Aussie slang

Aussie slang has become more widespread in the UK through the influence of the Aussie soaps which have become part of the TV furniture since the mid-late eighties. Possibly the most common of all Aussie slang terms is ‘Barbie’ - short for barbecue, closely followed by the typical Aussie greeting of ‘g’day‘; and the ‘dunny’ which is Aussie slang for the toilet. If an Aussie is feeling a bit unwell, they are said to be ‘crook‘; whilst conversely, if feeling in top form they would be ‘ripper‘. In Aussie slang the equivalent of a friend or mate is ‘cobber‘, but someone not thought of so highly may be referred to as a ‘drongo‘, i.e. a fool or idiot. The Aussie slang of ‘dinkum’ means honest, genuine or for real. It is actually believed to have originated in the East Midlands of England, where it meant hard or fair work, which was in fact the original meaning in Australian. Many distinctive Australian words have been driven into, or near to extinction in recent decades, under the influence of mass media and imported culture, because of changes in fashion, or have fallen into disuse as society changes. Aussie slang words such as: ‘Sheila‘, a generic term for a female; ‘bonzer‘, an exclamation that something is excellent; ‘galah‘, a fool; and ‘struth!’, which is Aussie slang as an expression of shock or dismay, possibly of Shakespearean origin - ‘God's Truth‘.