My Aussie Slang Test Failure, and the 26 Words That Got Me 100%

There’s a lot more to us than our speech

Photo used under license from JumpStory. Callout boxes added by Author.

I came across a list of Australian slang words yesterday, presumably written as a guide to those who’ve come across the seas to share — or visit — our boundless plains.

Since the Aussie dialect is my mother tongue, I thought I’d take a gander at how our southern vernacular might appear to an outsider.

Well! What a shock!

It turns out that if the list was a test of citizenship, I’d only be 50% Australian. Truth be told, my DNA pegs me at 51% Scandinavian (something that’s recently prompted a mindblowing change in my shared-bed sleeping habits ) but that’s no excuse for failure to live up to the mark, is it?

Here’s the test — I mean list — if you’re interested. You get one point for every word or phrase that’s part of your everyday vocabulary.

Why I Failed #1: The Swearing

Apparently true Australians have a penchant for expletives. Seems I lost quite a few points there!

Call them swear words, cuss words, potty mouth, whatever you like — I never picked up the habit and can’t see a compelling reason to start now. It’s all cruft to me. I’d rather call a spade a spade, even if it…