A fascinating guide to quirky Aussie slang, from ‘chockers’ to ‘no wokkas’

Australians have been shortening words and creating colloquialisms for decades, resulting in a unique Aussie-English language full of quirky slang that delights (and often confuses) visitors from around the world.

Here’s a beginner’s guide to some classic Aussie lingo. 

Arvo – Afternoon. As in: ‘The best time to go for a coastal walk is in the arvo.’ 

Barbie – Barbecue or BBQ. As in: ‘Let’s fire up the beach barbie and cook up some snags [sausages].’

Beaut – Beautiful. As in: ‘Catch a beaut west-coast sunset.’

Brekkie – Breakfast.

Budgie smugglers – Men’s swimming briefs. 

Chock-a-block or chockers – Extremely full. As in: ‘Canberra’s National Gallery of Australia is chock-a-block with over 155,000 works of art.’

Coldie or cold one: As in: ‘An ice-cold beer.’ 

Crikey – An expression of surprise, usually followed by ‘mate’ for the full Aussie experience. As in: ‘Crikey mate!’

Deadly – Excellent, amazing, really good. 

Deadset – Being serious or determined to do something. As in: ‘Deadset mate, these are the best times to see whales along the coast of Australia.’

Esky – A portable insulated container for keeping food or drink cool – a must for any beach picnic or backyard barbie.

Far out – When something is shocking or unbelievable. 

Gammon – Pretend, fake. Widely used by indigenous and non-indigenous Australians, particularly in the Northern Territory, to mean joking. As in: ‘Spotted a drop bear in the Tasmanian wilderness? Nah, that’s gammon.’

G’day – Good day. A friendly way of saying hello Down Under. 

Heaps good – Very good, really or excellent. As in: ‘Yum, these fish and chips are heaps good.’

Mate – Friend.

Naur – No, just in a classic Aussie accent. As in: ‘Oh naur, I forgot to pack my sunnies for our paddle board!’

No worries or no wokkas – No problem. 

Ripper – Very good, fantastic, excellent. 

Barbie – Barbecue or BBQ. As in: ‘Let’s fire up the beach barbie and cook up some snags [sausages]’

Schnitty – Chicken schnitzel. A delicious breadcrumbed piece of chicken that’s found in pretty much every Aussie pub. 

Schooner – A measure of beer. In all Aussie states other than South Australia, a schooner is 425ml and the most common order at any pub. 

Sick – Good or amazing. Not to be confused with crook or feeling unwell. As in: ‘Mate, that gig was sick!’

Spewing – Really annoyed. As in: ‘I’ll be absolutely spewing if there’s no table at Little Creatures Brewery.’

Thongs – Flip flops or beach shoes that Aussies tend to wear all year round – rain, hail or shine. 

True blue – Very genuine and loyal. Often used to describe someone that expresses Aussie values. As in: ‘Catch an Australian Rules Football [AFL] game and sit next to a true blue fan at Melbourne/Narrm’s mighty MCG.’

Yarn – Coming from an indigenous word, have a yarn means to chat or tell a story. 

Thongs – Flip flops or beach shoes that Aussies tend to wear all year round