Australian Slang - Local Lingo
Unique Phrases - Memorable Quotes - B
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
BAAL - indigenous term for disapproval
BABBLING BROOK - The Cook (soldier slang WW1)
BABBLER - shortened version of above
BACK BLOCKS - away from the city
BACK CHAT - answer back (WW1)
BACK OF BEYOND - very far away
BACK OF BOURKE - somewhere out of the way/ isolated
BACK HANDER - bribe
BACK OUT - retreat from difficulty
BACKSHEA - something for nothing (soldier slang WW1)
BACK SLANGING - In the back-blocks of Australia, where hotels are naturally scarce and inferior, the traveller asks for hospitality at the stations on his route, where he is always made welcome. The custom is called back-slanging (Morris 1898)
BACK SLUM - a back room, a back entrance
BACK THE BARRER - to intervene without invitation on a conversation; butt in (1921)
BACK TO THE CACTUS - to return home
BAD EGG - dishonest person. Also Bad Halfpenny - a ner-er-do-well; an allusion to the frequency with which, like bad coins, they are always turning up
BAD HALFPENNY - a fruitless errand, no go. (Lentzner). Also a failing speculation, a risky venture
BAD TROT - period of misfortune
BAD CASE OF THE TROTS - diarrhoea
BAG - to criticise someone behind their back
BAG (OLD BAG) - uncomplimentary term for a woman
BAGGY GREEN - cap worn by Australian Test cricketer
BAGMAN - swagman; tramp
BAG OF TRICKS - all one's belongings (Digger Smith, C.J. Dennis)
BAGS - a big quantity
BAGS - to have first choice
BAIL - To cancel plans.
BAILING UP PEN - Place for securing cattle (Morris 1898)
BAIL UP - secure cattle by means of a bail for milking and by transference, to stop travellers in the bush (Morris 1898)
BAIL UP - as above; bushranger term. To rob someone
BAKED - tired out. Because meat put in the oven is said to be baked when it is done, a man who is done up or done, is said to be baked (c.1890)
BALD AS A BADGER - having no hair
BALD AS A BANDICOOT - having no hair
BALI BOMBING - On 12 October 2002, two bombs triggered by suicide bombers exploded at Kuta in Bali. 202 people killed including 88 Australians
BALIBO FIVE - The Balibo Five was a group of journalists for Australian television networks who were killed in the period leading up to the Indonesian invasion of East Timor in 1975
BALLAHOO - a name applied to the Garfish by Sydney fishermen. West Indian word and is applied there to a fast-sailing schooner (Morris 1898)
BALL AND CHAIN - wife; also trouble and strife
BALL OF THE CENTURY - a cricket delivery bowled by Australian spin bowler Shane Warne to English batter Mike Gatting on 4 June 1993, the second day of the first Test of the 1993 Ashes series, at Old Trafford in Manchester
BALLS UP - error, bad mistake
BALMY AS A BANDICOOT - crazy
BALONEY - ridiculous; a bunch of baloney
BALONEY (Bologne) - Luncheon meat in NSW
BANANA BENDER - coming from Queensland
BANANA-LANDER - from Queensland (1887)
BANANA REPUBLIC - In 1986 Paul Keating remarked that the economy was in danger of turning Australia into a banana Republic (politically unstable country with an economy dependent upon the exportation of a limited-resource product, such as bananas or minerals)
BANANAS (going) - going crazy
BANDICOOT - fossick for gold in previously worked ground or go by stealth at night to rob a field, taking the tubers from roots without disturbing the tops
BANDITTI - a term used for bushrangers
BAND OF HOPE - lemon syrup
BANDS - convict slang - hunger
B & S BALL - Bachelor and Spinster s Ball - a singles dance held in rural areas
BANGED UP - pregnant
BANGERS - sausages
BANGS LIKE A DUNNY DOOR IN A CYCLONE - sexually promiscuous woman
BANGTAIL MUSTER - cutting the tail hair of cattle or sheep to aid in identifying them when doing a head count (Morris 1898)
BANJO - shovel
BANKER - river in flood - 'And every creek a banker ran, And dams filled overtop; We'll all be rooned, said Hanrahan, If this rain doesn't stop' . 'Said Hanrahan', a poem written by Australian bush poet John O Brien
BANKSIA - A genus of Australian shrub named after Mr. Banks, naturalist of the Endeavour, afterwards Sir Joseph Banks
BANKSIA MAN - character from May Gibbs Snugglepot and Cuddlepie
BANTUM - a hot headed person
B-A-R - safe place/ home in various children's games
BARBARY COAST - underworld name given to part of Sydney between Taylor Square, Central Station and the junction of Elizabeth Liverpool Streets (criminal slang 1950)
BARBEQUE STOPPER - a topic of great public interest, esp. political
BARBIE – Barbecue
BARCOO BUSTER - westerly wind outback Qld
BARCOO GRASS - an Australian grass, Anthistiria membranacea. One of the best pasture grasses in Queensland (Morris 1898)
BARCOO ROT - ulcers that won't heal, suffered by bush people in colonial days, probably caused by lack of vitamins
BARCOO SALUTE - Aussie fly swat/ wave of the hand (also bush salute)
BARCOO VOMIT - a sickness occurring in inhabitants of various parts of the high land of the interior of Australia. It is characterized by painless attacks of vomiting, occurring immediately after food is taken, followed by hunger, and recurring as soon as hunger is satisfied (Morris 1898)
BARE BELLIED JOE (EWE) - a ewe with hardly any wool on its belly
BARNEY - dispute; fight
BAROMETER - gas helmet (soldier slang WW1)
BARRA - barramundi
BARRACK - cheer for a sporting team, first used about 1880 in Australian Rules football
BARRACKER - possible the word originated from soldier's barracks; also may have been derived from the aboriginal word 'borak' meaning to jeer at
BARRACKS - a building on a station with rooms for bachelors (Morris 1898)
BARRY CROCKER - a shocker; awful
BASH - wild party
BASH - (someone's ear) - talk at length; boring
BASKET CASE - a crazy person
BASKET FENCE - Stakes are driven in, and their pliant stuff interwoven, as in a stake hedge in England.(Morris 1898)
BAT - tool used in two-up
BAT - old bat = old woman
BATS - crazy
BATHERS - Swimsuit ; togs; swimmers
BATHURST BURR - Australian plant with long triple spines like the barbary, and burrs which are ruinous to the wool of the sheep; also an annoying person
BATSWING CORAL - soft wood used by the aborigines for making their heilamans, or shields
BATTERED SAV - A saveloy which has been battered, deep fried and served with tomato sauce
BATTERED SAV - Australian comedy duo Roy & HG commentary of Sydney 2000 Olympic Games defined battered sav as a gymnast move when a male gymnast pushes his groin to the floor and 'batters his sav'
BATTLEAXE - (OLD) - derogatory term for an older woman. Often mother-in-law
BATTLE OF BEERSHEBA - Light horse men usually fought dismounted, using their horses as transport to the battlefield and as a means of swift retreat. A famous exception was the charge of the 4th and 12th Light Horse Regiments at Beersheba on 31 October 1917
BATTLE OF BEERSHEBA COMMEMORATIONS - Commemorations of the Battle of Beersheba occur at the memorial in Canberra every year on 31 October
BATTLE OF THE CORAL SEA - fought from 4–8 May 1942, was a major naval battle between the Imperial Japanese Navy and naval and air forces from the United States and Australia
BATTLE OF LONE PINE - fought between ANZACS and Ottoman Empire forces during the Gallipoli Campaign of World War 1, between 6 and 10 August 1915.
BATTLE OF LONG TAN - Took place in a rubber plantation near Long Tan, in South Vietnam on 18 August 1966. Fought between Viet Cong and People s Army of Vietnam units and elements of the 1st Australian Task Force
BATTLER - working class, underdog
BAZZA - Barry
BEAK - nose
BEAK - Magistrate
BEAL, BOOL OR BULL - a sweet drink made by aborigines by steeping flowers (Morris 1898)
BEAN COUNTER - accountant
BEANIE - hat worn in winter
BEANO - feast, gala affair
BEAR (NATIVE) - colonists' name for an animal called by the aborigines Koala, Koolah, Kool-la, and Carbora (Morris 1898)
BEATEN BY A BLOW - line from song Click go the Shears, blow being shearing term for a run of the shears
BEAT AROUND THE BUSH - saying a lot without much meaning
BEATING THE BOUNDS - or traversing the boundaries - marking out the boundaries of townships. Ceremony included the Police Magistrate, Surveyor, townsfolk and perhaps children
BEAT IT - move off quickly
BEAT THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS OUT OF - violent thrashing
BEAUT - very good
BEAUTY! – excellent
BEAUTY BOTTLER - excellent
BEAVER HAT- made of imitation beaver fur
BEEF - complaint
BEER GOGGLES - while drunk, to think something is better than it is
BEER GUT - fat tummy
BEER O'CLOCK - time to have a beer
BEETLING ABOUT - flying aimlessly (1918)
BEG YOUR'S - I beg your pardon, what did you say/ mean?
BELAR, BELAH, BILLA, BEAL - an aboriginal name for the tree Casuarina glauca. The colonists call the tree Bull-oak, probably from this native name (Morris 1898)
BELL-BIRD - name given to several honey eater birds, from their note, like the tinkling of a bell. Found in various places including Central Coast NSW
BELL-BOTTOMED - a particular fashion of trouser affected by the larrikin (Morris 1898)
BELL TOPPER - tall silk hat
BELL'S LINE OF ROAD - named for Archibald Bell Junior who at the age of nineteen years discovered a route across the Blue Mountains
BELLWETHER SEAT - An electoral district where voters have historically chosen a candidate from the election-winning party in a series of elections
BENGAL LANCER - razor slasher (criminal slang 1940)
BERKO - Go Berko; Chuck a Berko - go beserk. React with anger
BERLEY - term used by Australian fishermen for ground bait. May be of aboriginal origin (Morris 1898)
BET YOUR BEST SUNDAY BOWYANGS - to bet recklessly
BETTER THAN A POKE IN THE EYE WITH A BURNT STICK - better than nothing
BEYOND THE BLACK STUMP - imaginary isolated place; outback
BIBLE BASHER - vocal about religious convictions
BICKIE - biscuit
BIDDY BIDDY - kind of burr
BIDGEE - alcoholic drink made of methylated spirits
BIFF - a hard strike around the head
BIG BICKIES - a lot of money
BIG BUGS - man of importance (c. 1891); imported from America
BIGGEST GALAH THIS SIDE OF THE BLACK STUMP - very stupid
BIG NOTE - to brag about yourself; a skite; self important
BIG NOTE MAN - or pound note man - a wealthy person (criminal slang 1950s)
BIG SMOKE - the city
BIG WIG - authoritative person
BILLABONG - A pond in a dry riverbed
BILLY – can to boil water over open fire. Perhaps originated in W.A. where miners in the early days ate a lot of tinned meat that came from France. It was called Bouef Bouilli (boiled beef). The miners used the empty tins as cups, and pots for boiling water and called them bouilli cans
BILLY BARLOW IN AUSTRALIA - an original song by Benjamin Pitt Griffin of Maitland published in the Maitland Mercury in 1844
BILLY CART - child's go cart; also billy goat cart
BILLYCOCK - hat made of hard felt with a turned up brim. Different to the English version which was soft felt
BILLY LIDS - kids
BILLY TEA - An Indian tea introduced to Australia 1890's. Advertising slogan c 1892 - The cup that never fails to cheer, is Billy Tea, not wine or beer
BIMBO - an effeminate swaggie
BIN CHICKEN - also Tip Turkey. Ibis (bird) regarded as a pest in Australia because of scavenging
BINDI-EYE - weed with sharp barbs. Also known as Joeys or Jo Jos
BINGLE - small car accident
BINJEY - the stomach
BINT - a woman
BIONIC EAR - Cochlear implant invented by Professor Graeme Clark, Melbourne University in the 1970s
BIRD - a quaint person
BIRD - young woman
BIRD - a prisoner (WW1 soldier slang)
BIRDIE - General Sir William Riddell Birdwood - British Army officer who was Commander of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915
BIRDSVILLE RACES - Horse races held each year in September in Birdsville, Queensland
BIRDSVILLE TRACK - Once a 520 km stock route, it has become popular 4WD drive.
BIRTHDAY BALLOT - lottery where the birthdate of thousands of Australian men, aged 20, who had registered for National Service, determined who became eligible for conscription to serve in ADF during the Vietnam War
BIRTHDAY SUIT - naked
BITE - put the bite on; ask for loan
BITE YOUR BUM - be quiet
BITIES - biting insects eg mosquitoes
BIT OF A BROTHEL - bit of a mess
BIT OF A YARN - have a chat together
BIT OF FLUFF - girl; derogatory
BITSER - a mongrel dog. A bit of this a bit of that
BLACK ARM BAND HISTORY - Polarising term first used by Australian historian Geoffrey Blainey in his 1993 Sir John Latham Memorial Lecture
BLACK ARMBAND PERSPECTIVE - The black armband view of our history reflects a belief that most Australian history since 1788 has been little more than a disgraceful story of imperialism, exploitation, racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination. I take a very different view. I believe that the balance sheet of our history is one of heroic achievement and that we have achieved much more as a nation of which we can be proud of than which we should be ashamed - Quote, Prime Minister John Howard
BLACKBIRDING - kidnapping Pacific Islanders and taking them to Australia to work as slaves or under paid labourers
BLACK BOX - flight recorder invented by David Warren 1954
BLACK BOY GRASS TREE- genus name Xanthorrhoea. First described by botanist Robert Brown
BLACK HAT - slang for a new immigrant (Morris 1898)
BLACK HAWK TRAGEDY - Military Aviation disaster. In June 1996 near Townsville during a Black Hawk training exercise involving the Special Air Service (SASR) Regiment and Army Aviation Corps 18 men died when two helicopters collided mid-air and crashed
BLACK FRIDAY BUSHFIRES - Victoria on 13 January 1939. Among the worst natural bushfires in the world. 71 people died
BLACK PRINCE - (Psaltoda plaga) - species of cicada native to eastern Australia, from Maryborough in central Queensland to Bega in southern NSW
BLACK SATURDAY BUSHFIRES - a series of bushfires that ignited or were burning across Victoria on and around Saturday, 7 February 2009. 173 fatalities
BLACK SNOW - nickname for cane fire ash (Townsville)
BLACK THURSDAY - February 1851 - disastrous bushfires after weeks of suffocating heat and hot dry winds
BLACK TRACKER - Aboriginal native employed by police who tracked absconders and criminals
BLIGHTY - home (England) - a wound severe enough to be returnd to Britain for hospitalisation. Soldier Slang WW1
BLIMEY - Exclamation of astonishment
BLIND - drunk
BLIND CLUE (DOESN'T HAVE A) - ignorant about a current topic
BLIND FREDDY COULD HAVE SEEN THAT- to state the obvious
BLIND FREDDY - if Blind Freddy jumped off a cliff, would you? - don't be a follower
BLIND SHARK - Rhinobatus granulatus or shovel-nose, which is properly speaking a Ray, is called here the blind or sand shark (harmless)
BLINKY BILL - Australian children's book character created by Dorothy Wall
BLITHERER - a person you like (1912)
BLOB - a fool
BLOCK - parcel of land
BLOCK (DOING THE BLOCK) - lounging in a fashionable promenade. In Sydney, "The Block" was that portion of the city bounded by King, George, Hunter, and Pitt Streets now known as Martin's Place (Morris 1898)
BLOCK AND TACKLE - watch and chain (criminal slang c 1898)
BLOKE - man
BLOKEY - behaving in a manly way
BLOODS WORTH BOTTLING - a valuable person
BLOODY - known as the Great Australian Adjective. The word bloody is a familiary oath. One man will tell you that he married a bloody young wife, another a bloody old one, and a bushranger calls out Stop, or I'll blow your bloody brains out. (Travels in New South Wales 1847)
BLOODY – Very. Used to extenuate a point
BLOODY HELL - expressing displeasure
BLOODY OATH – yes; or it's true.
BLOODY RIPPER - really awesome
BLOODY SUNDAY DRIVERS - Attributed, perhaps mistakenly, to Sir Francis Chichester after a boat carrying pressmen had hit his yacht in Australian waters
BLOOMER - prison slang for a mistake e.g. blooming error
BLOTTO - drunk - beyond capacity to stand up
BLOW - to boast; from blowing your own trumpet
BLOW - stroke of the shears in sheep-shearing
BLOW A FUSE - lose your temper
BLOW A PLUGGER - breaking the toe divide in a thong (flip flop)
BLOW A TANK - rob a safe (criminal slang Sydney 1950s)
BLOWER - telephone
BLOWIE - blow fly
BLOW IN - univited guest
BLOW ME DOWN - expression of astonishment
BLOW ME DOWN WITH A FEATHER - expression of astonishment
BLOW THE FROTH OFF A FEW - have a few glasses of beer
BLOW YOUR DOUGH - spend all your money
BLOW YOUR OWN TRUMPET - skite
BLUBBER - to cry
BLUDGER – Someone who's lazy, generally also who relies on others
BLUDGER - someone who exploits prostitutes for financial gain
BLEW - made a mistake
BLUE - argue, fight
BLUE BOTTLES - stinging marine creatures that wash up on the beaches, often on the east coast under a northeasterly wind
BLUE HEELER - Australian cattle dog breed
BLUE HEELER - police
BLUE RIBBON SEAT - An electorate that has consistently voted for the same member or party over a long period of time therefore making it a safe seat
BLUE SHIRT - garment worn by a gold digger
BLUE SWIMMER - crab
BLUE TONGUE - lizard indigenous to Australia, sometimes called sleepy lizard
BLUEY / BLUE- red head
BLUEY - a swag carried by sundowners and called after the blue blankets that were common at the time
BLUEY - parking fines that were printed on blue paper
BLUFF - bumptious
BOARD - term used by shearers. The board is the name for the floor on which the sheep are shorn
BOARD BUMPS - bumps on surfer's knees from knee paddling
BOARDIES - boardshorts
BOB - shilling
BOBBIES AND BUSHIES - a children's game based on police hunting bushrangers
BOBBY - a policeman
BOBBY DAZZLER - something very good
BOBBY PIN - two pronged device for pinning back hair
BOB'S YOUR UNCLE - everything is ok
BODGIE - bad job
BODGIE AND WIDGIE - youth subculture in the 1950s
BODYLINE - cricketing tactic devised by the English cricket team for their 1932–33 Ashes tour of Australia, specifically to combat the extraordinary batting skill of Australia's Don Bradman.
BOGAN – uncultured person; uncouth, ocker
BOGEY - swimming hole
BOGGED - when vehicle is stuck in mud or sand
BOGGI - shearer's handpiece, similar in shape to a boggi lizard
BOGGO ROAD - Gaol in Brisbane
BOG IN - eat up!
BOGONG MOTH, also Boogong or Bugong - Australian moth eaten by aborigines and also the food of the pygmy possum
BOGRAT /BOGGY - junior pilot - someone who is qualified, but not a QFI/FC Instructor (military)
BOG ROLL - toilet paper
BOG WAGON - a panel van, sometimes lined with imitation fur; always with a mattress in the back; also shaggin wagon
BOILED SHIRT - digger lingo; a clean shirt
BOILER - an old woman
BOKKER - bowler hat
BOLTER - runaway convict
BOKO - nose (WW2)
BOMB - an old car
BOMBED - high on drugs
BOMBING OF DARWIN - During wartime on 19 February 1942, 188 Japanese planes were launched against Darwin. The attack was the largest single attack ever mounted by a foreign power on Australian soil. At least 230 people were killed
BOMBORA - indigenous Australian term for an area of large sea waves breaking over a shallow reef
BOMMIE - shortened verson of above
BONDI BEACH - famous Australian beach in Sydney
BONDI CIGAR - excrement floating in the surf
BONDI ICEBERGS - a group of people who swim at Bondi beach in winter. Established 1929
BONKERS - crazy
BONNET - hood of a car
BONTODGER - something admirable
BONZA LURK - a good job (1929)
BONZER - awesome
BOOB - cell (Army 1945)
BOOBOOK - an owl. Native name for this bird according to Caley was buck buck (Morris 1898)
BOOFHEAD - fool; idiot
BOOKIE - short for bookmaker
BOOMER - large kangaroo; also known as old man kangaroo
BOOMERANG - Aboriginal weapon that returns to the thrower; anything that comes back to you
BOOT - trunk of a car
BOOTS AND ALL - wholeheartedly
BOOZE BUS – Police vehicle used to catch drunk drivers
BORA - a rite amongst the aborigines of eastern Australia; the ceremony of admitting a young black to the rights of manhood (Morris 1898)
BORAK - aboriginal word of New South Wales, meaning banter, chaff, fun at another's expense (Morris 1898)
BORED SHITLESS - bored to death
BOREE - aboriginal name for the tree Acacia pendula, a variety of Myall, possibly from Queensland aboriginal word Booreah, fire (Morris 1898)
BORING AS BATSHIT - tedious and annoying
BORROW - euphemism for steal c. 1850s
BOSHMAN - in the old-hand vernacular signified a fiddler or violin player (Morris 1898)
BOSHTERINO - outstanding, admirable
BOSKER - something meeting with unqualified approval (Franklin)
BOSKER BLOKE - admirable man
BOSS COCKY - employer, supervisor
BOSSAROO - abbreviation of Boss Kangaroo. From poem by J.B. Stephens (Lentzner 1891)
BOSS OF THE BOARD - supervisor of the shearing shed
BOTT - to sponge off (WW1)
BOTANY BAY COAT OF ARMS - a pair of artificially black eyes
BOTANY BAY BAR-FLY - referring to early Sydney people drinking habits
BOTANY BAY GREENS - known as Warrigal greens
BOTANY BAY OF BOTANY BAY - referring to the penal settlement at Newcastle - Rambles and Observations in New South Wales by Joseph Phipps Townsend
BOTTLE-O – Bottle Shop, - a place to buy alcohol
BOTTLER - excellent, exceptional
BOTTOM - to get to the bedrock, or clay, below which it was useless to sink (gold-mining) (Morris 1898)
BOTTOM OF THE HARBOUR SCHEME - referred to destroying company records and dumping them in the Sydney harbour 1970's. Tax avoidance
BOUNDARY RIDER - stockman on a sheep or cattle station who regularly checks boundary fences and rounds up stray stock
BOW THE CRUMPET - plead guilty before a Magistrate (criminal slang 1950s)
BOWLO - Bowling club
BOYONGS - or Bowyangs - Straps tied below the knee outside the trousers, to give the leg freedom
BOX - Television
BOXER - bowler hat - stiff, low-crowned, felt hat, called a billy-cock or bowler. The silk-hat is called a bell-topper (Morris 1898)
BOX HEAD - a term used to describe Macedonian people.
BOXHEAD - Paul Keating to Wilson Tuckey: 'You boxhead you wouldn't know. You are flat out counting past ten.'
BOXING KANGAROO - The boxing kangaroo served as the symbol for the successful Australian challenge for the America's Cup in 1983
BOY CHARLTON - Andrew Murray who was an Australian freestyle swimmer c. 1920s and 30s was known as Boy Charlton. He won gold in the 1500 m freestyle at Paris Olympics
BOYLA - aboriginal word for a sorcerer (Morris 1898)
BRANCH STACKING - improperly increase the membership of a local branch of a political party to ensure the preselection of a particular candidate
BRASS RAZOO - broke; no money
BREAD AND JAM - tram (rhyming slang)
BREAKAWAY - a bullock that leavs the herd; also the panic rush of sheep, cattle at the sight or smell of water (Morris 1898)
BREAK-DOWN - a measure of liquor; also nobbler. To pay for liquor for another is to stand, or to shout or to sacrifice. The measure is called a nobbler or a break-down
BREAKER MORANT - Harry Morant - fought in the Boer War. Shot by a Scottish firing squad in 1902 having been found guilty of executing prisoners. His last words being 'Shoot straight, you bastards'
BREAK THE ICE - to begin
BREATHER - take a rest
BREKKIE - breakfast
BRICK - gaol term, can mean either an amount of ten pounds or a sentence of 10 years - or a ten shilling note
BRICKFIELDER - southerly dusty wind, Sydney 1800s (Morris 1898)
BRICKIE - bricklayer
BRIGHT AS A BUTTON - very intelligent
BRIGHT EYED AND BUSHY TAILED - in good spirits
BRING A PLATE - contribute to event by bringing a plate of food to share
BRING ME BACK ALIVE - an anti aircraft man (WW2)
BRISBANE BRONCOS - Rugby League team based in Brisbane
BRISVEGAS - Brisbane
BROKE - having no money
BROKEN BAY - Attributed to Captain Cook who on 7 May 1770 sighted 'some broken land that looked like a bay'
BROKEN MOUTHED - a sheep that is losing its teeth and going gummy
BROKER - slang for a man completely ruined, stonebroke (Morris 1898)
BROLLY – Umbrella
BROWNIE - a penny (1912)
BROWNY - cake made of flour, fat and sugar (Morris 1898)
BRONZE - a penny
BRONZED AUSSIES - sun baked beach boys
BRONZED OFF - to be fed up (WW2)
BROWNED OFF - to be fed up
BRUCE – An Aussie Bloke
BRUMBY - wild horse. Origin doubtful. May have been named for James Brumby who imported horses whose descendants were allowed to run wild (Morris 1898)
BRUMMY - false
BRUSH KANGAROO - another name for the wallaby (Morris 1898)
BUBBLER - drinking fountain
BUCK - (to buck) resist
BUCKJUMPER - untamed horse used at rodeos
BUCKLEY'S CHANCE - no chance at all; forlorn hope. Derived from either William Buckley a convict who escaped and lived with aborigines for 30 years; or from the Melbourne store Buckley and Nunn (You've got two chances - buckleys and none!)
BUCK'S NIGHT - celebration for a bride groom put on by his mates
BUCKSHEE - something for nothing, free (1918)
BUCKSHEE BOMBADIER - (see this 1919 article); Bombadier - The lowest grade of non-commissioned officer in an artillery regiment. Handled the bombard, or fuse, which fired a gun
BUCKSHEE BREAD - over the usual ration of bread
BUCKSHEE STRIPES - the wearer held a certain rank but not the equivalent pay
BUCK UP - to gain courage
BUDGIE / BUDGERIGAR or BETCHERRYGAH - small Australian parakeet (Morris 1898)
BUDGIE SMUGGLERS – Speedos
BUG-A-LUGS - term of endearment to child
BUGGER - bad luck
BUGGER ALL - to have nothing
BUGGER ME - to be surprised
BUGGER OFF - go away; get lost
BUGGERED - exhausted
BUGGERED IF I KNOW - having no idea
BUGGERISE AROUND - messing around
BUG HOUSE - mental asylum
BUILT LIKE A BRICK SHIT-HOUSE - large sturdy physical build
BULL - a lie
BULLAMAKANKA - middle of nowhere; mythical
BULL-ANT - contracted and common form of the words bull-dog ant (Morris 1898)
BULL DUST - rubbish! nonsense!
BULL DUST - fine red dust found in the Australia Outback
BULLET - got fired, sacked
BULLOCKY - driver of a bullock team
BULL-PUNCHER or BULLOCK-PUNCHER - slang for a bullockdriver
BULL-ROUT - fish of NSW that emits a loud and harsh grunting noise when caught (Morris 1898)
BULLSHIT - a lie
BULLSHIT ARTIST - a liar
BULLS-WOOL - colloquial name for the inner portion of the covering of the stringybark tree (Morris 1898)
BUM FLUFF - hair on the face
BUMMER - a cadger
BUMPER - butt of cigarette
BUMPER UP - gaol term. A man who is employed by a harlot to do odd jobs. Derogatory (1946)
BUM STEER - mislead someone deliberately
BUNDLE, DROP THE - show cowardice
BUNDOOK - a rifle (soldier slang WW1)
BUNDY RUM - Bundaberg rum
BUNG - to put something in somewhere
BUNG - broken, exhausted. Aboriginal
BUNG ON AN ACT - feign superiority
BUNGING IT ON - overact to a situation to garner sympathy or advantage
BUNGER - large fire cracker
BUNK - abscond or do a bunk
BUNNY - fall guy
BUNYA-BUNYA - Qld tree with fruit that aborigines once feasted on (Morris 1898)
BUNYIP - mythical outback creature
BUNYIP ARISTOCRACY - On August 15, 1853, Daniel Deniehy, champion of democracy and one of Australia's great orators, made his debut on the public stage in the Victoria Theatre, Sydney. He strongly opposed William Wentworth's draft New South Wales Constitution, which aimed to establish an hereditary unelected Australian Lordships-based Upper House for the benefit of a few, while imposing restrictions on voting rights for the lower house to those possessing substantial property. An egalitarian and republican, Deniehy passionately criticized this proposal, employing scathing satire to undermine the idea and labeling it as a "Bunyip Aristocracy." His speech generated considerable laughter and applause and contributed to the withdrawal of Wentworth's proposal to establish an hereditary aristocracy in NSW
BURGOO - porridge (soldier slang WW1)
BURICK - convict slang - whore. Introduced into Aus. by the convicts (Leland 1897)
BURKED - Port Arthur prison slang for strangling c. 1909
BURL - to try anything. Give it a burl
BURNING THE MIDNIGHT OIL - working late
BURNT CHOP SYNDROME - mothers giving the best food or item to others in the family and having what is left
BURRAWANG or BURWAN - an Australian nut-tree (Morris 1898)
BUSH, (THE) – in the country away from cities and town
BUSH BALLAD - a style of poetry combined with folk music that portrays the life, character and scenery of the Australian bush. A famous example being Banjo Paterson's 'Waltzing Matilda'. Beloved throughout Australia for more than 40 years, during the years of the Second World War 'Waltzing Matilda' also became famous in far-away places. One account described the feelings it engendered - "Banjo Paterson died in 1941, when his great Australian ballad was sweeping through bombed Britain. We didn't know when we sang about the defiant swagman in the local pubs of Bethnal Green, Tiger Bay, Jarrow, and Govan, that the minstrel boy of the bush country had just passed on and left us this legacy, a drinking song that went as well with Old and Mild as it does with Australian ale. All we knew was that we couldn't sing "Waltzing Matilda" without thinking of brown faces under wide-brimmed Digger hats, of Tobruk "Rats" and guest aircrews of the R.A.A.F., of narrow blue-jean collars and those spitting alleycats of the Mediterranean — the "Scrap Iron" destroyer flotilla of the R.A.N. For many of us, this wryly gay sadly rollicking Australian song was the first stimulus to a new curiosity about the far-flung land."
BUSH BAPTIST - a person of uncertain religion; someone who does not claim or admit affiliation with a particular church
BUSH BASHING - go off road
BUSH BRIDE - a woman who is married in country Australia. Sometimes used disparagingly to denote lack of sophistication
BUSH CHOOK - emu
BUSH ECHOES - book of poetry by W. A. Horn 1915
BUSHED - originally to be lost in the bush; to die in the bush; later used to described a person in mental or physical difficulty
BUSH-FALLER - one who cuts down timber in the bush
BUSHFIRE BLOND - redhead
BUSHIE/BUSHY - country person
BUSHIE - The Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicle (PMV) in use by the Australian Army
BUSH LAWYER - claiming to have legal knowledge but unqualified
BUSHMAN - settler in the bush. Used to distinguish country residents from townsfolk (Morris 1898)
BUSHMANSHIP - knowledge of the ways of the bush (Morris 1898)
BUSHRANGER - outlaw, highwayman
BUSH UP - to bush up a person is to confuse them
BUSH SALUTE - Aussie fly swat / wave of the hand (also Barcoo Salute)
BUSH SCRUBBER - a bumpkin or slatternly person who came from the scrub. c1896
BUSH TELEGRAPH - originally may have been one who warned bushrangers of nearby police; word of mouth; gossip network
BUSH TUCKER - Bush tucker is any food native to Australia and historically eaten by Indigenous Australians, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. Animal native foods include kangaroo, emu, witchetty grubs and crocodile, and plant foods include fruits such as quandong, kutjera, spices such as lemon myrtle and vegetables such as warrigal greens and various native yams - Wikipedia
BUSH WEEK - When country folk come to the city
BUSHWHACKER -someone who lives in the bush; unsophisticated
BUSTED - caught doing something wrong
BUSTER - (Southerly) - a sudden and violent squall from the south
BUTCHER - slang for a long drink of beer (Adelaide) (Morris 1898)
BUTCHER'S HOOK - crook - unwell. I'm feeling a bit butchers (rhyming slang)
BUTT IN - intrude
BUTTINSKI - an intruding person
BUZZ OFF - go away
BY A CAT'S WHISKER - just in time
BY CRIKEY - exclamation of surprise
BY JINGO or BY JINGOS - expression of astonishment at something good
BYO - Bring your own
BY THE HOKEY FLY - a mild expletive, without any particular meaning (Digger Smith, C.J. Dennis)
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