New additions to Aussie dictionary worth adding to your repertoire today
Language can be a very perplexing thing in Australia. Words like "mate" and "bogan" are commonly understood, but dig deeper and the confusion starts to set in.
Well the end of your confusion is nigh, with 6,000 new Australian words and phrases added to the Australian National Dictionary Tuesday, including the addition of 250 new Indigenous words from 100 different language groups.
It's the perfect way to brush up on your slang before a trip Down Under, but there are some useful words and phrases delightful enough to spice up any conversation, any time.
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Commence confusing the hell out of people, just for fun!
Food and drink
Battered sav - A battered and fried hot dog-like sausage, similar to a corn dog.
Chateau cardboard - Cheap wine out of a cask in a cardboard box, also known as "goon."
Goon of fortune - A drinking game where a bag of cask wine a.k.a. goon is spun around on a rotary clothes line. Yes, it's modelled after the popular game show, Wheel of Fortune.
Nibblies - Snack foods like cheese or crackers laid out at events or parties.
People
Bush baptist - A fictional religious affiliation, used when someone doesn't belong to a particular church or religion.
Checkout chick - A worker who scans groceries at a supermarket.
Grey nomad - An older person who spends their retirement years travelling.
Pube - A public servant. Can also be used to refer to a piece of pubic hair, obviously.
Ranga - A red haired person. From "orangutan."
Politics
Branch stacking - The practice of improperly increasing the membership of a local branch of a political party in order to ensure the preselection of a particular candidate.
Captain's pick - A decision made by a party leader etc. without consultation with colleagues.
Keep the bastards honest - A slogan of the small political party, the Australian Democrats, alluding to the party's role in holding larger political parties to account.
Small-l liberal - An upholder of the principles of liberalism, typically a non-conservative member or supporter of the Liberal Party of Australia, with comparitively progressive views on social issues.
Indigenous
Bunji - A mate/friend (in Warlpiri and other languages of the Northern Territory and northern Queensland.)
Jarjum - A baby or young child (in Bundjalung language.)
Migaloo - A white person (originally "ghost" in Biri and other northern Queensland languages.)
Tjukurpa - The Dreaming (from Western Desert language.)
Minga - A tourist (in the Anangu language of the Northern Territory. Originally means "ants" and used to describe the people that line up to climb Uluru.)
Weird phrases
I don't know if I'm Arthur or Martha - If one is confused.
Couldn't run a chook raffle - Used to refer to someone who is incompetent.
Doing a Bradbury - Winning a contest by being the last person standing, or getting really lucky.
Dry as a dead dingo's donger - Extremely dry.
