This installment of my impromptu online class discusses some of my favorite Aussieisms (that’s a Margaretism). A few of these have found their way into my regular vocabulary so be sure to take notes. My accent might not confuse you but my casual SoCal drawl, occasional New Yawkese combined with a few Aussieisms just might.
whinging = whining. I like this because it can never be confused with wining and dining, something I would never whinge about.
flat out = busy as hell. This is a personal favorite of mine because it conjures of the image of being flattened by a steamroller, which is how being busy as hell can feel from time to time.
full on = intense, holding nothing back. If work is full on you might feel pretty flat out, but try not to whinge about it.
rug up = layer up. Winter is coming so I’m going to have to rug up. Since most of the housing in Australia lacks insulation, I’m even going to have to rug up in doors. That is something I will whinge about.
rock up = show up. It’s pretty much the opposite of bounce, the way New Yorkers say they want to leave. I haven’t adopted either, so I’m not likely to rock up and then bounce from anywhere.
There are also a lot of words that Aussies use in ways that Americans tend not to use them in. I believe it was a former boss (the same one who hated the expression “no problem”) who pointed out how rude it sounded to start your statement with look or listen. Not that I ever did that, just a lot of other people I had to listen to him complain about. I became quite sensitive to it after that. It does, in fact, sound like you are starting your sentence with “look, dumb ass.” But it’s very common practice in Oz. Not only do you hear it in interviews, on news programs and in casual conversation, but politicians also use it during debates and press conferences. Of course, to their opponents they may very well be saying “look, dumb ass.”
Americans also tend to think that scheme means something bad. People are always coming up with hair-brained schemes on sit-coms, which tend to go very wrong. In the States, criminals and crooked politicians scheme. But in Oz, a scheme is quite literally “a plan, design, or program of action to be followed.” Thank you dictionary.com.
And for our last lesson of the day, when an American might say knock on wood and Aussie will say touch wood. I won’t get into why that would be misunderstood. Just know that I’ve adopted that one too, so try not to laugh when I say it.
