Rach Smith's Notes & Nuggets

Australian slang that I have used with my long-suffering American colleagues

note : codepen Added September 8, 2022

Often I'll say something in a meeting or in Slack and then later realise, people don't use that phrase in the USA. Here's a non-exhaustive list of things my CodePen colleagues have probably had to Google at some point.

  • bloke1
  • bugger2
  • carrying on like a pork chop3
  • chuck a sickie4
  • chuck a wobbly5
  • crack the shits6
  • devo7
  • DTs8
  • well fuck me dead9
  • have a crack at it10
  • maccas11
  • nah, yeah12
  • old mate13
  • playing silly buggers14
  • she'll be right15
  • struggler16
  • sus17
  • that's cooked18
  • whinger19
  • woop woop20
  • yeah, nah21

Footnotes

  1. a man ↩︎

  2. a mild swear, like saying "shit" or "damn it" ↩︎

  3. getting very upset, rant, complain ↩︎

  4. taking a sick day, whether you're sick or not ↩︎

  5. throw a tantrum ↩︎

  6. get really mad or upset ↩︎

  7. devastated ↩︎

  8. dick togs, in the US they are called speedos I think ↩︎

  9. I'm surprised, amazed, or very confused ↩︎

  10. give it a try ↩︎

  11. Mcdonald's ↩︎

  12. yes ↩︎

  13. a person who's name you don't know ↩︎

  14. behaving in an annoying way ↩︎

  15. it will be okay ↩︎

  16. someone who struggles to manage basic tasks ↩︎

  17. suspicious, suspect, shady ↩︎

  18. that's really bad, that's messed up ↩︎

  19. whiner, complainer ↩︎

  20. remote location ↩︎

  21. no ↩︎

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Comments

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  • Chris Coyier

    imma say 11 and 20 are the weirdest

  • MelJones

    Great list, gave me loads of giggles. I had forgotten about woop woop, its gold!
    The one I use too often is arvo*

    • afternoon

    • Rach Smith OP

      yes, who could be bothered to say "afternoon"? Way too many syllables