A lesson in Australian-ese, part 2

it's now almost 3 months into our life in australia, so i thought it was time for another lesson. you see, as we have a few more aussie friends, co-workers, clients, tv, newspaper and just plain ol' life, we are noting more "isms" and differences that i'm passing along to you. the picture, well, it's just funny because we say "idling"...


afternoon= arvo (pronounced ahvo. don't know why the r is there...probably so they can ignore it!)
thirteen= theudeen (same goes for all the teens)
tomato= tomAHto (but oddly enough, potato does not. which caused a bit of a stir at a party when i mentionned that)
dvd= dehvaydeh
television= telly (even though telephone starts the same way...)
bbq= barbie (pronounced bahbie)
kangaroo= 'roo

peppers = capsicum (katie warned me, but it's still wierd)
cookie= biscuit
underwear= knickers
tired= knackered
decrepid= grotty
gas= petrol
ketchup= tomato sauce (so does pasta sauce. go figure)
squash = pumpkin (as in spaghetti pumpkin and butternut pumpkin. i have no idea what a regular pumpkin is called)
canteloupe= rock melon
romaine lettuce = cos lettuce (they'd never heard of romaine. ever)
hot tub= spa
interact= EFTPOS (electronic funds transfer at point of sale)
hoodie/sweatshirt= jumper
tuque= beanie
track pants/ jogging pants = trackies
bathing suit= bathers
speedo= budgie smugglers (this one kills me!)
mosquito= mozzie
girl= sheila
boy= bruce

again, there are many more. including the fact that hell can be used as an enhancing work. for example "that's hell good" means "that's very good". also, there continues to be the excess use of the sentence ending in "as". for example "hot as, fun as, hard as". again, they never finish the statement.

i will continue this lesson at a later date. john and i will be writing down the quips, comments and pronounciation differences because we always laugh and never remember it later (could be the old age kicking in!)

if you study these 2 lessons well, you'll be able to get around perth as well as any aussie (pronouced ozzie). assuming you can find your way around the unmarked city, on the wrong side of the street...

i'm off to nationals in melbourne on saturday, so there may not be a post until next thursday.
until then!
xo