You Say Potato, I Say Spud
You English teachers out there may find this somewhat weird, but I despise grammar. I got an “A” in the class in college, but only because grammar is instinctive to me (I think in the same way that finding the open part of the field is instinctive to a running back). For instance, at this moment in time, I cannot—and have no wish to—tell you the difference between a gerund and a dangling participle (both of which sound vaguely lethal). However I love language.
So maybe you can imagine how happily I sat down to the computer one day while I was researching Bite Marks, on a quest to find YouTube videos starring Aussies who, out of the goodness of their hearts, had uploaded a lesson for me in how to speak Ozian.
I took great notes.
I grooved on the accents.
And I realized fairly quickly that I couldn’t go overboard with the vernacular in Bite Marks for a couple of reasons. For one thing, Australians speak very much like Americans. As far as I could tell, they didn’t drop quaint phrases into every other sentence that only people who’d been born on the same continent could possibly understand. Only once in a while would they use a word or sentence that baffled me. And also, it’s hard to write in accented English. Even harder to read.
So what I settled for was what I felt probably sounded the most real, and would be the easiest to read. Straight talk with an occasional uniquely Australian phrase included—but only when appropriate. Which meant I had to leave out some kickass words that I kinda wanted to pin to a stuffed koala bear and hug at random moments. Here are a few that I picked up during the course of my research:
“Budgie Smuggler”–Speedo wearer with big berries (snort!)
“Keen as mustard”–really enthusiastic
“Cadbury”–a cheap drunk
“Don’t get your knickers in a knot”–don’t upset yourself
Wherever you’re from, I’m sure you’ve got a few interesting twists of speech that don’t pop up anywhere else in the world. Care to share your fun phrases with the rest of us?
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October 15th, 2009 at 11:55 am
omgosh i think Nz ans Aussie are more alike than we think coz we use Budgie Smuggler lol and keen as musturd and dont get ur knickers in a knot we however dont use Cadbury because cadbury is a brand of amazing wonderful chocolate
October 15th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
I haven’t heard cadbury before either Carly. Some purely Kiwi phrases I thought of – puckeroo (actually spelled pakaru) a Maori word for break or broken. To ‘Suck the kumara’ (Maori word for a type of sweet potato)means ‘to die’. ‘Piece of piss’ – something that’s easy.
‘Jandals’ are flip flops or thongs (footwear not underwear). ‘Cuz’ (short for cousin)-can refer to just about anyone – pal, mate, friend.
October 15th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
keen as mustard…have used that before
and a variation of don’t get your knickers in a knot – don’t get your knickers in a twist (i’m totes british btw)
but i can’t think of any others…though a foreigner probably would if they were speaking to me
October 15th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
There’s a good one you missed Jenn, its “Doing a Harold.” This pertains to Harold Holt, an Australian Prime Minister who went of a swim and never came back.
The fact that he was in deep trouble at the time had nothing to do with it apparently but since then to “Do a harold” in rhyming slang is Harold Holt to Bolt.
Keen as Mustard is also a British expression.
October 15th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
In the North East of England, ‘mind the roads’ means have a safe journey, ‘getting wrong’ is being told off, and ‘up the neck of clarts’ means you are dirty. It’s not just an English thing though, because English Southerners don’t understand it either.
We do use keen as mustard and getting your knickers in a twist/bunch in England as well. (not many English blokes would wear Speedo’s for us to use the budgie smuggler comment mind
)
October 15th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
As with sapphire, have said don’t get your knickers in a twist before!
Some that are known where im from (Northern Ireland) have got to include,
a bit of craic – to have a bit of fun/banter
as lazy as shuch water – lazy as ditch water
also known to say ay instead of yes, quite a country term!
Can’t think of any more at the minute, but there are loads, nothing quite as interesting as the budgie smuggler though!
October 15th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
I’m a Londoner at heart, but I live in the rural county of Norfolk. I’ve live in Norwich 24 out of 28 years, but still carry a London accent.
Pukka is a very english word, not used very often.
As is the same I would assume in the US, over here different regions have different terms they use. Londoners tend to use terms like Darlin’ too.
I could go on and on, but I’ll stop, before I get too carried away.
October 15th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
Have also used Budgie smuggler
Where I grew up has a few phrases that are unknowen by most of New Zealand
Coggle – to rock back on the back two legs of a chair (generally said to me as part of the statement, “stop coggling, you’ll brake your neck”)
Wee liddle – something small
We also use a lot of the Australian phrases.
October 15th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
Well I’m from Wisconsin…I know I know I bet your thinking that we don’t move our upper lips and finish the end of every sentence with “Don’cha kno”. Tha isn’t the case. But there are still a few sayings that are local. There’s “Ya der hey” which I still don’t really know exactly what it means but is used interchangeably with how are you, what’s up,etc. we have nicknames for our counties like we call Sheboygan “shebagdad” because the craziest crap happens down there (i.e. the mayor of Sheboygan saying that his sister-in-law was good in bed. Cudahay is CudaHAAAY. West Allis is Stallis. Wauwautosa is Tosa. Then there is a thing called the Beer Barons. They were basically the families that started the brewery’s. But they are practically extinct. My dad went to school with one of them, but it was like a few generations after the big brewery hype that they didn’t have a fortune anymore. Not to much cool catch phrases for Wisconsin. There are the Cheese heads. Otherwise we are just like any other state in the U.S.
October 15th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
in northern ireland we use the “knickers in a twist”, but when we call someone “mustard” over here it usually means they’re stupid or hard to work with.
we have a lot of fun phrases over here, like
“whats the craic”- what have you been up to?
“shut your bake” – please stop talking.
“got my bap chapped” – i got a haircut.
“it was bucketing down” – it was raining really hard.
“it’s completely baltic” – its absolutely freezing cold weather.
“that’s boggin” – that’s dirty
“that’s a geg”- that’s hilarious
i could go on for hours..
October 15th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
I don’t know if it’s special to the area or my folks just have a knack for great phrases, but variations of “I’m gonna beatcha with a brick stick” used as a mock threat (or real threat… but wouldn’t be take seriously, because, really?) is a favorite. Some other favorites are:
“Colder than a witch’s teet in a brass bikini” – very cold, to say the least.
“Hotter than a whorehouse doorknob on payday.” – very hot, to say the least. XD
“So dry, the trees are beggin’ the dogs.” – …very dry.
October 15th, 2009 at 4:55 pm
All bar one of your examples, Jennifer, I use on a regular basis. I’d never heard ‘Cadbury’ to mean a cheap drunk, before. It’s a brand of chocolate (which you can buy in the US, by the way, but it tastes vastly different). I’ve spoken to one of the lasses at work and she clarified it for me. Glass and a half, indeed!
There’s a whole swag of old-fashioned phrases that get pulled out from time to time (like the rhyming slang Gareth mentioned), but the ones I tend to use every so often are:
* Not happy, Jan – taken from an ad campaign for the Yellow Pages. Changed to ‘Not happy, John’ when our previous Prime Invertebrate…ahem…Prime Minister John Howard made yet one more horrible policy change.
* Breaking the seal – refers to going to the loo that first time on a big night out. Because everyone knows, as soon as you go the first time, you’ll be back and forth from the toilets constantly for the rest of the night.
* sending something ’straight to the pool room’. Quoted from the movie ‘The Castle’, when a gift received was of particular quality or regard it took pride of place in the room with the pool table.
* ‘Flat out like a lizard drinking’ or ‘running around like a chook with its head cut off’ – being really, really busy.
Out of curiousity, Jennifer, did you at all reference Gough Whitlam’s immortal speach on the steps of Old Parliment House? I only ask because I’m pretty sure it’s a rite of passage for any tourist (myself included) to stand at the same spot and recite the last line of that speech.
October 15th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
My grandfather used to always manage to throw a little aussie slang into his conversations. Unfortunately I didnt even understand it half the time but heres a few I do know.
Dead Horse – Tomato sauce
Fair crack of the whip – to give someone a fair chance
Drongo – Fool
Up a gum tree – Confused
Home and hosed – finnished
I used to be known as a
banana bender – resident of Queensland
however now im a
sandgroper – resident of Western Australia
October 15th, 2009 at 5:33 pm
my grandad is a true blue Aussie of the farmning variety. every so often when we go to visit he will throw something at me which completely befuddles.
can’t tell his bum from a hole in the ground – stupid
dry as a dead dingo’s donger – dry/thirsty
buckley’s chance – no chance whatsoever
unfortunately, half of what he says os dysphemistic as, so can’t really be reported…
October 15th, 2009 at 6:43 pm
budgie smuggler is poifect!!!
October 16th, 2009 at 12:07 am
I was born in a place called Rugby, in the middle of the UK, but I now live near Birmingham, not too far away but has a rather strong accent in some places.
The one thing I hear a lot is “Bostin” Meaning really great.
They also like to say things like “I’ll borrow you…” instead of “I’ll lend you…”
Which leads me right to the next one I’ve just thought of “That gets right on my wick”
They also say “Ta-ra a bit” when they say goodbye.
October 16th, 2009 at 12:23 am
The word cadbury is used very often at my high school in relation to a couple of teens who really can’t hold their drink.
My family (not sure if this applies to all of the country) also calls Speedos DPs. “Dicky pokers” – i have no idea why we say it, we just do.
And there was a classic moment in which my Dad used the rhyme “in ya ear with a bottle of beer” to which my sister quickly replied “and up ya bum with a bottle o’ rum” We didn’t stop laughing for a while.
October 16th, 2009 at 3:49 am
Have to concur with eimear, she remembered far more phrases than I did, and have used a fair few of them!
Non northern ireland people never understand half of what we’re saying, and it not just the accent!
October 16th, 2009 at 5:08 am
I’m a banana bender =P and I’m sooo glad you are bringing Jaz to Australia =] and yea I hadn’t heard the saying Cadbury thing either but budgie smuggler and some of the others I use regularly too, especially the chook one =]
October 16th, 2009 at 5:20 am
I’m a true blue Aussie, a sandgroper (west Australian), ocker, Bogan (sterotype uncivilised), larrikin (joker) from the bush (country).
These are a few standards
Fair Dinkum-yes that is correct
Mad as a cut snake-insane
Bloody oath-general exclamation
Cheers-thank you
Mate-friend
October 16th, 2009 at 8:08 am
I’m Swiss, so I know a lot of phrases and twist most people never heard of. We have 26 cantons, and almost every single one has phrases/words/twist that are unique to them.
If you want a ‘goldigs nienenüteli’, a ‘golden nowherenothing’, you actually don’t know what you want. ‘Cold a** with snowstorm’ is a synonym for the same thing. ‘Angsthase’ (Fearbunny) and ‘Innerer Schweinehund’ (Inner Swinedog) are terms that we adapted from the germans.
And lots of terms I don’t even know how you could probably translate them.
October 16th, 2009 at 9:32 am
I gotta tell you, Carly, around here we snicker at guys in Speedos. (It’s like, come on, really?) Trunks to the knees are pretty much mainstream in the Midwest, which is maybe why we don’t have any parallel phrases to Budgie Smuggling.
Fascinating, Jill. Naturally, my fave is the “piece of piss” phrase. LOL!
Yeah, Sapphire, maybe that’s why I’m having a hard time coming up with local colorful phrases myself. They don’t seem that unique until someone from way out of town starts looking really confused!
That is so interesting, Gareth! Thanks for sharing.
I like ‘mind the roads’ Joanne. I’m boring and just always tell my kids (especially) to be careful or drive safe.
Love it, Sophie! I once worked with a woman who was as lazy as shuch water. Wish I’d known that phrase then!!
Never heard the word “pukka” before, Emma. Neat.
There it is, Penny, you guys have come up with the perfect word for the action. Coggle. I’ve gotta remember that.
OMG, Meryl, I may be laughing for the rest of the day! Priceless!
Just love your list, Eimear. I got my bap chapped last Tuesday, but somehow that sounds like she left me in a state that would require a paper sack over my head. Not so. Still plenty of auburn curls with some nice blond highlights.
Awesome, Rarah. We do say, “Colder than a witch’s tit,” around here. Well, mostly just the guys.
Sorry, Gillian, I didn’t reference the speech. The crew didn’t stay in Canberra for long after they landed; pretty much drove “straight” (you’ll understand why I used quotes after you read chapter two) to Wirdilling.
Wow, Amanda. How you get from dead horse to tomato sauce I don’t know, but I do think it’s pretty cool!
I do recognize your first quote, Grace, and have used versions of it myself. The dingo quote had me rolling!!
Isn’t it though, Vickie?
Wow, BeckyLou. If somebody said ta-ra to me I would probably have to hug them. Around here people do occasionally say they “borrowed” somebody else money, but that’s considered bad grammar and usually shows that they haven’t got much education.
LMAO, Bec. Classic!
How neat to be a banana bender, Cassie. I could say I’m a Taurus, but even that doesn’t sound half as cool!
I love your list, Ame, because you’ve actually included a few phrases I was able to put into the book. My fave? Bloody oath.
Interesting, Tanja. I have decided I do not want to see a picture of the Fearbunny or the Inner Swinedog!
October 16th, 2009 at 10:39 am
I’m Italian, so I’m quite sure there are a lot of expressions you’d maybe consider strange. Then, there can be much difference within Italy itself, mostly when people are speaking dialects – I live near Venezia, but if I listen to a person talking in pure dialect, who’s from Napoli, from Sardegna, or even from Torino, I’d hardly understand three words in a row of what they say.
I think these are used in whole Italy:
- “pirla”= idiot, stupid
- “vai a quel paese!”= (literally “you go to that land”) not-so-dirty way to say “go f*** yourself”
- “___ è come il prezzemolo”= (literally “___ is like parsley”) means it’s everywhere
- “chi ti ha messo il sale sulla coda?”=(literally “who’s put salt on your tail?”) means “what’s got you in a hurry?”
And a couple of dialect ones, which I’d better translate directly:
- “if it’s not bread it’s ‘polenta’ “, meaning “if it’s not this/like this, it must be that/like that”
- “it comes down in overturned pails”, meaning it’s raining really hard
October 16th, 2009 at 4:55 pm
we have “its bucketing down” which basically means its raining really hard
lol we do have sayings like “go screw yourself” which is pretty self explanatory
“meh” means whatever
“screw it” generally means i give up
i cant really think of any awesome ones
October 16th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
Yeah, We have other names for Sheboygan but I can’t remember them. You seriously have to look up the sheboygan county paper. The stories are hilarious and you would get a kick out of them. I can seriously see Cole telling a story like one of those it is just to great for words.
October 16th, 2009 at 7:59 pm
i’m from Oz (NSW), i have never heard of Cadbury used besides for chocolate.
i have heard of Ozzies overseas who miss the phrase “G-day mate” which is unique to Oz.
another that i can think of is “Joe Blake” meaning snake. “Snakes/Worms on a raft” – spaghetti on toast. “Snags” – sausages.
these are a few that come into mind.
October 17th, 2009 at 7:19 am
Gosh, Vale, even insults sound pretty!
I don’t know why, Carly, but “meh” really appeals to me. Maybe because it’s perfectly descriptive.
I’ll do that, Meryl.
Megz, if my daughter ever heard the term, “snakes on a raft,” she would drop spaghetti from her menu. Forever. Not a fan of snakes.
October 17th, 2009 at 9:26 am
Im from good ol’ England, Essex to be precise haha
Some that come to mind are “ruby murry”-curry lol, “apples and pairs” means stairs, “mince pies” is eyes, “boat race” means face.
Just a few chice phrases from my humble domain lol
October 17th, 2009 at 5:45 pm
We affectionately refer to my youngest sister as the
“crunchy one of the bunch”. Crunchy as in granola is crunchy and my sister is a long pit hair having, no shoe wearing, flower child 60’s throwback. There are four of us and that has translated into the crunchy continuum. We each have a place in the continuum that relates directly to our degree of crunchiness. Recent additions to consideration for your placement in the continuum are consistency of recycling, use of energy efficient fixtures and appliances and vehicle fuel type.
October 17th, 2009 at 10:43 pm
I’m an Aussie and most of us don’t use some of those words…….okay we might sometimes. We basically speak just like Americans except when we say g’day and all those other phrases but then that’s not overall are language it’s just Aussie slang.
October 18th, 2009 at 12:53 am
I am also a sand groper.
not too many others I can think of, but here’s a few.
Blow me down, an expression for something thats out of the ordinary, or shock, i guess.
A funny one i heard the other day:
ceebs, which is short for CBF, which is short for can’t be fu####. which doesn’t really make sense to me…
a right c@ck up, made a mess of it.
use a bit of elbow grease will ya!, put more effort in to what you are doing.
a few funny names for a toilet which most will have probably heard.
thunderbox, dunny, loo, crapper, throne.
October 18th, 2009 at 6:52 am
I’m a sand groper too!
One my granddad used a bit was
“up shit creek” for when someone was in a bit of trouble.
If it was particular nasty trouble
“you were up shit creek without a paddle”
and even worse you may have been
“up shit creek without a paddle in a barbed wire boat”
pretty gross but gets the sentiment across.
Cant wait for the next installment!! lovin’ your work!!!
October 18th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
A couple I thought of are:
‘Dumping the kids off at the pool” – going to do number 2’s
“Im fuller then a fat ladys sock” – pretty self explanatory
“Ranga” – Red headed person
“Bah” its like meh but often used as an exclamation sound
October 18th, 2009 at 6:43 pm
I’m a nurse and we have our own (non)medical terminology:
“thirsty” means someone who has a blood
alcohol level that exceeds the legal limit
“FOS” means someone Full Of Sh** – literally
“Code Brown” is when there is an excess of poop
“frequent flyer” is a patient that has multiple repeat admissions
October 19th, 2009 at 12:48 am
Cadbury is pretty common in my group, glass and a half, along with two pot screamer. Another chocolate bar metaphor, is a crunchie: a brunette who is having a blonde moment, (brown on the outside blonde on the inside)
October 19th, 2009 at 1:07 am
Forgot to clarify I am also a Banana Bender, or for that matter a Cane toad, though my mother is a Cockroach by birth and I was also briefly by residence (even less flattering!) Another term my mother uses frequently is ’settle petal’. Not sure if these terms are particular to Australia or Queensland though.
October 19th, 2009 at 4:08 am
omg its so awesome that Jaz is coming to the land of oz!!!
these ones probs arent as good as everyone elses but whatevs!
im pretty sure every aussie has heard the term ‘crikey!’ used before i know i have, but only when Steve Irwin is mentioned =)
‘you’re a bloody ripper!’ translation: ‘you’re awesome/amazing’
‘not cuttin’ anyone else’s lunch’ is used in the great aussie film ‘the Castle’ meaning that that particular person wont hit on/talk to/flirt with a girl (or boy) who was already with someone else
well, there they are =) thats all i could think of for now =D
October 19th, 2009 at 6:26 am
Wow, Shannon, those are just weird! (But in a neat way!)
Too good, Shannonannon! I gotta tell you, I prefer to avoid being crunchy (especially in regards to pit hair)!!
That’s reassuring to hear, nicole, because it was truly the conclusion I came to after doing my research.
LOL, Jo-Anne! Gotta share the toilet ones with my guys. They’ll love ‘em!
Thanks, Beni! We actually use ‘up shit creek’ too, but have never heard the part about a barbed wire boat. Ouch!
Great list, Caitlin. It set off some in my own head. Red-heads here are occasionally called ‘gingers,’ but that’s not always such a nice term. Also:
“tight” or “sick” refers to something that’s extremely cool
“don’t have a cow” back when I was growing up meant to chill out
Oh, Joy, those are priceless! Thanks for sharing!
October 19th, 2009 at 6:33 am
Seppos=Septic Tanks=Yanks has a two sided meaning.. One is that it’s rhyming slang, but it’s also used derogatorily to refer to the fact Americans are full of shit..
As has been explained a Cadbury’s drinker can only handle a glass and a half..
He’s a Brick short of a load=he’s not altogether smart
also: a snag short of a barbie, a few crumbs short of the bikkie barrel (bikkies are cookies)
Fat lot of good you are=you’re not much use
A over T=fell ass over tits
There are loads more, but I’d probably run out of room.. The slang dictionary for Aussie slang has 62 pages just for the letter A!
October 19th, 2009 at 6:35 am
Oh.. sorry for the double, but I’m a Crow Eater.. a South Australian..
October 20th, 2009 at 7:10 am
LOL, Jaden3! Many of us are full of shit! In fact, I yell that phrase at the TV on a daily basis. How astute of you guys to pick that up! (BTW, I would classify as a Cadbury’s drinker, which is why I rarely bother–especially now that I take preventative medicine for my migraines. Not good to mix pills and booze. Ever.)
I love how you guys have different interesting designations for yourselves depending on where you live. So cool.
October 20th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
OH IDEA…. i suggest getting your hands on a copy of, the movie the CASTLE and the tv show KATH AND KIM the origninal aussie version. they are like the holy grail of australian stereotypes/ slang. please note we do NOT all speak like that hence why it is still funny to us.
Grouse is another meaning great.
its not bush week.. not entirely sure what thats means but i tend to say it when someone is being particularly slow and we need to be doing something else…
get my rocks off … meaning to well kinda self explanatory
to “go at it hammer and tong” also kinda self explanatory similar to “going at it like rabbits”
also “can i have the jack and jill” when asking for a bill…
im sure i could think of a few more but they just a little embarrassing…
October 21st, 2009 at 7:59 am
Most of the “sayings” that i use are profane and not suitable to type!
However, i do refer to my twin sister as my “skin ‘n’ blister”. cockny rhymning slang at its best!
Another favourite one is “ah, you get to ride the blue bus” often said if someone has done something particually stupid!
October 21st, 2009 at 8:01 am
totally know what you mean, sophie!! you have no idea how difficult it was to sit and translate wat we say all the time into actual english so that other people could understand!…. i found myself explaining colloquial language with more colloquial language!!
October 21st, 2009 at 9:09 am
One of your fellow countrymen did suggest “The Castle,” to me, Lauren, so I have seen it. Loved it! I saw the first episode of the American version of Kath and Kim and couldn’t stand it. I think something vital must’ve gotten lost in the translation, because they just came across as two stupid, spoiled bitches. Nothing to love there.
Riding the blue bus is new to me, Jemma. Thanks for sharing!
October 21st, 2009 at 12:19 pm
definitely eimear
!
October 21st, 2009 at 1:26 pm
Though I’m from the States, in particular Tennessee and Texas, I have found we have some really crazy slang. My favorites are:
Fit’en to: Getting ready to do something or go somewhere
Buggered up: Very upset
Katie Bar the Door: You are in so very, very much trouble
Hose Pipe: Watering hose
And my very favorite is from a jingle back in the ‘60’s for a brand of shoes called “Red Goose” which says, “Nothing fits a pair of feet like Red Goose Shoes”: When something happens that is just a damnit moment or a shit happens moment.
This is really interesting…
October 21st, 2009 at 9:09 pm
I’m from Rhode Island and the phrases I’ve grown up to know would have to be, “Don’t call the kettle black” meaning don’t be a hypercrite or don’t contridict yourself. But I think that’s used pretty much anywhere.
I moved to Louisiana over a year and five months ago and I hear alot of funny sayings. Like, “You’re slow as molasis” or wel no I think that’s it. H aha it’s difficult to pick everything up down here sicne alot of people have flat accents or speak cajun french. Still getting the hang of it!
October 22nd, 2009 at 10:48 pm
I’m surprised no one mentioned ranga which is what aussies call red heads =P which one of my friends has been calling me lately since i dyed my hair =P
October 23rd, 2009 at 6:09 am
Gotta remember those, Cat. So funny, and most of them unfamiliar to me!
“Slow as molasses.” Yup, I like that one, Cindi.
Huh. Very interesting, Cassie. Being a redhead myself I’m always interested in the ways people describe us. When I was little there wasn’t really a word, just an attitude. The most common question people asked my mom? “Does she have a temper to go with that hair?”
October 23rd, 2009 at 9:27 am
Jennifer, my mom has red hair and she told me she used to get called carrot top and strawberry redheaded freckle face. LMAO!!! She also heard that question a lot growing up.
October 23rd, 2009 at 5:57 pm
OK, so I’m Southern, as in Georgia, United States…born and bred…haha
Here’s some: (all are self explanatory, but hilarious b/c they are so twangy sounding!)
“Y’all”
“Haven’t seen hide nor hair of…”= haven’t seen someone in a while
“Down yonder…”=over there
“pecan” pronounced “pee” “can”
“chicken’n'dumplins”
“crick”=creek
water pronounced “whu” “tur”
“Ima tear yer butt up!”=i’m going to spank you lol
“Ain’t”=am not…used quite a bit, and incorrectly lol
“G.R.I.T.S.”= Girls Raised in the South
And of course, made famous by a certain stand up comedian “Git’r'done” which people actually do say around here…seriously.
Hope y’all enjoyed that, come back now, ya hear? lmao!!!
October 24th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
Nice Amber, I hear a few that slang around here in LA. Gotta love the south!
October 24th, 2009 at 9:42 pm
LOADS of vital was lost in translation for the american version of K&K. trust me when i say the australian version is amazing. i quote it daily
oh i could also like to make a point of telling american people that contrary to popular belief we do not say “put another shrimp on the BAR BEE”. as i was asked when i was in the USA. not only that but we NEVER call them “shrimp” they are PRAWNS. haha.
October 26th, 2009 at 2:16 am
I’m Really glad that you did not make the common mistake of most Americans of over using our rather strange brand of slang.
October 26th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
Yeah, I used to get the carrot top comment when I was really little, and it perplexed me, because I couldn’t figure out how eating carrots made my hair red. That one didn’t last past kindergarten, though, because my hair began to darken after that.
Indeed, Cindi. Your accents are delish!
I totally believe it, Lauren. Hollywood often misses what it aims at!
Me too, Dean, because I know you guys are gonna get after me if I blow it too badly!
November 2nd, 2009 at 3:08 pm
the only boo-boo i can think of, is that Jack would not be allowed into Oz without being in quarantine for 3 months… even for the CIA, Australian quarantine would not budge…
November 28th, 2009 at 2:18 am
I don’t think i’ve ever used ‘cadbury’ to describe a drunk. There’s also ‘don’t get your trousers in a twist’. And us Aussie’s are a straaange bunch. ‘Budgie Smugglers’…xD I mean, who actually came up with that?
Can’t wait to read ‘bite marks’. Wish it would hurry up and get to the library!
December 21st, 2009 at 2:18 pm
From the US…
• don’t get your panties in a wad (don’t get upset)
• you’re caught up in your own underwear (you’re thinking about something the wrong way)
• dumber than a box of rocks (no explanation needed)
• don’t let the door hit you on the ass (usually said to someone who is leaving after you’ve been arguing with them)
• oh, for the love of Mike (for goodness sake)
• not for all the tea in China (as in, “I wouldn’t do that not for all the tea in China”)
• that makes as much sense as a screendoor on a submarine
• I have to pee like a racehorse
• well I’ll be a monkey’s uncle (said when you’re suprised)
• you don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell
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