Questions about English used in Australia.
-3
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0answers
43 views
British accent and idioms? [closed]
Is there a tutorial on how to learn British accent and idioms? I moved to new Zealand and i almost cant understand their english. I believe new Zealand uses oxford so i assume they uses British ...
1
vote
1answer
95 views
Why are we supposed to say the “a” as an “e” in “any” and “many”?
I speak Australian English, but I seem to pronounce the words many and anything differently from how the vast majority of people here do so.
I pronounce it using an a sound rather than an e sound ...
8
votes
2answers
248 views
Origin of “cracked the shits”
I heard someone use the expression "he cracked the shits" today which is universally recognised (at least in Australia) to mean "lost his temper".
It struck me that it is a strange expression and the ...
0
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0answers
27 views
English phonetics References [duplicate]
What are some great references on English pronunciation practices?
The book The Big Book of Beastly Mispronunciations was mentioned in an answer on this site.
Is it considered authoritative? What ...
0
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0answers
106 views
Meaning of “flossie” in Australian English [closed]
For a translation I am doing, I need to know what the following term of endearment means in Australian English: flossie.
2
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3answers
81 views
Is “cookie” a recent addition to Australian English?
Wiktionary's entry for cookie says a "cookie" is
(England and Wales) A specifically American-style biscuit.
and Wikipedia's entry for biscuit says
Although in Commonwealth Nations, the term ...
1
vote
1answer
173 views
Are you “Dinky Die”? And what does Dinky Die mean? [closed]
Australia day is nearly upon us! And that means it's time to throw another chop on the barbie and say real Aussie things like "dinky die".
Stone the crows, what's that even mean, "dinky die"? I've ...
3
votes
1answer
177 views
“Ridgy didge” — what's that mean? [closed]
Australia day is nearly upon us! And that means it's time to throw another steak on the barbie and say real Aussie things like "ridgy didge".
Flaming heck, what's that even mean, "ridgy didge"? I've ...
6
votes
2answers
906 views
Why are Australian redheads often called 'bluey'?
From Wikipedia's article on Virgin Australia:
Virgin Australia was launched as Virgin Blue in August 2000, with two Boeing 737–400 aircraft, one leased from then-sister airline Virgin Express. ...
2
votes
3answers
199 views
Is “I'm not racist, but …” more common in Australian English than other dialects? [closed]
Is the phrase "I'm not racist, but ..." more common in Australian English than other dialects? The phrase is used as a prefix to something that's likely to be interpreted as racist, probably because ...
0
votes
2answers
96 views
Is it unidiomatic to say “an Australian person” or “an Aussie person”?
As mentioned in For people, can you say "a British" like you can say "an Australian"?, you can use "an Australian" to talk about an Australian person.
But is it also ok to use "an ...
7
votes
1answer
306 views
Is “early mark” only used in Australia and New Zealand?
What countries is "early mark" used in? It means being let out of something, typically school, early.
onelook.com only reports it being mentioned in Urban Dictionary, and it doesn't have information ...
3
votes
2answers
383 views
Where does “I'll go he” come from, and is there more to the phrase?
I understand the meaning of the saying "I'll go he", but does anyone know where it comes from?
The researcher here seems to think that there is a couple of words left off.
4
votes
1answer
90 views
Origin of “not for quids” phrase
At various times I've supposed the informal Australian phrase “not for quids” (which apparently is analogous to “not at any price”) derives from quid, which refers to sovereigns, or guineas. At ...
5
votes
2answers
155 views
Different dictionary in New South Wales, Australia?
My writing textbook on page 446 says this:
Use local conventions regarding punctuation, spelling, and mechanics. Be aware that these conventions differ from place to place, even in the English ...
23
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6answers
1k views
Does the washing up fairy exist outside of Australia? [closed]
Just to clarify, I'm not talking about the Lush product of the same name.
In Australia, the washing up fairy is a mythical creature. People leave their dishes unwashed overnight, and lo and behold, ...
7
votes
1answer
180 views
Meaning of “work ethics” in Australian English
Inspired by this question, I'm left wondering if the phrase “work ethics” has a slightly different meaning in Australian English than in other dialects.
I came across this term some ...
1
vote
0answers
67 views
Resources for Australian street talk? [closed]
I know of a great series of books called "Street Talk" which tries to cover colloquial American English. Is there any such resources for Australian English? Especially with emphasis on Listening and ...
2
votes
1answer
256 views
Regional usage of “Violet” and “Purple”
I am looking to describe a flower such as the one in the following picture for a game:
After showing the game to a number of beta testers, I noted that about half of them were fine with "violet" ...
3
votes
1answer
154 views
Parenthetical commas and foreign English
I advise a friend on her writing, despite not quite knowing an adverb from a proverb (kidding (kinda)).
Invariably, parenthetical commas such as the following:
Jane, my assistant, opened the ...
0
votes
4answers
355 views
What's the Australian or British way to say 'Ticket collector'? [closed]
I know Indians say ticket collectors while in Australia people are confused with this phrase. Please let me know how you would say that.
7
votes
4answers
721 views
Origin & history of name “she oak” or “sheoak” (a Casuarina tree)
In wikipedia's Casuarinaceae article (and somewhat similarly in its Casuarina article), one finds:
The most widely used common name for Casuarinaceae species is sheoak or she-oak (a comparison of ...
15
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4answers
1k views
Is it awkward to use the word “aubergine” instead of “eggplant”?
According to Google Ngrams eggplant is far more common (although in British English aubergine seems to have a small advantage over eggplant).
So, not being a native speaker of English I wonder ...
3
votes
2answers
239 views
What is the origin and prevalence of the term “server” meaning “wait(er/ress)”?
In a comment on this question, the term "server" is used to refer to the guy working at the register in a pizza restaurant. I have never heard this usage before (in Australia), and was only able to ...
3
votes
1answer
2k views
What is a “hens party” and where is this phrase commonly used?
Where does the term come from, where in the world is the term used?
I came across the usage in this article, with this paragraph as quoted:
Keara O'Neil was on a shopping trip to find bridesmaid ...
6
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1answer
178 views
Origin of “good'o”
Where did the Autralian or British expression good'o come from? What is the 'o part related to?
3
votes
1answer
506 views
Why did Australian English change from spelling words like 'honor' to 'honour'?
I know there are other questions comparing the US and UK usage of o and ou in words like colour. My question is specifically in regard to Australian English. I was always taught that here in Australia ...
8
votes
6answers
2k views
What does “Eleventy-seven” mean?
I came across the following phrase in a story (set in Australia):
So the fact that I'm forty-five and you're eleventy-seven means nothing to me. If other people have a problem with that, then it's ...
0
votes
2answers
200 views
Australians and SR1
This Article in question.
Do Australians still use the Spelling Reform 1 (SR1) officially or unofficially?
It calls for the short /ɛ/ sound (as in bet) to always be spelt with E.
said→sed, ...
8
votes
1answer
1k views
Is Australian English closer to US English or British English?
It would seem obvious to me that Australian English is closer to British English due to the historical events that led to English people living here. But it seems when differences occur that US ...
14
votes
4answers
2k views
How did the Australian accent come about?
Can anybody tell me how the Australian accent came about?
It seems strange to me that it is not more like an English accent taking into account that the first and the majority of settlers were ...
7
votes
5answers
798 views
“I hate when…” vs “I hate it when…”
Growing up in Australia (and with an English mother) we would say "I hate it when " It seems, based on TV and movies, that in the USA it's more common to say "I hate when "
The two phrases mean the ...
8
votes
1answer
327 views
Australian regional shibboleths
I have been living in Australia for 7 years now, and still haven't been able to pin down the local regional accents. I can tell a "Town" from a "Country" accent, but I can't reliably tell which state ...
11
votes
2answers
832 views
Meaning of “Caucasian”
When I search the definition of Caucasian in the NOAD, I find the following definition (it's the first of three definitions):
(often offensive) of or relating to one of the traditional ...
19
votes
4answers
1k views
“Pissed” vs “Pissed off”
In Australian English there has always been a distinction between "pissed" (intoxicated) and "pissed off" (angry, irritated).
I've noticed a trend towards the American usage where "he was really ...
4
votes
2answers
303 views
Equivalences between Australian English and American English
Where can I find a good source (book or web page) of equivalences between Australian English and American English? I am looking for ordinary words, clothing-related words, food-related words, etc.
