Giving Way to the Land of Oz: Kangaroos loose in the top paddock

Australia has become internationally known for its strine, or slang. In fact, in my first few days here I was given multiple lists of strine to be aware of. Some of it is familiar to us Americans, either because it’s cliché (“throw another shrimp on the barbie”, we all know that a barbie is a bar b que, and in fact they call them prawns) or because it’s similar to our own (howsitgoin’ is just a faster version of our common greeting).

Some of it, however, is pretty bizarre or just takes some getting used to. For instance, everyone asks “how ya goin?” The first few times you hear it you wanna say “by bus” or “by foot.” Obviously no one is asking about your mode of transportation, they mean to ask “how are you?” Then there’s strine that is related to the British influence, like calling the trunk and the hood the boot and the bonnet, respectively. The title of this blog “Kangaroos loose in the top paddock”, as strange as it sounds, is more or less the same as our “not the sharpest tool in the shed” or “a few tacos short of a combination plate” (does anyone actually use that last one, or is it just me?) in that it refers to an intellectually slower individual.

The truth of strine, however, is that a lot of it is dated and Aussies my age aren’t using it very much. But if you get a chance to hang around some older Aussies (let’s say 50 and up), you could hear chickens referred to as chooks, mosquitoes called mozzies, or biscuits (cookies) called bikkies. You might be told to bring a plate (not the dish mind you, but food to share), or that something should be saved fo’ron (as in for later on). The last one I heard and asked “oh is Ron your cat?” because we had been talking about a friend’s cat beforehand. Anyone will tell you to have a cuppa (tea, coffee, milk, water, I never know what’s being referred to) and you’ll find yourself having a sanga in the arvo (a sandwich in the afternoon). In general it’s easy enough to figure out strine and get used to it but you might have to laugh at yourself along the way. Please note, if you come to Oz, there is no rooting for sports teams (as root is strine for fuck).

And now some pictures, mostly of animals!!