Word Up

A Lexicon and Guide

to Communication in the
21st Century

Mark McCrindle
with Emily Wolfinger
Foreword by Kel Richards

About us

McCrindle Research exists to conduct world-class research and to communicate the insights in innovative ways. You can find out more about
our research agency at www.mccrindle.com.au.
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Published by Halstead Press
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Copyright 2011, McCrindle Research Pty Ltd. Not to be copied
whole or in part without authorisation. Typeset by ePrintDesign.
Printed in Australia by Trojan Press.
National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry
Author: McCrindle, Mark.
Title:

Word up : a lexicon and guide to communication in the 21st century

/ by Mark McCrindle, with Emily Wolfinger.

ISBN:

9781920831851 (hbk.)

Subjects: English languageAustraliaUsage.

English languageVariation.

English languageSocial aspectsAustralia

English languageSlangLexicography.

Young adultsLanguage.

English languageForeign influences.

Language and cultureAustralia.
Other Authors/Contributors: Wolfinger, Emily.

Contents
Foreword 4
lntroduction 6
Chapter 1
Talkin bout my Generation 9
Chapter 2
lnfluences on 21st Century Language 22
Chapter 3
Youth Slang 53
Chapter 4
Australianisms and Clichs 68
Chapter 5
lconic One-liners and Jingles 89
Chapter 6
Political Jargon 101
Chapter 7
The Offensive and the Incorrect 111
Chapter 8
Manners 128
Chapter 9
Literacy 145
Conclusion 161
Notes 162
Glossary 169
The Youth Language Lexicon 175
Have You Got A Word? 208

T he Y outh L anguage L exicon

The Youth Language Lexicon

A word on the methodology: To compile this lexicon we surveyed
generations Y and Z, asking them for key words that they use and
the meanings. We used written and online surveys and informal
discussions, so the words have come directly from teenagers
and 20-somethings. We have also included contributions from
researchers who have defined some words that they hear used
regularly by generations Y and Z.
Youth jargon is in constant flux. What may be all the go today, may
disappear tomorrow. Herein some of the slang may be recognisable to
Y-ers but not Zeds and vice versa. This disparity is also seen within the
two generations. For example, older Y-ers may continue to use slang
that has been changed or not even adopted by the younger Y-ers. On
top of this, terms recognisable to older generations have been given
new meaning and new life by younger generations.

African American street jargon

Herein you will find a number of African American slang words.
Contrary to popular perception, much of African American jargon has
not been fully accepted by Australian youth. There is a cringe factor to
words like boo, izzle, da hood, feel me, whos your daddy!, da bom, homie, and
booty call.
Despite growing up in a multicultural society, influenced by many
cultures in daily life as well as via the internet and entertainment media,
the younger generations reject slang that doesnt sit right with them.
Those outside the culture who use it are seen as try-hards by their
peers. So, while these terms are well known due to the domination of
American entertainment, they are not widely used by Aussie youth, at
least in their original context. Often, mock tones are applied. Indeed,
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T he Y outh L anguage L exicon

A

when these words are presented as slang used by Aussie Y-ers and Zeds,
the young people often respond with indignation. As one Zed revealed:
Its used, but more as a joke thing, if one of my friends is trying to be
African American. Remember, context is everything with gens Y and Z!

Note on offensive slang

Some of the language in this lexicon is profane and crude. In the
interest of presenting an accurate lexicon of youth slang, please consider any offensive language in the context and purpose for which it is
presented.
A

already?

ab

Do you already know? You fellas going

to Robs tonight? Already?

adjective. Weird, strange as in abnormal. My olds have gone totally ab on

me.

AMW

aight

(Pronounced aite or ite) adjective. All

right. See you at 9 tomorrow, aight?

noun. Acronym for actress, model,

whatever. Woman whose appearance is closely linked to her success.

A-list

arse hat

noun. Idiot.

noun. Category of people who are

in demand as additions to a party
because they are desirable, glamorous
and cool. Sasha is definitely on the A-list.
Shes the best to have around.

as

adjective. All good. Calm down mate, its

all-g.

preposition. Totally, much, very. Placed

after an adjective, as intensifies it like
so placed before. Sick as, gnarly as.
A contraction replacing a simile, e.g.
cool as a cucumber can be replaced
by cool as.

all that

as if

all-g

Thats totally not going to happen;

it cant be. Can I come too? As if !
Kimmy on Kath and Kim uses this
retort frequently.

adjective. Superior in nature, wonderful or attractive. That boy is all that.

That song is all that and a bag of potato
chips!
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T he Y outh L anguage L exicon

bang on

aw yea

Thats right, correct. Are you saying she

fully hooked up with him? Bang on.

(Pronounced aw yeah). Oh, yes. Nice

wheels. Aw yea.

ax

bare

adjective. A lot of, very. That dude is bare

uggers.

verb. Ask. Im only gonna ax you once.

B

barred

verb. Fooled. You got barred badly.

back in the day

In the past. An imprecise way to refer

to the past without sounding like a tryhard.Back in the day, Led Zeppelin . . .
Old folks say Well, when I was a boy . . .

b-cubed

bait

beast

adjective. Bland beyond belief. Are

you going to invite Leah? As if. Shes
b-cubed.

noun, adjective. Obvious, self evident,

annoyingly familiar. Did you know Jess
and me are together? Yeah, that was bait,
everyone knew.

1. noun. Impressive, usually customised car. 2. noun. Person who performs

an impressive feat. Did you see him ollie
those stairs? What a beast! 3. adjective.
coo.

baked

verb, adjective. Substance-affected, out

of it, off with the fairies. Dude, you
should have seen him. He was totally baked.

bent

adjective. Skewed, misconstruing reality.

Thats bent, it aint like that at all. As in
warped.

baked potato

noun. Couch potato who is stoned as

well as stuffed (from pigging out on junk
food). Get a life Jimmy, you baked potato!

betty

noun. Girl, woman. An old-school

term recently readopted in youth
circles. Hey man, check out that fine
looking betty.

bakin

verb. Reference to drugs. Typically said

when asking people which drugs they
are currently using or supplying. So
wadda ya have bakin these days?. Derived
from the practice of baking cupcakes,
muffins etc. with drugs in them.

bevan

noun. Daggy young male.

biatch

(Pronounced bee-arch) noun. 1. Someone

who is rude in behaviour. 2. Someone
who says or does something unkind
but amusing. Said tongue-in-cheek in

bananas
adjective. Hot, cute, adorable. That
guy is bananas.
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T he Y outh L anguage L exicon

B

blig it

a friendly way. I feel like taking a pair

of scissors to some of the clothes she wears.
You biatch!

verb. Stop raving on. Used to instruct

someone that there is no point in
continuing the topic, no one wants to
hear any more. Blig it why dont you?

big horse

noun. Cool person.

bling, bling-bling

big rig

noun. Jewellery, usually chunky and

dazzling jewellery. Check out Johns
bling! With Gen Y its not just the
girls who wear bling.

noun. Large person.

bikkie

noun. Ecstasy pill, not something you

eat with a cup of tea. Those bikkies are
hard core.

blingin

verb. Wearing a lot of jewellery.

Samanthas blingin tonight.

biskit, biscuit

1. noun. Someone who crumbles

under pressure. Blake is such a biskit.
2. bikkie. 3. Someone whose
behaviour is repeatedly irrational and
nonsensical.

blinglish

BIT

blogosphere

noun. Contemporary African American vernacular borrowed from commercial hip hop culture. Compound
of bling and English.

noun. Acronym for bitch in training.

Affluent, stuck-up, teenage girl.

noun. That part of the internet dominated by blogs. Stephs a great writer,
but youve got to remember shes stuck in the
blogosphere.

bitchin

adjective. Totally awesome, unbelievable, exciting. The surf is bitchin.

blong

noun. Serious bling. Now thats some

blong youve got on!

bite it

verb. Trip, fall down. See Dylan bite it

when he was trying to jump that train?

blotto

noun. Business, personal concerns.

Nothing to do with you. Thats my biz,
man.

adjective. Drunk, intoxicated, between

the drink you shouldnt have had and
the one that will have you hugging the
toilet bowl; call a taxi. Youre blotto!
Ease up a bit, dude.

blazed

blouse

biz

adjective. High on marijuana.

noun. Effeminate male. Stop whining.

Man, you can be such a blouse!
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T he Y outh L anguage L exicon

blow

you like my playlist? Book. Book is the

first option given by predictive text to
someone when trying to type c-o-o-l
when texting.

1. verb. Be great, go off. Usually in

reference to an event. This party is
going to blow! 2. adjective. Terrible, of a
bad standard. This movie blows!

boosh

blow-in

noun. Someone from outside an ingroup. So, whats this blow-ins name?

(oo is pronounced as in boo, not as in

book). Like saying nice one, good
call.

blurfle

booty

noun. Bottom, particularly in reference

to a female.

verb. Said to someone caught talking

very loudly at the moment the music
suddenly stops at a bar, a nightclub, or
a party. Ha, ha blurfle!

booty call

noun. Phone call to arrange a romantic rendezvous, usually made late at

night. Sarah got a booty call last night!

BMW

Acronym for bitch, moan, whine,

usually used in SMS or online communication. Here she goes again.
BMW.

bootylicious

adjective. Having great curves. Said

about an attractive female. Look at
you girl, youre bootylicious! Compound
of booty and delicious.

bomb, bom

noun. Best. That song is the bomb! Used

since the mid-nineties.

boulanger

noun. Something or someone weird or

obnoxious. Shes such a boulanger.

bom chika wah wah

Chant indicating someone attractive

has been mentioned or caught the
speakers eye. It comes from a 2007
advert for Lynx deodorant, and is said
on its own.

booyakasha

Expression of delight, used for something very good.

bra, braw bro

boo, b

brandist

noun. 1. Darling, sweetheart; term of

affection used between lovers. Just
you and me tonight, boo. 2. Girlfriend,
boyfriend. Dont come near my boo.

noun. Someone who wears only brand

name clothes and makes it obvious.
Youre such a brandist, Simone. Look at
your wardrobe!

book

adjective. Admirable, fashionable, cool.

Hey, check out those book jeans. How do
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B

brand nazi

buggin

noun. brandist who insists on a

particular brand or particular brands
of clothing.

verb. Acting strange. Why are you

buggin?

bundy

BRB

imperative verb. Get away! Called out as

a warning.

Acronym for be right back. Mostly

used when temporarily calling off
electronic communication.

bunger

noun. 1. Cigarette. Can I scab a bunger

from you, mate? 2. Tom Thumb or
similar firecracker.

brick

adjective. 1. Cold. Man, its brick

tonight. 2. Cool, appealing.

bunk

briefcase

adjective. 1. Really bad or annoying.

Dad wont drive us to the party. Hes so
bunk! 2. Boring, stupid. This town is
bunk, theres like absolutely nothing to do.

noun. Wine cask. Often paired with

the name of a residential area where
drinking sessions around a wine cask
are the norm. Broadmeadows briefcase,
Bellambi briefcase.

burn

1. verb. Enjoy something. Im burning

this sandwich. 2. noun. Harsh criticism, often used by a third party as
commentary. Sick, that was amazing!
Thats what your Mum told me last night!
Burn!

bringin sexy back

Being very sexy. From Justin Timberlakes song Sexy Back. Someone
who brings sexy back is claiming to be
sexy. Girl, Im bringin sexy back.

bro, bra, braw, broseph

burnout

noun. Friend or close acquaintance.

Whats up, bro? Derived from brother.

noun. Car stunt involving loss of traction to the tyres. That burnout was
mad! See donut.

brown-town

adjective. Dull, boring, like the colour

brown in clothing. His style is so
brown-town. See whitebread.

busted

adjective. Unfashionable. Do I look

busted?

BTW

bustin

Acronym for by the way. Usually used

in texting or online communication.
BTW, the party was GR8.

verb. Executing an action skillfully.

Hey, look at Dan. Hes bustin some
moves! Derived from busting.

buff

adjective. Fit, toned, sexy.

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chaddy chatty

butta

noun. Good stuff. Now thats the butta!

Derived from butter.

chat

adjective. Disgusting, wrong, not very

nice. Ugh, I look chat in that photo.

butters

chatty, chaddy

1. adjective. Ugly, from butt-ugly. 2. noun.

Clumsy person who drops the ball,
from butter fingers.

adjective. Uncool, inferior.

cheddar

noun. Money. Hes got the cheddar.

buzzing

cheers

1. adjective. Cool. 2. adjective. Excited.

3. verb. Feeling the effects of drugs,
particularly MDMA.

Thanks. Cheers, mate! A British word

now common in Australia.

cheese

noun. Money.

cheezin

verb. Smiling. Why you cheezin so big?

caffescienti

noun. People who spend a lot of their

free time in coffee shops. Hey look,
here come the caffescienti.

chick flick

noun. Film targetted at and popular

amongst female viewers, usually a
romantic comedy or tear jerker. Oh,
not another chick flick tonight, babe! I thought
we were gunna watch the footy!

call the wambulance

Expression used to accuse someone

of crying or seeking sympathy over
nothing important, or exaggerating a
perceived injury.

chili

noun, adjective. Attractive female. Check

that chick out bra. Yeah, shes chili.

c-bomb

chillax

noun. Very old taboo word starting

with c, dropped into dialogue unexpectedly, with the effect of startling or
embarrassing listeners.

verb. Relax and hang out with friends;

relax and calm down. Sit down and
chillax. Compound of chill and relax.

chillin

verb. Being calm and relaxed; hanging

out with no particular purpose.
Whassup? Just chillin. From chill, a
Boomer word.

cha-ching

Expression used when one comes into

money. Heres the rest of what I owed
you. Cha-ching.

chomper

cash

noun. Computer slang for loser. I met

this guy online the other day. Talk about a
chomper!

adjective. Appealing or cool. This

stuff s cash!
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C

chron

coo

adjective. 1. Great, excellent. 2. Substandard. 3. Cool, awesome. From

chronic. The sense depends on the
emphasis and context.

Cool.

coolth

adjective. State or quality of being cool;

from a hip point of view of course,
not an indication of temperature.

chron dog

adjective. Cool, awesome. That car is

chron dog.

cool wit dat

Comfortable with that.

clappin

adjective. Worn out, exhausted, outdated, unfashionable. Sorry dude, but

those shoes are clappin.

coota

clicked

core

adjective. Good, all right. Thats coota

as.

adjective. Angry.

adjectival suffix. Totally, completely.

That band is sick core.

clownin

couch-hopping,
couch-surfing

verb. Making fun of someone, joking

around. Man, you clownin on me?

verb. Staying temporarily with one

friend after another. When are you going
to get a place and stop this couch-hopping
business, bro?

clubbing

noun. Going out to a club which plays

loud music, such as dance, techno
or RnB. Come out clubbing with us
tonight?

coupledom

noun. The state of being in a monogamous relationship.

confuzzled

adjective. Confused and puzzled. That

was a guy? Im confuzzled.

cracking, crackalacking

verb. Happening, being done by

someone. Whats cracking?

control-alt-delete

imperative verb. Shut up. Im not listening

to your rubbish anymore. Control-alt-delete!
A computer term for the function that
forces a program to quit.

cranking

verb. Going very well. This party is

cranking.

control-z

crib

imperative verb. Undo. A computer term

for the function that forces a program
to undo the previous action.

noun. House, flat, dwelling. Come over

to my new crib some time.

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credlocks

noun. Dreadlocks that have been

grafted so as to increase ones street
credibility. Check out that dudes credlocks.

dad joke

Sort of witticism affected by ones

father, which may have been slightly
funny in a previous era, and keeps
on amusing him through countless
repetitions. How could you, Em? Thats
such a dad joke.

cretin

noun. Sleazy male; creep. I wouldnt go

near him if I were you, he is such a cretin!

cruisy

daddy

adjective. 1. Going well, without problems. Lifes pretty cruisy at the moment.
2. Easy going, relaxed, laid back.
Wont Pete mind if I stay over again?
Dont worry, hes cruisy.

noun. 1. Older, rich boyfriend. 2. Boyfriend. Come here, daddy. I have a surprise
for you. Originally African American,
from sugar daddy.

da bomb, da bom, the bomb

crunk

The best. That song is da bomb. A

nineties term.

adjective. Drunk and a bit crazy. Hes

so crunk. Better call him a taxi. 2. Very
good. That burnout was crunk.

da hood

noun. The neighbourbood, a certain

part of town. Meet me in da hood at nine
thirty.

CUL8TR

Phonetic contraction of see you later.

Usually used in SMS and online communication.

dang

Expression indicating disappointment

or surprise. Dang Richie, you said youd
be there man!

cuz

noun. Close friend. Usually used as a

term of address between male friends.
How are things goin, cuz? From cousin.

dapadan

noun. The leader, the man.

cyberloafing

noun. Using the internet at work for

non-work purposes at the bosss
expense. Guess what? I was caught
cyberloafing the other day. So embarrassing!

dart

noun. A cigarette. Lets go for a dart.

dash

verb. Pass, give. Hey, can you dash me my

iPad?

cyberslacking cyberloafing

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C
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T he Y outh L anguage L exicon

D

dat

devon, dev

pronoun. That.

adjective. Bad, unfortunate, gross. It

was devon. Possibly derived from the
soft meat which has the same name in
some regions.

dawg dogg
deck

adjective. Cool, impressive. That stunt

was deck! Still also in use as a verb in
the old sense of knock someone down.
Leave, or Ill deck you.

dip out

deep

noun. Someone who is inept and makes

a nuisance or spectacle of himself.
What a diptron!

verb. Leave, quit. Hey Baz, Im gonna

dip out.

diptron

adjective. 1. Unpleasant and inferior. 2.

Impressive and attractive. That chick
is deep. The meaning depends on the
context.

dirt

adjective. Ugly. Hes dirt, I cant believe

you hit that.

defs

adverb. Definitely. Yeah, I would defs tell

her about it.

dis

verb. Disparage, disrespect, insult. Yo,

why you dissing me? From disrespect, or
according to some, dismiss.

defriend

verb. End a friendship with. From

social networking websites such as
Facebook, where you can friend or
defriend people.

DL down low
dodge, dodgy

delishes

adjective. Cool, awesome. I went back

there last night and it was delishes!

adjective. Unreliable, dishonest. Dont

eat that, its dodge. Dont give him your
number. Hes a bit dodgy.

dero

dogg

1. adjective. Old and broken down.

Their school is dero. 2. noun. Lame,
unfashionable person. Dude, Alyssa is
such a dero. From derelict.

noun. Friend, accomplice. Used like

homie and bro. Hey dogg good to see
you!

dogged

dev, devvo

verb. Abandoned.We dogged him.

adjective. Devastated. Im so dev I failed

English. Australian slang. 2. devon.

dogger

noun. Police officer. Oh no, its a dogger.

Better pull over.
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dont go there

Dave just broke up with Shazza . . . keep

it on the DL. 2. Phrase accompanied
by gesture, inviting someone to join
in a high-five salutation with arms
extended downwards. 3. Knowledgeable, informed.

imperative verb. Avoid that subject because its touchy. Guess what your ex got
up to the other day? Please, dont go there!

donut, doughie

noun. Car stunt, involving driving in a

tight circle with loss of traction to the
tyres. That donut was awesome. Wanna
go again?

drank

1. adjective. Very drunk. He was so drank

he fell off the chair. 2. noun. Another
word for drink. Pass me that drank.

doof

dred

(Rhymes with hoof) noun. Dance party

held outdoors or in a warehouse, but
usually in the bush. I went to the best
doof on the weekend!

adjective. Dreadful, terrible. That car is

dope. Nah its not, you have dred taste.

dude

noun. Friend, person. A retro term,

yet still commonly used to address
someone. Much like mate, refers to a
friend or a person in general. A dude
is notionally male, but the term can
be used to refer to a male or female,
like the word guys.

doof-doof

(Rhymes with hoof) noun. Usually

techno or electronically produced
music.

door bitch

noun. Discriminating person on the

entrance of a nightclub or licensed
premises who permits or denies
patrons. That munter door bitch wouldnt
let me in!

durri, durry

noun. Cigarette. Got a spare durri on you,

bro?
E

dope

adjective. Good, appealing. Check out

his dope ride! A nineties term still in
use.

e-class

noun. A really expensive car. Smithy

is ridin e-class. From the Mercedes
E-class range.

down

1. verb. Happening. Whats down with

Wil? Hes been real strange lately. 2. adjective. In agreement. Man, Im down wit
whatever you decide.

emo

noun, adjective. Emotional person,

someone into emo (emotional) music
or the emo subculture itself, charaterised by black clothes, black hair and a
focus on depression.

down low, DL

1. Secret, not public information.

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epic

adjective. Incredible, big, massive. Its

been an epic day.

feral. 2. adjective. Gross, disgusting.

Man, lunch was pretty feral. 3. noun. An
unkempt or daggy person. Did you see
what he was wearing? Yeah, what a feral!

ferosh

adjective. Appealing or desirable,

relating to fashion. That coat is
ferosh! Derived from ferocious.

fail

1. interjection. Used to declare that

someone has done something that
doesnt work or is stupid. 2. noun.
Used like a suffix after a word that
specifies the kind of failure or scale of
failure that has been observed. Epic
fail. Fail is taken from fail posters:
labels appearing on the internet over
material they condemn as failures.

fetch

adjective. Cool or stylish. The shoes are

fetch. Where did you get them? Popularised by the movie Mean Girls; probably
short for fetching.

fine

adjective. Beautiful, said of a girl or

woman. Shes fine and out of my
league.

fang

verb. 1. Go somewhere. Im going to

fang over to Amys. 2. Travel in a hurry,
with great speed. Im gonna have to fang
it home.

fit

adjective. Very attractive. British slang

used jokingly.

fap

fitty

adjective. Drunk and confused. Check

out Davo. Hes fap! Totally off his face!

noun. Fifty dollars. Hey, you got fitty on

you?

f-bomb

noun. Taboo word starting with f,

dropped into dialogue unexpectedly,
with the effect of startling or embarrassing listeners.

flaky

feel me

flamed

adjective. Unreliable. Off with the

fairies. I cant believe Rani ditched your
party. Shes so flaky.
verb. Victimised in a cyber-bullying
attack; digitally dissed (see dis,
burn) usually in an online chat
room. It can lead to a flame war.

verb. Understand me. If you dont stop

buggin, Ill bust your grill, do you feel me?

feral

1. adjective. In reference to someone

who has let their appearance and/
or behaviour go wild. That girls gone

flip ya

See you later, catch you.

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frothing

flog

verb. Drive a car hard. He wont lend it

because he knows youll flog it. 2. Assault
physically. Seen Mitch? That scum
flogged him real bad. Flog still also has
meanings given it by older generations, including steal and sell and defeat.

verb. Cheering, stoked. Corynne was

frothing after catching that epic wave.

FTW

acronym. For the win. Used in electronic communication to indicate

support or high expectations for a
person, team, horse, etc.

flow

noun. Rhythm, concentration. Shut

up! Youre disturbing my flow.

fudge

1. noun. Very stupid person. That

guy is such a fudge. 2. adjective. Fake,
artificial. She always looks fudge to me.

fly

adjective. Cool, hip, attractive. Girl, you

look fly tonight.

fugly

foo

adjective. Very ugly. Look at that bloke.

Talk about fugly!

Term of address. 1. Used insultingly.

What you lookin at foo? 2. Used to
address a friend. Whassup foo? From
fool.

fully

intensifying adverb. Very, extremely.

Often used in response to signify
agreement with a statement, typically compounded with an adjective.
Thats fully sick.

fo shiz, fo shizzle, fo sheezy,

fo sho
For sure.

freak
1. noun. Amazing athlete. 2. noun.
Very good looking person. 3. verb.

funked up

Dont freak! Its a fake spider!

funky

All dressed up and ready to go out.

Wow, look atchoo, all funked up.

Become frightened, upset or angry.

adjective. Cool. Your new hair style is

funky. Where did you get it done?

freestyle

noun, verb. Behaviour practised without

regard for structure or established
procedure. A term associated with the
rap subculture.

fresh

1. Address used when greeting a friend.

Whassup G? From gangster. 2. noun.
Someone you associate with.

adjective. 1. Mad, cool, awesome. Those

shoes are fresh! 2. Newly hooked up
with someone.
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G

gaming

get go

verb, noun. Playing computer games at

a high level, as if they were an art or
sport.

noun. Starting time. Starting point.

Jay was winning from the get go.

get over it

gammin

adjective. Silly, stupid, ridiculous. This

class is gammin.

Stop over-reacting, stop going on

about it. I cant believe I spilled coke on
my new shirt! Get over it.

gang banger

get your swerve on

noun. Someone who is in a gang. Stay

away from him. Hes a gang banger.

(Often pronounced shwerve). Get into

a rhythm, achieve a positive momentum. When playing a sport, if your
team does well you can say Now we
got our swerve on!

ganga

(Rhymes with banger) noun. Promiscuous woman.

ghetto

ganja

1. adjective. Undesirable. That place

is ghetto. 2. adverb. Out of control or
vying for attention. Mel, stop acting
ghetto!

noun. Marijuana.

gaper

noun. Beginner skier or snowboarder

who has little or no idea of local snow
sport style and etiquette. That gaper is
wearing a one-piece.

ghetto booty

noun. Appealing curves on an attractive female. That girls got ghetto booty!

gay

girlfriend, girlfren

1. Uncool, inferior. That shirt youve

got on is so gay. 2. Undesirable. Shes
making us do work over the holidays.
Thats gay.

noun. Term of address, usually used by

one female to refer to another, often a
close friend. Whatcha doin, girlfriend?

glitched

g-daddy

verb. Coming down off alcohol or

drugs in a bad way. Shes been completely
glitched all morning.

noun. Grandfather. More flattering or

inclusive way of saying it. So, youll be
a g-daddy by the end of the month, Dad?

gnarly

get down

adjective. Cool, awesome.

verb. Execute something with skill.

Look at her get down on that dance floor!

goon

noun. Cask wine.

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grunger

goonbag

noun. Devotee of grunge culture, who

typically wears a flannelette shirt
and long hair, washes infrequently
and likes grunge music like Nirvana,
Soundgarden and Alice in Chains.

noun. Cask wine container.

goth

noun. Member of the goth subculture

who typically appears pale, wears
black attire and avoids exuberance;
someone who imitates the style of
a character from a Gothic novel.
Whats with the black clothes? You look like
a goth.

acronym. Got to go. Mostly used when

signing off from text messages and
online chat.

grain

gump

GTG, G2G

noun. Clumsy, goofy person. Ash, you

big gump.

noun. Money.

grill

noun. Someones teeth or smile. He

better shut up or Ill bust his grill!

hack

grimy

verb. Speak badly of someone or

something. Dont hack on him like that.
Hes trying his best.

adjective. Impressive, excellent. Check

out those grimy wheels.

grip

hainess

adjective. Large quantity, pile. Hes got

a grip of cheddar.

adjective. Yuck, disgusting, dirty. Seemingly a respelling of heinous.

grommet, grommie,
gremmie

handbag

noun. Wine cask. Often paired with

the name of a residential area where
drinking sessions around a wine cask
are de rigueur. Dubbo handbag. See
briefcase.

noun. Child; child surfer, skater or

snowboarder.

gronk

noun. Loser, idiot. Stop acting like a

gronk, Jase!

hard-case

gronk out

adjective. 1. Very funny, funny as.

That was hard-case, bro. 2. Horrible
and unexpected. That accident back
there was hard-case. A term of Kiwi
origin.

verb. Go home to bed, to crash.

Sorry guys, but Im going to gronk out.

grunge

adjective, noun. See grunger.

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H

hard-core

hek

adjective. 1. Intense, extreme. That

bikkie was hard-core. or Dude, thats so
unfair, your Mum is hard-core. 2. Feared
or fearless. Those lads are hard-core.
3. Fantastic, great. That band is hardcore. All meanings have a sense of
awe-inspiring intensity.

adjective. Cool, awesome.

hell good

(Pronounced with emphasis on hell).

Very, very good. That curry was hell
good.

hilare

hard out

Really cool.

adjective. Hilarious. That movie was

hilare.

harvey norman

ho

haten

hold up

adjective. Mainstream, uninteresting.

Thats a bit harvey norman. From the
retail chain, Harvey Norman.

noun. Derogatory word directed at a

woman. Lisas a nasty ho. Derived
from whore.

verb. Do or say unkind things, express

dislike. Why you gotta be haten on Bec like
that? Shes a cool chick. Derived from
hating.

(Often pronounced hole up) verb. Wait,

hold on one second.

holla

noun. Head start, inside information.

Often expressed as a warning.Heads
up Molly, your Dads on his way over.

imperative verb. Make noise to show

your approval or support. Holla if
youre with me! 2. verb. Understand,
comprehend. Originates from rap
subculture.

heavy

holla at ya girl

hecka

holly

heads up

adjective. Intense or depressing. Ive got

to go to a funeral today. Heavy, man.

I agree/sympathise with what youre

saying.

1. Prefix used as an intensifier. Heckacool, hecka-stupid, hecka-crazy,

hecka-funny. 2. Adjective. Many, lots
of, much. He dissed me a hecka times.

adverb. Overly dramatic. No need to be

all holly about it.

homie

noun. Friend, companion. Whassup

homie? From home-boy.

hectic

adjective. Crazy, full on. Josh smashed

my car up! Thats hectic.

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iced out

hood

noun. Contraction of neighbourhood

and used in the same sense. Yo G, Im
in your hood, whats doin?

adjective. Wearing a lot of bling. Check

out all that bling, youre iced out!

ignoranus

noun. Ignoramus. Im not an ignoranus,

Brett! Malapropism popularised by
Kath and Kim.

hook up

verb. 1. Get intimate, start a relationship. Hey, did you hear Mel hooked up
with that hottie from the club? 2. Kiss
passionately.

ill, illin

noun, adjective. Cool, relaxed, in style.

Dazzas lookin ill tonight totally sick!,
Im just illin with my friends.

hooptie

noun. Large, seventies style American

car. Big, old, beat up car. Check it out,
theres Brendan in his hooptie!

Im out, Im outtie

I am leaving, Im off. Im out This

place is bunk. Derived from Im out of
here.

horse

adjective. Cool.

Im straight

hottie

Im cool, no Im alright, Im good.

Used instead of, or with no thankyou.

noun. Good looking male or female.

Check out that new guy, hes a hottie!

in da house in the house

howling
adjective. Ugly.

indie

adjective. Anti-commercial, anti-establishment or at least pretending to be.

From independent. Originally limited to
indie band but now can describe
anything.

hussy

noun. Mate or friend. My hussy and I

are chillin.

hydro

innit

noun. Marijuana thats grown indoors.

That was some good hydro, mate.
Derived from hydroponics.

Meaningless conclusion to a statement. I went down the shops init. Innit

is a contraction of isnt it? used by
British people at the end of sentences,
mimicked by young Australians who
are amused by British inarticulateness.

ice

insane

noun. 1. bling, jewellery. Check out

the ice on that dude. 2. The toxic drug,
crystal methamphetamine.

adjective. Crazy, great or both. That

ride was insane.
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I
J
K
L

in the house, in da house

jiggy

its all good

jock

Present at a gathering or location.

My man Wills in da house!

noun. Nerd. That jiggy is studying

again.

Everything is under control and fine.

Usually rebutting an accusation.
Justin, are you trying to thieve some of my
CDs? No man . . . quit trippin! Its all
good!

noun. Male who is into sports, especially footy, typically at the expense of
other concerns. This word originates
from jock strap, an American term
for protective underwear generally
worn by football players. Check out the
legs on that jock.

izzle

suffix. Decorative sound used to replace

the middle and end of words starting
with consonants. E.g. I twisted my
leg can become I twizzled my lizzle.
Popularised by American rap artist,
Snoop Dogg.

joshing

verb. Joking. Stop joshing around and get

on with it.

juicer

noun. Obsessive gym junkie on steroids. Look at the muscles on that juicer, he
looks like a freak!

jacked

verb. 1. Thoroughly annihilated,

ruined. Looks like the barber jacked up
your hair. 2. Stolen. What happened to
your car Alex, did it get jacked?

keep it real

Stay cool, be true to yourself.

kickin it

jawsin

verb. Chilling, usually with friends.

Where are you going Nath? Just kickin
it with my mates.

verb. Lying, exaggerating. Shut up Lucy

. . . you be jawsin.

jigga

knacking

noun. Someone whos got a way with

the ladies. Yo, whassup jigga? From
gigolo.

verb. Snacking.
L

jiggin

verb. 1. Dancing. 2. Doing something.

Im just jiggin it here with my friends! 3.
Truanting or wagging. Whatcha doing
in town? Are you jiggin? From jigging.

label whore

noun. Someone who only wears brand

name clothes, often with the label
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LOL, lolz, lulz

displayed. Jen, youre such a label whore.

Whos going to care what brand names
youre wearing?

acronym. Laughing out loud, laugh out

loud. The variant spellings of LOL
can be found on the internet.

lad

noun. 1. One of the boys in a male

bonding sort of way. Hey bra, where
are the rest of the lads? 2. Member of
the lad sub-culture, affecting aggressiveness and indifference to authority.

lolcat

noun. Photo of a cat accompanied by

a humorous caption. A popular distraction amongst cyberslackers.
The lolcats on that website are hilarious.
The lol is from lol.

ladette

noun. Rowdy, rude, boisterous, beerloving and frequently obnoxious

young lady. lad + ette. Popularised
by British TV series Ladette to Lady.

look atchoo

lamo

adjective. 1. Not inhibited by morals or

self restraint, open minded, outgoing.
That chick is loose. One of the old
meanings of the word, with a positive
spin on it. 2. To get drunk. Lets get
loose!

Look at you.

loose

(Pronounced lay mo) adjective. Lame,

done with minimal effort (to the
aggravation of the person who hurls
the insult); pathetic, try-hard.

later

lush

verb. See you later, Im going. Something to say when leaving, and you
want to sound cool. Instead of saying,
Dad wants me home by 11pm, so I have to
go now, you can simply say, Later.

adjective. Nice, cute, adorable. That

guy is lush.
M

lifer

machine

noun. Someone suspiciously enthusiastic about working in a dead-end job.

noun. 1. Very pretty girl. 2. Someone

who is solid, well built.

lets roll

mac, mack

verb. Lets go, its time to leave, its time

to act.

noun. Guy that others want to be like,

a smooth operator. Derived from
Mac-10, a powerful machine gun.

lick, the

adjective. The best. Man, those new jeans

are the lick!

mack daddy

noun. Top pimp, number one player.

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M

macked

meathead

verb. blinged out, dressed up to the

hilt. Where are you going, all macked out
like that?

noun. Stupid person, boofhead.

meh

verb. Flirting with, pursuing or chasing.

You were macking on him, girlfriend.

1. adjective. Expression signifying an

unenthusiastic response. What do
you think of my new band? Meh. 2.
whatever.

mad

messed up

macking

adjective. 1. Good, cool. 2. Plentiful,

extreme. Check out Jai, hes got mad
skills!

adjective. 1. Badly hurt. It was a

bad accident Tim was messed up! 2.
Awesome, good, cool. So, that was
some messed up party is a compliment.

mad dogg

minger

adjective. Cool. Those jeans are mad

dogg.

noun. 1. Uncouth person from a low

socioeconomic background. 2. Ugly
person.

maggot, maggotted

adjective. Extremely intoxicated. Luke

goes hard he got so maggotted last night .

mint

adjective. 1. Cool. Thats mint in

fact, its the bomb! 2. Hot (attractive).
Damn, that girl is mint.

maguar

(Pronounced magwa) adjective. Drunk

in a stylish way. Probably a compound
of maggot and Jaguar.

monged

majorly

adjective, verb. Wrecked, damaged.

adverb. Extremely, totally. It was a

majorly weird experience!

moo

adjective. Bored.

mam

adjective. 1. Mammoth. 2. Hugely

muscular. Wow, that dude is mam. 3.
Built up from working out. Im going
to the gym to get mam.

moolard

man girl

moshing

verb. Incapacitated from the intake of

alcohol. I was totally moolard after 12
pints.

noun. Athlete whose claim to be female

is unconvincing, due to the influence
of steroids.

verb, noun. Jumping up and down and

head-banging to music in the moshpit at a rock concert. Everyone was
moshing like crazy at the festival.
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mosh pit

noun. 1. Large area where crowd of

people dance at the front of the stage
at a rock concert. Come on, lets get right
up the front of the mosh pit! 2. The crowd
of people at a rock concert dancing at
the front of the stage. Farout, that mosh
pit was off the chain!

1. Exclamation of resistance. Pick up

garbage? Nah-uh! Not me! 2. Expression
of amazement or awe used when
learning of something incredible.
Matto won $1,000? Nah-uh!

mother, mutha

nailing it sticking it

nah-uh!

noun. Difficult dilemma, hard task.

That job was a mother!

nang

1. adjective. Cool. 2. noun. Nitrous oxide

bulb inhaled for euphoric feeling.

munchies

noun. 1. Sudden appetite or craving for

junk food. A term used by earlier generations for the food craving brought
on by drugs, usually marijuana, now
used more generally, Ive got the
munchies. 2. Junk food or snacks. Do
you have any munchies?

natch

adjective. Naturally irritating. Man,

Ryans always talking so much crap, hes so
natch.

netiquette

noun. The unwritten etiquette of the

internet.

munt

verb. Vomit. She munted in the gutter in

front of everyone!

newb noob

munted

ninjad
verb. Furtively stolen. Carly, some guy
just ninjad your drink.

adjective. 1. Feeling the effects of drugs

or alcohol. I am utterly munted. 2.
Hurt, damaged, even tired. My leg is
munted after that stack. 3. Ugly. His face
is heaps munted.

no diggity

1. Definitely yes. 2. No way, definitely

not. Derived from no doubt.

munter

noun. Aesthetically challenged person,

hecka ugly dude. From monster.

noob, newb, n00b

noun. Inexperienced person, newcomer. Originating in gaming

communities. He doesnt know anything,
hes a noob.

my bad

noun. 1. Sorry, my fault. 2. Expression

admitting to miscomprehension.
Sorry, my bad. Can you repeat that?

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N
O

not

ollie

adverb. Negative. Used at the end of

a statement to reverse its meaning.
That band was great . . . not. Popularised by the film Waynes World.

noun. Aerial skateboarding manoeuvre, in which board and skater lift off
the ground together.

OMG

acronym for Oh, my god! and oshmagod.

off chops

ooft

Peaking on drugs; intoxicated. Check

out Lochie, hes off chops.

exclamation. Used to emphasise a

feeling, or denote that something is
impressive. When waking after a big
night one could say: Ooft! I have a
serious headache.

off your (his/her)

face/head

verb. 1. Drunk or high on drugs. 2.

Lost to reason or good sense, as when
doing something very foolish or crazy.
You told the cops about Robbo? Are you off
your face or something?

OP

acronym. Other peoples, meaning

other peoples alcohol or drugs. So
what did you drink the other night? OP.

off tap

orz zorz

adjective. Awesome, unreal.

oshmagod

off the hook, off the chain

Exclamation. Oh my god. Oshmagod,

what is he doing here?

Cool, crazy, appealing. This party is

off the hook!

old school

out there

1. adjective, noun. Old, classic, vintage.

Im cool with Bob Marley cause old
schools tight 2. adjective. Old, outdated,
obsolete. Hes so old school. Context is
everything with Gen Y.

Unabashed, unashamed of
loopiness.

own

ones

verb. Dominate, win convincingly.

Used mainly in the gaming community. Dude, I totally owned that guy.

olds

noun. Parents. See rents.

oh shut up!

interjection. Exclamation of surprise.

We won? Oh shut up!

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pill

noun. 1. Ball, football, basketball. 2.

Illegal drug.

peace out

expression.
Goodbye.
Sometimes
accompanied by a hand gesture where
you pound your chest with your fist
twice, then give the peace sign at a
horizontal angle (with your elbow up).
Right, Im off. Peace out.

pillin

verb. Peaking on drugs. Look at Gemma,

shes pillin off her head!

pimp

1. adjective. Something very admirable

or desirable. Check out his pimp ride!
2. noun. Man who is popular with the
ladies, and has a lot of girlfriends.

peg

verb. Throw. He just pegged a rock at our

letterbox.

play, played

pez out

verb. 1. String someone along by

pretending to have a genuine serious
interest in them, but with ulterior
motives. I am sorry to say this sweetie,
but he played you. 2. Deceived, hoodwinked, misled. He played you, man.
You fell for it.

verb. Hang out with friends. Interestingly, over a dozen youth terms have
been identified which mean hang
out, but so far none meaning work
with diligence and commitment.

phat

(Pronounced fat.) 1. adjective. Very

good, cool, top notch. His Beemer is
phat! 2. adverb. Acronym for pretty
hot and tempting.

player

noun. 1. Someone who plays the

field. Derogatory or complimentary,
depending on context and who is
using it. Said by one male about
another, it is generally complimentary. What did you get up to last night,
you player, huh? Said by a female to
another about a male, it is derogatory,
even a warning. Dont go near him girl,
hes a player. 2. Man who misleads or
deceives. Used by both sexes. Dont
trust him, hes a player.

phatty

adjective. Incredibly good. Usually said

by someone who is in admiration of a
feat or trick. That 360 was phatty!

piece

noun. Mobile phone. Check out that mad

piece.

pike it

porridge

verb. Let someone down; go home

early. You wanna come clubbing with us?
Nah, I might just pike it guys.

adjective. 1. Boring, dull. This class is

porridge. 2. False or nonsense. What
porridge!

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P
Q
R

pov, povvo

put that on

adjective. 1. Undesirable, unhip. See

Sophies shoes? Yeah, talk about pov!
2. Unable or unwillingly to part with
money. Australian slang word derived
from poverty.

verb. Please confirm. A way of

verifying authenticity, like asking you
swear? Tim got a new car? Put that on?
I put that on!

putting me on blast

prank

Scolding me publicly, yelling at me.

Why was Mrs Ryan putting me on blast?

verb. Call someones mobile phone so

they will have your phone number.

pwn

prang

(Pronounced as pown) verb. Dominate,

beat convincingly. Used as an alternative to own in the computer
gaming community. Dude, I totally
pwned that guy. Came about due to
regular mistyping, since the p and
o keys are adjacent on the computer
keyboard.

adjective. Scared.

probs

adverb. Probably. Will Nat be allowed to

come? Probs not.

puff

adjective. 1. Good, excellent, appealing.

2. Solid and lasting (in contrast with
something which dissipates quickly or
is light and fluffy like puff).

pwnage

noun. Act of dominating or convincingly beating someone, a computer

gaming term. There was some awesome
pwnage in that fight.

pump

adjective. Cool, as in appealing. That

chicks pump.

punch on

Exclamation signalling to opponents

who are confronting each other that
they must start punching each other.
It wasnt even a rough game till some
diptron yelled out punch on!

QP

noun. Quarter pound of marijuana.

How much, bra? A QP.
R

punkd

verb. Embarrassed or surprised by

someone. Caught out by a practical
joke. Ha, ha, you got punkd! From the
American television show of the same
name where practical jokes are played
on unsuspecting celebrities.

random

1. adjective. Unrelated to the situation

or context; totally out there. I didnt
expect you to say that. That was so random.
2. noun. Stranger. This total random just
came up to me and said hi.
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represent

rang, ranga

verb. To claim belonging, earn respect

for yourself and/or your associates.
West Wollongong, represent!

noun. Redhead. From orangutan.

rasta

noun. Non-complying, independent

type (who wears dreadlocks under his
large yellow, green and red hat, like
every other rasta). From Rastafarian.

retro

adjective. 1. Old hat, out of date. 2.

Classic, stylishly old-fashioned. I love
your outfit. Its so retro.

rat

retrosexual

adjective. Ugly, dirty, cheap, no class.

Hes rat.

noun. Person with traditional ideas

about sex and sexuality. Loosen up a
bit, you sound like a retrosexual.

rate

verb. Like, approve of, value. I rate

that.

ride

noun. Mode of transportation, usually

a car. Check out his mad ride!

rave

noun. Dance party (often illegal) held

in a large space such as a clearing or
warehouse. I had so much fun at that
rave on Saturday.

rig

noun. Body. Check that girl out. Smokin

rig, man.

rock up

real

verb. Arrive. Gee, youve rocked up early.

adjective. Honest, down-to-earth, unaffected. That girl is real.

roids

recognise

noun. Steroids. Jakes really bulked up

we reckon its gotta be roids.

verb. Respect. Boy you better recognise!

Sometimes pronounced recugnise in
imitation of Kim in Kath and Kim.

roll with

Hang out with. I roll with Jamie and

them.

regulate

verb. Take enforcement action. Punish

or hurt. Man, if you dont stop buggin
Im gonna have to regulate!

rollin

verb. Chilling, hanging out, relaxing.

Im rollin wit da boyz.

rents

rough

noun. Parents, old folks. My rents went

feral when they found out I wagged.

adjective. Good, well done, venturesome. Those moves are heaps rough!

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R
S

rude dude

careers expo was great! There was heaps of

stuff to scam.

noun. Someone who mistakenly thinks

he or she is cool.

score

verb. Get something free or for a small

charge. Look what I just scored!

scrap

safe

adjective. Cool, all good, under control.

Need a hand? Na man, its safe.

verb. Fight.

saffa

1. noun. Someone undesirable. Man, I

aint hangin out with them scrubs! 2. verb.
Trip over or fall down, usually hurting
oneself. Didja see Steve scrub when he
was trying to hop that rail?

scrub

adjective. Coolest of the cool.

sally

noun. Fight. Oshmagod! Did you hear

about that sally between Mick and Jason?

secks

adjective. Desirable. Check out my pokemons! Secks.

salty

adjective. Exhibiting a bad attitude

towards someone or something. Dont
be gettin salty with me.

shabby

adjective. In fact the opposite of shabby

cool, smart, da bomb. That outfit
is totes shabby.

say my name!

Exclamation used to intimidate or in

celebration. If your team just scored
you might yell, Say my name, gronk!.
Alternatively you could just cheer.

shallow

adjective. Unfunny. Man, that was

shallow.

scab

shame on your name

1. verb. Ask for something that belongs

to someone else, cadge, bludge off
someone. Hey man, can I scab a smoke?
2. noun. Someone who begs and
borrows as a way of life, takes what is
rightfully anothers. She just went to my
wardrobe and picked out an outfit to wear.
What a scab!

Shame on you. A cheeky phrase

used to accuse people of humiliating
themselves or doing something selfish.
I cant believe you got with that sluzza.
Shame on your name! Originally a Kiwi
expression.

shawty shorty
sherbet

scam

adjective. Excellent or pleasing. Why

say thats good when you can

verb. Get freebies or discounts a

key ambition of Generation Y! The
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shut up!

demonstrate just how cool you are by

saying thats sherbet?

Expression of incredulity. As if to say,

Really? Rach is going out with your
brother. Shut up!

shevel

noun. Article that enables a person to

become shevelled, the opposite of
dishevelled. Classic example is a scarf
or sarong, for protection from sun,
dust, etc. Wheres my shevel?

sick, sik

adjective. 1. Cool, awesome. 2. Extremely good used to describe a manoeuvre, such as in an extreme sport. That
was a sick ollie, braw! (You could also
say that was some ill ollie but dont say
it was an unwell ollie.)

shindig

noun. Party. Lets go to that shindig

on Saturday night. Its meaning has
become less specific and is no longer
limited to dances.

skag

noun. Ugly girl or young woman.

Sometimes used to insult a woman
without implying she is ugly or disreputable. Get over it, skag!

shorty, shawty

noun. Good looking woman. See that

shorty over there? Im gonna make her mine.

skank, skanky

shorty snap

adjective. 1. Promiscuous yet undesirable. An insult usually directed at

women. 2. Trashy typically referring
to an article of revealing clothing. Its
a bit skanky. I wouldnt wear it. A sixties
youth word that has later spread
internationally.

noun. Someone who is hot or attractive.

shot

adjective. That was right; that was

hot. Used positively to acknowledge
something good.

skeg

shotgun

noun. Skater, someone who is involved

in the skateboarding subculture.
Check out that skegs moves!

verb. I bags the front seat. Nobody is

allowed to deny the first person who
calls Shotgun! Evolved from the
American coaching practice of riding
shotgun travelling armed in the seat
beside the coachman.

adjective. Dodgy, sinister. What are they

up to? Looks a bit sketchy.

shotty

skippin

sketchy

verb. Wagging, deliberately avoiding

school. Are you skippin school?

exclamation. Bags, I claim. One of

thems got a walnut on top. Shotty!
Shotty front! means I bags the front
seat! From shotgun.
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skirt

snap

1. Exclamation used by someone

shocked or scared by another who
randomly grabs attention. Boo!
Oh snap! 2. Exclamation conceding
that someone has scored a point or
established a position; touch.

noun. Effeminate male. You are such a

skirt, man!

slag

1. noun. Unattractive or disreputable

female. Like skag, sometimes used
to insult a woman without implying
she is ugly or disreputable. 2. verb.
Insult. Gabe was slagging you off behind
your back the whole time.

snide

verb. Obtain goods or services by

eloquent dishonesty, or underhand
means. While my mate was checking out
that bird at the bar, I totally snided his pie
from his plate and scoffed it.

slammin

adjective. Awesome, outrageous. Thats

a slammin outfit.

so

slap up

adverb. Very much. Traditionally used

as an intensifying adverb for lone
adjectives, so has become an intensifier
for whole clauses, predicates, phrases,
etc. Usage may have gained popularity from TVs Friends. Chandler: That
is so not the opposite of taking somebodys
underwear! Joey: So didnt know that, but
you should have seen your faces.

verb. Beat up. Did you see those two girls

slap up each other?

sluzza

noun. Loose person. From slut.

skux

noun. Someone who is on top of things.

smak

solid

noun. An untruth, usually a negative

or derogatory comment or conversation about (or to) another person. He
be talking smak bout me.

1. adjective. Reliable, genuine. Hes

really solid. 2. noun. Favour. Hey man,
can you do me a solid?

sound

smackety smack

adjective. Cool, great, well liked.

Nothing to do with a logical argument! Sure Tonys flaky but at least hes
sound.

noun. Good mate. Whats up smackety

smack?

smashed

adjective. Drunk.

soz

Sorry. Soz babe, I couldnt help it.

smokin

spade work, spading

adjective. Hot, impressive. That car is

smokin!

noun, verb. Flirting, pursuing, laying

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stinger

the groundwork for a relationship

with another person.

noun. Attractive girl. Opposite to

stanger. Straight up, shes a stinger,
dawg.

spent

adjective. Tired. Man, Im spent.

stingers

spenk

Nice work.

adjective. Gorgeous, pleasing to the eye.

Wow! Your top is so spenk.

stoked

adjective. Extremely happy. Originally

a skater and grunge term. Im so
stoked I passed that test.

sprung

adjective. Obsessed with, usually in a

romantic way. Shes so sprung on that
guy, its pathetic.

straight up

1. adjective. Honestly; Im being straight

with you. Straight up, I swear. 2. adverb.
Totally, simply. Uttered mid-sentence
when no other cool sounding words
come to mind. He just straight up told
me that he liked me! Oh, straight up!

srigh

adjective. All good, everythings okay.

Dude, you want a hand with that?
Srigh. From its alright.

standard
adjective, noun. Goes without saying.

stralia, straya

Im sprung on her. Yeah, standard.

adjective. Cool, great. Were going to

Libbys party tonight! Stralia!

stanger

(Rhymes with banger) noun. Very unattractive girl. His sisters such a stanger!

studged

verb. Stood up or forgotten about.

Will studged me last night so that he could
hang out with his mates.

step off

verb. Back off. A warning.

sup

sticking it

whassup. Sup dude?

verb. Pulling off a feat or trick; landing

a trick on a board, motocross bike,
etc. Did you see Nathan sticking it out there
on the wake board?

swag

adjective. Frightening, thrilling. That

jump was swag.

stiff

swarve

adjective. Unlucky. I missed out on tickets

to Pyramid Rock this year. Ohhh, stiff !

adjective. Cool. Look at my new mobile.

Swarve. Most likely from suave.

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S
T

sweet

tomato

(Can be pronounced as saw-wheat.) 1.

adjective, adverb. Very good, excellent,
often followed by the ubiquitous as.
His ride is sweet as! A nineties term
still widely used. 2. sentence substitute.
Expressing approval. Okay, sure
thing. Ive just uploaded that pic of you
from the party. Sweet.

adjective. Shy.

tomoz

noun, adverb. Tomorrow.

tool

noun. Someone who is socially inept or

doesnt fit in, a loser. You can be such a
tool sometimes.

tosser

noun. Untrustworthy person, someone

who says one thing and does another.
You cant trust that guy. Hes a tosser.

tax

verb. Borrow or steal. I taxed my

brothers iPod.

totes

that bites

adverb. Totally. Blake is such a try-hard.

Totes.

Thats unfair and unfavourable. A

phrase acknowledging that circumstances are unfair and unfavourable.
After all that driving, the beach was closed
and we didnt get a surf. That bites!

touch down

exclamation. Excellent, top job. Mark

Holdens signature catch phrase made
popular by the reality TV series, Australian Idol.

the man

noun. A guy who is extremely cool.

Hey, you the man!

trap

noun. Very pretty girl.

thrash

verb. Wear out. I totally thrashed that

board, need a new one now.

tribe virtual tribe

ticket

verb. Doing something others find

strange or bizarre, going over the top.
Girl, why you trippin . . . he aint all that!
Derived from tripping on a hallucinogenic drug.

trippin

noun. Party pill. Got any tickets on you

tonight?

tight

adjective. Good, very nice. See that

burnout? Tight!

trippy

adjective. Strange, unexpected, surreal.

Man, that movie was trippy.

toasted

adjective. baked.
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true

adjective. Awesome, cool.

vaycay

try-hard

noun. Vacation. So, did you have a good

vaycay?

1. adjective. Uncool, pathetic; trying

to seem cool with the opposite effect.
An old person moshing at The Big Day
Out, embarrassing his or her teenage
children thats try-hard. 2. noun.
Person who tries to seem cool with no
prospect of success. He just looks like a
try-hard to me.

vintage

noun. Old-fashioned but stylish. Said

of clothing and accessories. That
dress is very vintage.

virtual tribe

noun. Online gang or group of users

who go by or are known by a name,
such as the goths or the smart
kids.

uber

prefix. Ultra, extra, very. That game is

uber-cool. German for over.

uberise

wacked, wack

verb. Prefix an English word with uber

to make it sexy or cool. Monica uberises
all her words. Its so annoying!

adjective. No good. A bad situation. Its

wack you cant get fireworks in Canberra
anymore.

ubertosser

waggin

noun. A person who overuses the term

uber. Man, youre such an ubertosser!

verb. Ditching or skipping school.

wally

uggers

noun. Unattractive or awkward male.

I reckon Toms kind of cute. Cute? I
reckon hes a wally.

adjective. Unattractive, hideous. From

ugly.

unf-unf doof-doof

wasted

adjective. Intoxicated yet another

word for it. You were so wasted last
night.

unit

noun. Person with an admirable physique. Hey, check out that unit.

watta what the

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W

were up

what up? whassup?

verb. 1. Time for us to go, lets roll.

Hey, were up! 2. Its our turn, Whos
gunna play pool next? Were up.

whitebread

adjective. Plain, traditional, nondiverse. To a global generation that

has known nothing but cultural and
gender diversity, something that is too
vanilla or whitebread can appear
boring and mundane.

westie

noun. Someone who is uncouth. Did

you hear the way she spoke to her toddler?
Yeah, I know, what a westie! Originally
reserved for residents of Sydneys
western suburbs, now used more
generally, though mainly in Sydney.

whoop

verb. 1. To beat up. You mad doggin me?

Ill whoop you so bad your cousin will cry!
2. To beat someone in a sport. We
whooped their team 16 to 6!

whassup? what up? sup?

wha up?

interrogative. Whats up? How are you

going? Good to see you.

whos your daddy!

Exclamation of victory or retort. Not

a question of paternity, but a cry bellowed straight after a triumph. After
scoring a goal, you might yell Whos
your daddy!

whatever

Rejoinder intended to show that the

speaker is unimpressed, not interested, or regards what has been said
as unimportant. Yeah, like whatever!

wigger

whatevs

noun. White person who imitates

American ghetto ways. Eminem
has acquired wealth and fame as one
of a handful of white boys who
have made it big in the world of rap.
They are the few successful wiggers.
For others it is an insult.

Whatever you like is fine.

whats doin?
Whats up?

what the, watta

interjection. Whats going on? Whats

that all about? It can be asked about
anything which is seemingly absurd,
or very puzzling. Shortened from
what the (expletive), this phrase
now suffices on its own thanks to
Roves usage of the phrase on Rove
Live. See wtf.

wig out

verb. Become fearful, lose control of

ones emotions. He lost the plot, did you
see him at Kates? He totally wigged out!

wit

preposition. With.

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yo, yo

wobble roo

Phrase used to grab somebodys attention, like hey. Sometimes shortened

to yo. Yo, yo, whatcha up to mate?

noun. Road kill. Man, did you see that

wobble roo? Thats wacked!

word, word up

you go

Amen. Thats the truth. Used to

endorse a statement or opinion, as in
church they say Amen.

Good for you, more power to you.

Usually used with girl. You go, girl!

work it

you killed it!

Said when someone says something

that isnt funny and, consequently,
kills the joke.

verb. Show the world whatcha got.

Yeah, you work it, girlfriend!

WTF

Acronym for What the (expletive). See

what the.

zorz, orz

wump

Suffix used by computer nerds to

intensify the meaning of the preceding word. This place is totes lamezorz.

noun. White male. From the 90s movie

White Man Cant Jump. Wump is a
compound of white and jump (from the
movie title) and is more of a cheeky
term used to generate laughter than
a derogatory word. What up, wump?
Y

yall

All of you, yous. From you all, originating in Americas Deep South. Yall
coming with me to the beach?

ymum

Comeback used in general conversation. Often used in a comical, rather

than an offensive way. Youre the one
who got us lost! Ymum!

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Have you got a word?

As researchers we are always keen to hear from you. As we have discussed, the English language is changing, and there are always new
words and new generations coming to be, so please let us know for
future updates. Go to www.wordup.net.au or contact us by email, post
or phone (see page 2).
Other publications by Mark McCrindle

The ABC of XYZ: Understanding the Global Generations

Based on more than a decade of research, The ABC of XYZ is designed
for educators, business managers and parents who want a short and lively
introduction to Australias living generations. The book explores what a
generation is and the trends that are emerging for the future. It examines
generational conflicts in the school, home and workplace, and the ways in
which they can be understood and resolved.
Visit www.theABCofXYZ.com to order your copy now.
The Power of Good: True Stories of Great Kindness from
Total Strangers
Seventy short, heart-warming stories of acts of kindness by strangers, with
contributions by prominent Australians, including Tracey Spicer (former
Channel 10 News Presenter), Morris Iemma (former Premier of NSW),
Professor David de Kretser (Governor of Victoria), Father Chris Riley (Youth
Off the Streets), David Richardson (Today Tonight), Reverend Graham Long
(Wayside Chapel), Tim Fischer (former Deputy Prime Minister), Geraldine
Brooks (Pulitzer Prize winner), Justine Davies (The Australian), Peter FitzSimons
(best-selling author), Sara Groen (Seven News) and many others.
Go to www.mccrindle.com.au to order your copy. The Power of Good is available in all good bookstores.

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