Questions tagged [australian-english]
Questions about English used in Australia.
165
questions
1
vote
0
answers
36
views
Origin of the expression “turn the card” meaning to pass on an opportunity
I recently dropped the phrase “turn the card” meaning to pass on an opportunity in an answer of a sister site. While not a common expression, I would have expected most people that I converse with in ...
1
vote
2
answers
105
views
What is the origin of the Australian slang “pommers” to refer to English people? [duplicate]
What is the origin of the Australian slang “pommers” to refer to English people?
(I’m uncertain as to the spelling)
Why is this the term that is used?
0
votes
1
answer
42
views
Is it appropriate to contract text names in a possibly informal sense in an English literature essay? [closed]
I am writing a an essay comparing The Great Gatsby and Pride and Prejudice in English (Australian English style), and to save on word count I wondered if it would be appropriate to refer to them, ...
10
votes
5
answers
2k
views
Word that sounds like 'stircus,' means 'frenzied/frenetic
There's a word people around me used to use a lot, phonetically it would spell 'stercus' or 'stircus', I think.
It was used in a context meaning excitable, frenzied, frenetic, that kind of thing. Like,...
-1
votes
2
answers
129
views
Confused about compound nouns vs. adjectives
I was taught that "ball-point pen" = compound noun, but "ball-point" is NOT an adjective because it doesn't pass the primary tests for an adjective (has adjective-making morpheme, ...
3
votes
5
answers
325
views
Struggling with participle phrases - adjectival vs adverbial
I'm struggling to identify when a participle phrase is adjectival vs. adverbial.
For example: Turning into the parking lot, the girl could see that lines were already forming.
^ "Turning into the ...
0
votes
1
answer
80
views
When is "Northern fall"?
One of my favorite Australian YouTubers keeps saying "Northern" to mean one of "early" or "late", and I don't know which. For example:
The new Pokémon DLC is coming ...
1
vote
2
answers
140
views
Meaning of the word "star" in Australian English?
This is "star" in the context of talking about celebrities. My impression from talking to one Australian is that the word has a negative meaning to refer to a "prima donna" -- ...
2
votes
1
answer
244
views
Where does “work your ring off” come from?
I’ve heard the expression “work your ring off” my whole life in Australia. It means (as I understand it), to work until exhaustion.
But trying to find the origin of the expression has come up empty; ...
0
votes
0
answers
369
views
Informal Australian use of "as" at the end of a sentence
In Australia I have heard expressions such as “It's fully stressful as.” and “All are really skux(?) as.”
What is the meaning or force of this use of “as” at the end of a sentence?
2
votes
2
answers
300
views
Usage of "suss out" in Australian English
What's the meaning of "suss out" in Australian English? (Sydney, specifically) How does it compare with "figure out"?
I've heard the verb used slightly differently than normal in a ...
8
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Origin of Aussie Slang "Stack" and "Stacked it"
Bit of a weird one but I'm wondering where the slang "stack it" in terms of falling over comes from.
Stack:
(Australia, slang) A fall or crash, a prang.
2016 June 19, Tom Williams, “Watch ...
-1
votes
3
answers
415
views
More formal way of saying "fighting until the end"
I'm currently working on a history essay and said "Saladin choose to declare a truce with the Crusaders in 1192 instead of fighting until the end."
It gets the point across but I think it's ...
0
votes
1
answer
76
views
how to interpret a question with a 'where' in the sentence
I am a bit confused on how to intepret a question like the following which has a where in it. The question is
List all towns where Tom stayed 8 weeks or more outside his home town.
I'm not sure if ...
9
votes
2
answers
2k
views
What is the origin of "deadly" as "excellent" in Irish and Australian English?
I wonder what the origin of "deadly" as "very good" and "excellent" is in Irish and Australian English. For example, a satisfied hotel guest might say, "The staff ...
-1
votes
1
answer
679
views
Dialect using "woman" instead of "women"?
If you watch this VICE episode, the presenter sounds like a native speaker, but uses "woman" instead of "women" every time (probably over a dozen times in the 10 minute video).
...
15
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Char a baby sheep?
I was watching a video called "Amnesia day" by Juice Media and I heard this phrase:
Come on straya! Crack a tinnie! Char a baby sheep! Stick a flag on your car! Or on your knob!
I was ...
0
votes
1
answer
315
views
Meaning of "summer" and "winter" in Australian English [closed]
What is the meaning of "summer" (and "winter") in modern Australian English? It means cold time, but in June, July and August, or warm time, but in December, January and February?
12
votes
5
answers
3k
views
Is "peckish" less common in American English than other varieties?
In SuperHolly's video about visiting Australia at around 3:04, Holly mentions coming across the word "peckish" for the first time. As an Australian, I wasn't aware of the word being more ...
0
votes
0
answers
58
views
Could anyone ID this accent?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_QckQZHa1s (the first person to speak)
I was told it's Australian, but the Australians I met sounded very different.
1
vote
1
answer
143
views
Does anyone know if there is a ‘ball-bowl’ merger in Australia?
I live in Australia, and I recently had a moment of confusion when talking with someone who had merged the words ball and bowl. They pronounced it something like /bɔl/. They said fall, small, wall, ...
0
votes
2
answers
224
views
How often do you use 'nowadays' vs 'these days' in your dialect?
I would say that in South Africa, nowadays is rather quaint; something that perhaps Boomers and older or second language speakers would use. Unfortunately, I cautioned a student nearly a year ago ...
1
vote
2
answers
2k
views
Using 'via' properly
I'm an English-learning Japanese student. I want to know if I'm using the word 'via' properly. This is the sentence:
"...by telling Sato how you can meet people even if they live overseas via the ...
0
votes
0
answers
69
views
What is the difference between 'Beer' and 'Beers'? Which is correct? [duplicate]
Thank you for coming.
I want to ask you "what is the difference 'Beer' and 'Beers'?"
I had a job creating ads for foreigner.
So, I made this sentence
→"50% discount on All Beer."
However I had ...
-1
votes
1
answer
161
views
How can one use 'would' and 'could' both, consecutively?
I encountered a sentence in an article. The writer (an Australian) has used both 'could' and 'would' consecutively in a sentence.
The sentence is
But I was determined to make a statement: would ...
2
votes
1
answer
114
views
Exactly what does "range" mean in "to range the bride costume"?
In a news article from Australia, a Kmart spokesperson said, "Kmart Australia regrets the decision to range the bride costume."
I checked various dictionaries including OED, but I could not find an ...
2
votes
1
answer
499
views
Is "swap" an accepted alternate spelling for "swab" in Australian English?
A client from Australia sent us some documents that pretty consistently use "alcohol swap" to describe disinfecting wipes.
So no, this is not a "what do I use if I don't have gin" type of situation; ...
11
votes
8
answers
6k
views
Why do Australians and NZers call snacks/lunch 'crib'?
From another question I found out that Australians and New Zealanders call lunch and snacks crib.
On the Macquarie dictionary site, there are several (user-contributed) theories about why, but nothing ...
3
votes
1
answer
545
views
Is "crib bag" the Australian equivalent of "carryall" in AmE?
I have seen bags labeled "crib bags" on Australian websites. I never really understand what they are precisely or whether "crib" refers to the material or the shape of the bag.
It ...
4
votes
1
answer
622
views
Origin of the saying 'It's a soda'?
We say that something is easy (in Australia at least) by saying that 'it's a soda?' What is the origin of this please? Why soda?
0
votes
0
answers
478
views
Are "one" and "won" homophones in Australian English?
My friend and I are both native speakers of Australian English.
He thinks "one" and "won" sound different and feels "a one-liner" sounds wrong and should be "an one-liner". He does think the two ...
-1
votes
1
answer
77
views
the wording specific to Australia [closed]
Please tell me the wording specific to Australia.
・Carrying on like a pork chop
・Chuck a sickie
etc.
thank you.
3
votes
4
answers
2k
views
What is the difference between ‘Is it free’ and ‘Is it on the house?’
One of my friends said, ‘Is it on the house?’ in Australia, but some felt a little awkward.
Do Australians not usually use the expression, ‘on the house’?
1
vote
5
answers
371
views
Why do U.S. Americans say "a good value" (using indefinite article "a")
Take this example from the Airbnb website: "What would have made this listing a better value?"
This souds absolutely horrible and incorrect to my Australian ears (I would omit the "a"). I've also ...
2
votes
0
answers
978
views
What is the history of the Australian slang word "sleeps" (meaning days)?
What is the history of the Australian slang word "sleeps" to mean 'days'?
I lived in Sydney many years ago and the term was not used then. For the past three years or so I've increasingly ...
3
votes
2
answers
141
views
Multiple pronunciations of "where"
I've been an Australian English speaker my whole life but this was pointed out to me recently. Apparently I've been pronouncing "where" differently or incorrectly? Most of the people around me ...
1
vote
1
answer
72
views
On the double meaning of evaluation
I know that evaluation can refer to both the process and the result, but when you say something is an evaluation of another thing, like fact is evaluation of claim (forgive the choppiness, the ...
2
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Australian English: neighbor or neighbour?
Several sites (say, https://www.grammar.com/neighbor_vs._neighbour, https://proofreadmydocument.com.au/writing-tips/differences-between-american-and-australian-english, https://au.answers.yahoo.com/...
4
votes
2
answers
978
views
Australian English: developed or developped?
According to https://proofreadmydocument.com.au/writing-tips/spelling-tips-the-doubling-up-rule/ and https://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/resources/view/resource/20/, we should spell the past ...
20
votes
6
answers
10k
views
Origin of "It's a fair cop"
After coming across the following questions, Origin of “All right, what's all this, then?!” and Origin of “Well, well, well. What do we have here?”, my curiosity was piqued to try and discover the ...
0
votes
1
answer
553
views
How do you pronounce the word "array" in Australian English?
I am learning accents (differences in pronunciation), and I was wondering how to pronounce the word "array" in Australian English, and how it's pronounced in other variants of the language. Is it AH-...
7
votes
1
answer
1k
views
What connection (if any) is there in Australian slang between 'dinkum' and 'dink' (meaning a ride on bicycle handlebars)?
In an answer to the recent question, What is the American equivalent of a "backie"? site participant Chappo notes that in Australia the word dink is sometimes used as a noun to mean "a ...
0
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Can the word "spunk" [AUS] be used to describe women as well as men?
The word spunk is used to describe an attractive man. Can it also be used for a female? This is an Australian English word.
E.g. :
He's not really a spunk. I mean he's nice but...
1
vote
0
answers
516
views
Why "idea-R-of" in Australia
I am not native english speaker
English is my 2nd Language
When I moved to Australia I noticed people here adding the letter R in between words that ends with vowel and the other that starts with ...
15
votes
5
answers
2k
views
Do native speakers of major English varieties actually say "a software" or "softwares"?
So I've looked up the word "software" around, and I've learned that -ware words are uncountable, and there's even a claim at the Wiktionary entry for this word that "a software" or "softwares" are a ...
2
votes
2
answers
158
views
Why is it okay for word initial /ɪ/ to sometimes be voiced as a /ə/ but not always?
For example what is the rule that says that,
"Enough" (ɪˈnʌf) can be pronounced as /ənʌf/
But for "Introduce" (ɪntrəˈdjuːs) the /ɪ/ can't be pronounced as a /ə/?
0
votes
1
answer
105
views
Help in deconstructing a sentence [closed]
This was a question posed by a friend. I'm myself curious of the answer. I apologize for the explicit content (I left it as is to remove ambiguity). I pretty sure that 'a yuppy fu@k' is a compound ...
2
votes
1
answer
2k
views
What is the meaning of "I’ll be up you for the rent"?
In this video at 1:43, Ray (the guy on the right), says something like:
"And if I ever hear you having your eyes lifted or something done to your chin I'll be up you for the rent too by the way.&...
1
vote
2
answers
578
views
What does the phrase "chuck something in" mean?
I was doing the bilingual subtitling for a video recorded last year, on the first day of same-sex marriage debate in the lower house of Australia. There was a marriage proposal from an MP to his ...
2
votes
2
answers
18k
views
Idiom: Origin of the phrase "a bit how ya going" to mean questionable or 'not quite right'
In Australia, where I live, it is not uncommon for people to describe something as "a bit 'how ya goin''" to mean that it's a little bit dodgy, or not quite right. An example is
"Hey don't you have ...