Australian Slang

Australian slang ask and tell speaking game

Choose one of the words below and make any personal question you like out of it. Then toss a coin to decide who will answer the question:

Heads = Ask, meaning that you can ask anyone else the question

Tails = Tell, meaning that you have to answer the question yourself

You can’t change the question after flipping the coin

 

Suggested questions to ask with the slang Could you… (if you had to/ if you wanted to)? Do you… a lot/ too much? Do you have any experience of…? Do you think…? Has any of your friends…? Have you ever had trouble with…? Have you ever…? How do you feel about…? How many… can you/ do you…? How many times…? How much do you spend on…? How would you describe…? What do you do in order to…? What do you do in/ when/ with…? What do you think about…? What happened the last time that you…? What kind of…? What makes you…? What would you do/ say if…? When did you last…? Would you… if…?

Without looking at the answers, on the Australian Slang Presentation page write a more informal way of saying each of the things there, including Australian slang if you can. Other answers not on the previous worksheet may also be possible.

Use the mixed answers on the following page to help with the slang task.

Check your answers with the original page.

Test each other on the vocabulary, going both ways:

• Say a slang expression and see if your partner can make it more formal
• Say a more formal expression and see if your partner can make it more informal, for example with Aussie slang

Other answers may be different, so if your partner says something else that may be correct then check with your teacher.

 

Australian slang to ask questions with

• ambo (= ambulance)
• Aussies (= Australians)
• bogan (= a lower class person with bad taste, like a redneck)
• cark it (= die)
• chunder (= vomit/ be sick)
• come the raw prawn (= attempt to deceive someone)
• crook (= ill)
• dag (= uncool person)
• daggy (=uncool)
• dob someone in/ dob on someone (= inform on someone/ incriminate someone)
• done like a dinner (= easily defeated)
• drongo/ galah (= idiot)
• dunny (= toilet)
• ear-bashing (= shouting at someone/ nagging someone)
• full as a goog (= stuffed/ very full)
• furphy (= lie)
• grog/ plonk (= alcohol)
• hard yakka (= hard work)
• journo (= journalist)
• Macca’s (= McDonald’s)
• mad as a (cut) snake/ mad as a gumtree full of galahs (= very angry)
• neck oil (= beer)
• pash (= a long passionate kiss)
• pokie (= one armed bandit/ fruit machine)
• pom/ pommie (= Englishman)
• pregas (= pregnant)
• prezzie (= present)
• root (= have sex)
• sculling (= drinking down in one)
• sickie (= a day off work sick/ sick leave)
• slab (= 24-pack of beer)
• spit the dummy/ chuck a wobbly (= lose your temper, probably for no reason)
• spunk rat (= sexually attractive person)
• stoked (= excited)
• ‘strine (= Australian English)
• stubbie (= small bottle of beer)
• tall poppy (= very successful person)
• the GFC (= the 2008 Great Financial Crisis)
• the rough end of the pineapple (= unfair treatment)
• tinnie (= can of beer)
• togs (= swimwear, e.g. budgie smugglers – a tiny pair of swimming shorts)
• troppo (= crazy)
• tucker (= food)
• whinge (= complain)
• Woop Woop (= far out in the countryside, in a very small and isolated place)
• wowser (= a killjoy, someone who disapproves of what people do)

Australian slang presentation

• 24-pack of beer
• a day off work sick/ sick leave
• a killjoy, someone who disapproves of what people do
• a long passionate kiss
• a lower class person with bad taste, like a redneck
• alcohol
• ambulance
• attempt to deceive someone
• Australian English
• Australians
• beer
• can of beer
• complain
• crazy
• die
• drinking down in one
• easily defeated
• Englishman
• excited
• far out in the countryside, in a very small and isolated place
• food
• hard work
• have sex
• idiot
• ill
• inform on someone/ incriminate someone
• journalist
• lie
• lose your temper, probably for no reason
• McDonald’s
• one armed bandit/ fruit machine
• pregnant
• present
• sexually attractive person
• shouting at someone/ nagging someone
• small bottle of beer
• stuffed/ very full
• swimwear, e.g. budgie smugglers – a tiny pair of swimming shorts
• the 2008 Great Financial Crisis
• toilet
• uncool
• uncool person
• unfair treatment
• very angry
• very successful person
• vomit/ be sick

Mixed answers

• ambo
• Aussies
• bogan
• cark it
• chunder
• come the raw prawn
• crook
• dag
• daggy
• dob someone in/ dob on someone
• done like a dinner
• drongo/ galah
• dunny
• ear-bashing
• full as a goog
• furphy
• grog/ plonk
• hard yakka
• journo
• Macca’s
• mad as a (cut) snake/ mad as a gumtree full of galahs
• neck oil
• pash
• pokie
• pom/ pommie
• pregas
• prezzie
• root
• sculling
• sickie
• slab
• spit the dummy/ chuck a wobbly
• spunk rat
• stoked
• ‘strine
• stubbie
• tall poppy
• the GFC
• the rough end of the pineapple
• tinnie
• togs
• troppo
• tucker
• whinge
• Woop Woop
• wowser