aussie english lesson #4

It’s been almost a month since the last aussie-english lesson. You know what they say about languages.
If you don’t use it, you lose it.
SO…

1. Mossie bite – mosquito bite. “Damn mossies! I’ve got mossie bites everywhere!”

2. No drama – not a problem, not an issue. I first heard this being used by my surf instructor a couple of weekends ago. For example: “we’ll go through some basic skills as a group and then if you want to go and try to catch your own waves, that’s no drama”. Or “if you want us to take some pictures for you, that’s no drama”. No drama. I love it.

3. Goon – REALLY cheap wine. Can usually be purchased in a plastic pouch. How can I describe this… it comes in box. Within the box is a plastic pouch. The pouch usually holds like 6L of CHEAP wine. The pouch is attached to a little plastic tap. You set the box on a little ledge of some sort and pour yourself a glass.

4. Refectory – cafeteria. And as such, “meet me at the main caf” becomes, “meet me at the main refec”.

5. Bring a plate – potluck.
“I’m having a bring-a-plate at my place on Friday night. So, bring a plate!”

6. Chemist – pharmacy. I think they still call pharmacists, pharmacists. But the pharmacy is called a chemist. “I need to drop by the chemist to pick up some panadol” (which is Tylenol here in Oz).

7. Macca’s – short for McDonald’s. If you say MickeyD’s they won’t know what you’re talking about.

8. Bogen or yobbo: aussie term that has similar meaning and connotation as “hick” or “yokel” back home.

9. TAXI! – used in jest towards someone that knocks something over, trips, or does anything that is associated with alcohol intoxication. The clumsy person can be of any alcoholic state. So why do you yell out “TAXI”? well, the idea is that they are too drunk to function properly and you are calling them a taxi to send them home.

study hard!