#135: Abbreviations In Australian English

Grab yourself a cuppa (a cup of tea/coffee) because this podcast is going to be a bloody ripper (really good)!

Chad and Ethan talk about Chad’s experience returning to Australia after living in Brazil for such a long time, and you will also learn about how Australians abbreviate lots of common words.

We would love to know what you think about the new format, and you can also watch the video of us chatting on Youtube.

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Words to Know

  • Wombat – short-legged, muscular quadrupedal marsupials that are native to Australia
  • Sticky situation – a difficult situation
  • Getting settled – to get comfortable and used to a new place or city
  • Platypus – a strange Australian water mammal that lays eggs
  • Duck bill – the hard nose structure of a duck
  • Touche – A French word which has been incorporated into English used to acknowledge someone’s clever point made
  • Fencing – sword fighting sport
  • Wildlife – animals in the wild that haven’t been domesticated at all
  • You’re making that up – you are inventing that, you are full of shit
  • Get into the swing of things – finding a routine in what you are doing
  • My folks – my parents
  • Catch up with someone – reunite with people and share recent stories
  • Catch up on sleep – see video 
  • That’s how we roll –  this is how we do things
  • Cops – policemen/women
  • Unspoken laws – a common law that is not official but everyone knows about it
  • Rule of thumb – a practice which is used to eliminate mistakes
  • Reverse culture shock – a surprised and strange feeling from moving back to where you are from if you haven’t been there for a long time
  • Warped – disfigured and combined with many things
  • Never fails – expressions used to say that something always works and is reliable
  • beef up – to give more mass and size to a person or plate of food
  • frail – very weak and malnourished
  • snap – to break
  • to go hard – to do with intensity
  • Scoop – the action of collecting something with a spoon, like ice-cream
  • Give you a taste of something – to give you a sample to see if you like it
  • I’m knackered – I am really tired
  • What are you reckoning – what are you thinking
  • Noggin – head
  • Veg out – to sit around doing nothing, often watching TV
  • Parched – to feel thirsty and have a dry throat

Aussie Abbreviations

  • Din dins – dinner
  • Preggas – pregnant
  • U-turn – uwee
  • Vegetarian – vego
  • Coppa – policeman
  • Cab Sav – cabernet sauvignon (wine)
  • Acca Dacca – ACDC (the rock band)
  • Servo – service/gas station
  • Muso –  a musician
  • Sunnies – sunglasses
  • Cuppa – a cup of tea or coffee
  • Tinny – a can of beer
  • Sticky – to take a sick day off work
  • My Missus – my wife
  • Devo – devastating
  • Fellas – guys
  • Arvo – afternoon

Links and Mentions

  • The guy with goats and Wheetbix challenge

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Song: Flume – Never Be Like You

  • Natan Souza says:

    lol I would never have guessed ‘din dins’ stood for ‘dinner’. In Portuguese, it stands for money. 😀 (Actually it’s spelled ‘dindim’, but you get my point, haha.)

    • RealLife says:

      Hey Natan, Justin here. We say that in the US too. I didn’t know that about Portuguese, but that’s good to know. Thanks for listening and commenting brotha!

  • Aryane Marques says:

    Hey Chad! how long have you lived in Brazil ?