or with another consonant, or where absolutely necessary, and excess letters may be dropped any time you want. Other than that, there are no rules.
Strine- (Au)-STR-(al)-I-(a)-N
See how it is done? A phonetic shortcut.
Abo- Slang for Aborigine.
Aussie- Familiar term for Australian citizen.
Aussie rules- Australian football, not soccer, not rugby.
Avago- Have a go, try it.
Avagoyermug- Traditional rallying call at cricket match.
Barracking- Cheering for your team.
Battler- One who fights the odds, hangs on. Also a Goer.
Beg yours- I beg your pardon.
Bloke- Man.
Bloody- Swear word, implying intercourse during menstruation.
Bluey- Blanket, swag.
Bugger- Swear word, implying anal sex pervert.
Chook- Chicken.
Chuck a U-ey- Do a U-turn.
Cooee- a call or yell like whoopie, something exciting. I'm lost!
Crook- Sick, broken down, useless, badly made, substandard.
Cut lunch- Sandwiches.
Dead finish- The best.
Dead in- Definite yes.
Dead out- Definite no.
Dinki-di- The real thing, Dinkum.
Dinkum, Fair-dinkum- Honest, genuine.
Dole bludger- Welfare cheat.
Donk- Car or boat engine.
Don't come the raw prawn- Don't try to fool me.
Drongo- Dimwit.
Drouth- Thirst.
Dunny- Toilet.
Fair go- Fair chance.
Flash- not completely broken horse, spirited.
Get stuffed- Swear words, meaning get layed.
G'Day- Pronounced g-die, good day, hello.
G'die mite owser goin ah'royt?- the complete hello.
Go-er- A persistent battler.
Good on yer- Well done.
Garbo- Garbageman.
Greenie- Conservation activist.
Hoon- Fool, idiot.
Knockin down his cheque- Drink until the money is gone, has historical roots.
Larrikin- Street rowdy, rascal.
Lolly- Candy, lollipop, sign held by a flagman, traffic cop.
Mate- A man's friend, buddy, partner.
Mob- Any group except a gang.
No worries- It's OK.
Ocker- Down to earth Aussie, Archie Bunker down under.
Oz- Nickname for Australia.
Pom, Pommie- English person (Immigrant became Jimmie Grant then Pommie Grant).
Ring, tingle (give someone a)- Call someone up.
Scrum- Football huddle. Sydney Opera House is called, "Nuns in a scrum."
Sheila- Single girl.
She'll be right- It will turn out alright.
Shout him a beer- this beer is on me.
Smoke-O- Smoke break, also extended to include tea.
Snag, banger- Sausage.
Snorter- On a rampage, aggressive.
Stone the crows- Beyond belief!
Stubbie- Two liter beer.
Tinny- Aluminum beer can.
Troppo, gone troppo- The tropics, gone to Darwin.
Whinge- Complain, whine, gripe.
Wowser- Officious moralist, killjoy, spoilsport, puritan.
Yobbo- Uncouth aggressive person.
Words and phrases peculiar to the Australian Continent.
ANZAC- Australian New Zealand Army Corps, a joint force in Crimean War.
Billabong- Water hole left by a dried-up stream. Oxbow stream segment.
Billy- Tin can for boiling tea.
Bitumen- Paved road, bitumenized.
Bullbars- Large strong bumpers on trucks, to protect when hitting animals.
Bullock- Oxen.
Bullroarer- Flat bark on a string, when swung makes a roaring sound.
Bush- The uncivilized back country, the rough land.
Bushranger- Outlaw.
Bushwalking- Hiking.
Brumbies- Wild horses, mustangs.
Chemist's- Drugstore.
Clay pans- Dry lake bed, salt lake with clay bottom.
Coach- Bus.
Cyclone- Hurricane, typhoon.
Damper- Big biscuit dough bread, baked in hot coals of a fire.
Dingo- Wild dog of Australia. Howls, but never barks.
Do not overtake- No passing zone.
Down under- Southern Hemisphere, but especially Australia.
Dreamtime- Aboriginal belief in the beginning of the world.
Drover- Rider on a cattle drive across country.
Dry- Dry season, April to November, in northern Australia.
Dust corrugations- Washboard road, corduroy road.
Esky- Trade name for Eskimo box, ice chest.
Eco-tour- Tourism with a nature or ecological focus.
Eucalyptus- One of 600 varieties of "gum". Name means, "well-covered"(seed).
Facilities- Nice name for bathrooms.
Flake- Shark meat, used in fish and chips.
Flying Doctors- Airborne, radio-dispatched medical service for the outback.
Fossick- Prospect for gold or gems.
Freshies- Fresh-water crocodiles.
Fridge- Refrigerator.
Gallah- Stupid. Rose breasted cockatoo because of silly antics.
Gap- Rocky pass or cleft.
Ghan- Railroad to The Alice, named for the Afghan camel trains it replaced.
Goanna- Monitor lizard, 3-4 feet long.
Grazier- Rancher.
Grid- Cattle crossing guard in the road.
Gum- See Eucalyptus. Some have sap used for glue. Oily leaves really burn.
Inside- Outback from an outback reference. Deep within the bush.
Jackaroo- Cowboy (itself a distortion of Spanish, "caballero", horseman).
Jillaroo- Cowgirl.
Joey- Baby kangaroo.
Jumbuck- Sheep.
Lemonaide- Any lemon-flavor drink, 7-Up, Sprite, Slice, but not real lemonade.
Make way- Yield right-of-way.
Matilda- Pack, sack or bedroll, when walking the bush country.
Merinos- Breed of sheep with fine wool.
Milk bar- Small store, mom and pop market.
Moreton Bay Bugs- Saltwater crayfish.
Mullach heap- Mine tailing piles, notably at the opal holes at Coober Pedy.
Nullarbor plain- Simplistic Latin for "No Trees."
Outback- Remote interior country, wild bush land, away from settlements.
Outbush- Gone to the interior.
Out in the mulga- Away from civilization, the mulga is an outback tree.
Panel beaters- Dent removal.
Pokies- Poker-playing slot machines.
Pub- Public house, tavern or bar with rooms and meals available.
QANTAS- Queensland And Northern Territory Air Service. Australian airline.
Road train- Truck with three trailers, between Port Augusta and Darwin.
Rocks, The Rocks- Sydney old-town district.
Salties- Salt-water or estuarian crocodiles, the dangerous crocs.
She-oak- Tree named after the oaks of home, but inferior (female). Not an oak.
Silk-oak- Nostalgically named oak, but really a Grevillea tree.
Smash repairs- Body and fender shop.
Southern Cross- Four bright stars, cross shaped, pointing south.
Spinifex- A sharp-bladed Australian grass.
Squatter- Homesteader.
Station- Sheep or Cattle ranch.
Stingers- Box jellyfish with poisonous tentacles.
Stockman- Rancher.
Sultanas- Raisins.
Sundowner- Swagman who arrived in time for supper, but too late to work for it.
Swag- Pack, sack or bedroll, Matilda, gear, possessions
Torch, electric torch- Flashlight.
Tucker, tuckerbag, tuckerbox- Food, food container.
Ute- Utility vehicle or pickup truck. One new brand name is Ocker. (see ocker)
Walkabout- The Aborigine custom of cross-country walks, long walking trips.
Waltzing Matilda- Walking the back country, carrying a swag.
Wattle- Acacia trees, sentimentally thought of as old-world willows.
Wet- Wet, rainy season (the green) December through March, northern Australia.
Wether- Castrated male sheep.
White ants- Termites, not really ants.
Willy-willy- Whirlwind, dust devil.
Yabbies- Small freshwater crayfish.
Aboriginal Words
Some Aborigine words I have been told may stand some editing, as there are several hundred tribes and dialects. All were phonetic transcriptions to Australian sounds (which are themselves subject to interpretation). Taken in the spirit of exploration and with a grain of salt, I give you:
Boomerang- A bent throwing stick (135 degrees) actually not bent but taken from the already bent branch of a tree. The surface is shaped with wing aerodynamics; and when thrown correctly, circles and returns to the thrower. Not much good for hunting, the returning boomerang is more for show, or to scare game back toward the hunter to be dispatched with a spear. The non-returning boomerang is called a stick (ha, ha.) Its bend is not so pronounced, is heavier, and is intended to hit something on the outward trip. The throw was like the policeman's baton, low, whirling parallel with the ground, intended to cripple legs. The animal, stopped, could then be speared.
Coober Pedy- The Aborigine words for Man in a hole. The mining of opals is in some of the hottest dryest land, and some of the miners live in the holes they have dug, just to keep cool. Underground was a spooky place to Aborigines and they couldn't understand why the white man wanted the rocks so much that they would risk going in a hole for them. Other white men would go "in the hole" to buy them.
Woomera- The Aztecs called it Atl-atl, a stick with a hook on the end. Parallel worlds, or ocean-transported technology? When fitted into the back end of a spear, it effectively increased the length of the man's arm, adding distance and power to the throw. Woomera was the name of Australia's Cape Canaveral, or rocket base deep in the barren outback.
Minga-rama- Crazy ants. That is the name given to the white climbers up the side of Uluru (Ayer's Rock), their sacred place. A photo from far off says about the same thing.
Didgeridoo- Easy to say, harder to play. A termite-eaten tree limb is chosen by tapping and listening for the right sound. Hot coals are pushed through to clear out the insides and harden the wood. Secret designs are added and ritual secret words are said to make the instrument. Blowing with "circular breathing" (air goes out the mouth while breathing in through the nose) and sound shaping with lips and throat create some complicated sounds that carry a long way. The music, a rhythmic chant accompanied by clicking sticks, is used with symbolic steps in Corroboree dances.
Murrumbidgee meant big water. Tocumwal meant big fish. Kangaroo meant: I don't know what you mean. Koala meant this animal drinks no water. Quinkan was a furry, evil god. No doubt these were all from different tribes.
More than half of the place names on the Australian map are Aborigine names, most are long and difficult to pronounce. What do they all mean? The average Aussie hasn't a clue.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--Joe Pontius
Australia Journal Table of Contents
Mark's Travel Page
