Funny things Australians say

We've officially been in Australia for 2 months now, and I think I am starting to get a hang of their language.  They think it's English, but that is open to interpretation.

So this is a follow-up to my previous post about the Australian language Lost in Translation, and the new words and phrases I am learning.

• How you goin'?  This is the common greeting, even between doctor and patient.

• I reckcon...  People say this ALL the time instead of "I think".  And yes, it's pronounced "Ah reck-un" just as you would picture middle-American rednecks would say.

• America.  They say this instead of the USA, US, or like we say "the States".  I get asked at least once a week "Are you from America?"  or "Which part of America are you from?"

• Mate.  Everyone is a "mate", or "friend".  Best friends are "best mates".  Which leads to...

• She'll be right, mate.  I think this means "everything will be ok", or "don't worry".

• Drink driving.  This is what they call drunk driving.  Sounds funny to me.

• Swimmers or Bathers.  This means swimsuit or bathing suit.

• Furphy. A rumour or funny story.  Chris picked this one up during his Australian readings.

• Manky.  Probably derived from British slang, but this means "dirty".

• Daggy.   Really, really dirty.  This comes from the word "dag" which refers to the little bit of poo that hangs from a sheep's butt and gets matted into their hair.  Ick!

•  A cuppa.  A cup of tea.  Australians are true to their British heritage and drink primarily tea... and booze.

• Tea break and tea room.  Instead of our "coffee break", Australians take tea breaks in the tea room. 

• Tramping.  I must have made a funny face when I first heard someone give me advice on where to travel to.  "If you like to go tramping, there's a great spot...".  Apparently "tramping" means "hiking".

• Riding.  Cycling.  It took me a while to understand when I was asked "Do you ride?" 

•  Knackered.  Exhausted.  eg "At the end of the day, I'm absolutely knackered."

• Smart little Vegemites.  One elderly lady stated "Well aren't you all smart little Vegemites!".  Vegemite is a yeast-extract spread that Australians love to put on toast.  It's the Aussie version of the British Marmite.  See Chris's experience trying Vegemite in a previous blog by clicking on this link:  Vegemite? Vege-don't.

• Bali belly.  Traveller's diarrhea.  Australians like to travel to Bali for a sunny vacation - which is odd to me since Australia is sunny and full of beaches anyway.

• Tradies.  Tradespeople.  Somehow they sound a lot less tough if you call them "tradies", but still tuff in Australian  eyes.

•  Sparkies.  I heard this on a commercial today.  I think it means electrician, since it was about home renovation and they were listing other trades.

• Choc.  Australians are too lazy to say the complete word: CHOCOLATE.  In a TV ad for chocolate-flavoured Philadelphia cream cheese, not once do they say the word chocolate, OR cream cheese. Instead, the whole ad is about "Choc Philly".  I figured out what this "choc Philly" was when I saw the ad show a container of brown stuff that looked like the Kraft Philadelphia Cream Cheese container I know from home.  I sure hope I'm right about the brown stuff being chocolate though.

On another note, I just picked up a used bike on "gumtree.com", which is Australia's version of kijiji.com.  I rode the bike home about 6km along the coastal bike path.  The view was literally breathtaking.

One of the many beaches that line North Fremantle.

The bike path along the coast is lined with little sand walkways to the beaches.

Easter is coming up soon and I somehow got lucky and have a 5-day long weekend.  Since it's a public holiday, airplane tickets to go just about anywhere in Australia are at least 2 to 3 times the usual price, so we'll be staying in the area.  There are a few islands nearby we still need to visit.  Stay tuned for the photos!