Just some musings on being a Brit down under…
Dictionary corner
Australians have weird words for things. Here’s some of the ones I’ve come across so far – comment with any others!
Petrol station – servo
Toilet – dunny
Break – smoko
Ill – crook
You alright? – how you going? I’ve found that if you ask someone if they’re alright, as opposed to how they’re going, they see it as a serious question and get quite concerned – not least my partner’s patients.
Cool box – eski
Lunch – feed
Sausage – snag
Cigarette – durry
Tinny – boat or a beer
Cafetière – plunger
Contactless – pay wave
Back lane – laneway
Thong – flip flop
Swimming costume – togs
Duna – duvet
Sweets – lollies
Flat/apartment – unit
Rugby/AFL – footy (even though neither of these sports are actually football…)
First come served – first in best dressed
Not here to mess around – not here to fuck spiders. I was pretty concerned the first time I heard this at work.
Australian Roads
They are very wide and very long and not generally not very smooth.They are also full of terrifying signs like ‘Rest Now or Rest In Peace’, ‘Survive This Drive’, and ‘Trivia May Save Your Life’. On the plus side, there’s lots of roadside rest stops which will give you a free coffee if you’re the driver.
The fire danger rating signs are pretty scary too. They start at low-moderate, and don’t even finish at extreme: the top category is catastrophic…
