U
Uni : university
Unit : flat, apartment
Up oneself: to have a high opinion of oneself - “he’s really up himself”
Useful as an ashtray on a motorbike: unhelpful or incompetent person or thing - “he, she or it is about as useful as …” etc. etc.
Ute : utility vehicle, pickup truck
V
Vedgies : vegetables
Vee dub : Volkswagen
Veg [vej] out : relax in front of the TV (like a vegetable)
W
Waggin’ school : playing truant
Walkabout : a walk in the Outback by Aborigines that lasts for an indefinite amount of time
Walkabout, it’s gone : it’s lost, can’t be found
Weekend warrior : army reservist
Whacker, whacka: Idiot; somebody who talks drivel; somebody with whom you have little patience
Whinge : complain
Whiteant (verb) : to criticise something to deter somebody from buying it. A car dealer might whiteant another dealer’s cars or a real estate salesman might whiteant another agent’s property
Wobbly : excitable behaviour (”I complained about the food and the waiter threw a wobbly”)
Wog : flu or trivial illness
Woop Woop : invented name for any small unimportant town - “he lives in Woop Woop”
Wowser : straight-laced person, prude, puritan, spoilsport
Wuss : coward; nervous person or animal
5 responses so far ↓
Brad Shorr // Jul 29, 2008 at 11:12 pm
This is great. Must have missed the earlier installments. Here in Chicago, we use wuss, weekend warrior, veg, vedgies (spelled veggies). The others are unfamiliar, unfortunately!
jonathan // Jul 30, 2008 at 12:29 am
two pronunciation ?’s…whinge, is it like a door hinge or wine or wing and also how about whiteant
Pete // Jul 30, 2008 at 6:33 am
Thnx for dropping by, Brad. I’m fast realising that words I thought were local are actually quite global. I’ve only ever heard one American say “veggies”; glad to know we’re not the only ones who make things (ie., vegetables) seem less scary by giving them cutesy names.
Great site and blog, btw.
@ the amazing jonathan: whinge sounds like hinge.
Whiteant should be white-ant, which is basically another word for a termite. We use the verb-slang to mean undermining, particularly undermining other people’s success… For instance, I could white-ant your credibility with your fellow Americans by spreading rumors that you like to eat Vegemite. (This by the way would RAISE your credibility with Australians)
themolk // Jul 30, 2008 at 7:59 am
Speaking of vegemite, don’t forget to take part in the Great Vegemite Census (http://howdoyoulikeyourvegemite.com.au/)!
Ahh, the internet… solving all the world’s important problems, one byte at a time…
Pete // Jul 30, 2008 at 8:35 am
Mmm, Vegemite…
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