Aussie dictionary

Before we moved here, we read a couple of books on Australian culture and they both included sections on unique Aussie phrases and slang. Most of them were pretty well-known, including “mate”, “no worries”, “fair dinkum”, etc.

However, now that we have lived here a year, we can say that there are many more unique Australian sayings that we were never warned about in books. And they are confusing. See a short list of examples below.

“Stuffed” = Very tired

I’m stuffed. I can’t wait to crawl in bed.

“Average” = Bad

How did you like the food there? 
I actually thought it was average.
Oh, that’s too bad!

“Shocking” = Very bad

What did you think of that book?
I thought it was shocking!
Really? I’ll definitely cross it off my list then.

“Heaps” = Very

That movie was heaps funny.

“Massive” = Exciting/Good time

How was the concert last night?
It was massive.
That’s cool!

“Prank” = Text message

Just prank me when you get here and I will come outside.

“Kit” = Outfit/Clothes

I was so stuffed last night, I just crawled in bed with my kit on.

“Beautiful” = Delicious

This chicken is beautiful!
Thanks! It’s a family recipe.

“Sweet as” = Very good

Your new car is sweet as.
Yeah, and it’s fast as too. I’ll take you for a spin some time.
That would be massive!

“Bench” = Kitchen counter

I left my lunch at home on the bench this morning.
Hopefully nobody sits on it! Ha!
Why would somebody sit on the bench?
Never mind.

“Crack it” = Get really mad

When Rob sees this he’s going to crack it.

“Cracker” = Something/someone funny

Ha! He is such a cracker!

“Icy pole” = Popsicle

It is heaps hot right now. I wish I had an icy pole.
(Me laughing hysterically)
Mate, what’s so funny?

Another update on South Australia

So I got yet another ticket in the mail from that speed camera in the Barossa valley. This one is $310 for going 9mph over the limit. Seems a bit pricey, huh? That’s because Australian’s are scared of cars. Especially ones that are travelling faster than a bicycle. It’s particularly difficult for me to adjust to, coming from California.

But I may be in luck. One of my options on the back of the ticket is to apply for a “review”, which is an option if you think the offence was “trifling.” I’m not sure exactly what trifling means, but this sounds like a classic case to me. (Certainly my first ticket for going only 5mph over was trifling, right?).

I’m sort of kidding of course. I usually don’t like it when people complain about getting tickets, so I probably will just pay the things and move on. But I will still make my case to Australians that going faster than 48mph on the freeway really is not dangerous.

Our first visitors

We just had our first visitors. It was quite exciting. Kristi’s brother Jason came and spent a week with us. He was in Sydney for a couple of weeks as part of his university’s international business course. Afterwards, he came down to Melbourne to see us.

For the first few days, a couple of Jason’s friends, Nick and Matt, also came with him. So for part of the week we had five people in our (tiny) apartment. It was cozy, but I think it worked okay. We showed them around the city, took them to Crown Casino, rode various trams and trains, went to a footy game at the MCG, visited Planetshakers church (they had been to a Planetshakers concert in the States) and drove to Philip Island to see the little penguins. 

Kristi made most of the meals (which I think were delicious), but we did have one dinner on the infamous Lygon Street where all the restaurant owners stand outside and try to convince you to eat at their places – usually by bribing with you free appetizers and drinks. It is an interesting experience. We also visited one of the great Melbourne chocolatiers– San Churro’s. Yum!

It is nice when people come visit us because we get to hog all of their time (because they don’t know anybody else here!) So we got some good quality time with Jason, which was awesome.

It was sad to say goodbye of course. And now our apartment feels kind of empty without so many people in it. But we had an awesome time and are looking forward to more visitors in the future!

Update on South Australia

So we just got a ticket in the mail from one of those speed-cameras in the Barossa valley that I blogged about earlier. It is $202 for going 5mph over the limit. That’s a bummer. Hopefully no more arrive though!