Since the Writers Guild of America is on strike and I had a few days to sit around and recover from some surgeries last month, I needed something to watch as I recovered. Something soothing, sweet, and relaxing—and I found it in Australia’s show, City Homicide.
As my body healed, I watched some of this series and kept a list by my side. Here are some of the phrases that I have learned so far. Here’s what I’ve found in seasons one and two.
| Australian English | American English |
| jacks | police |
| Fell pregnant | Got pregnant |
| Glasgow smile [KC – I apologize to those of Scottish descent.] |
Knife cut from corner of mouth up to ears
Tommy Flanagan, actor |
| Glasgow kiss [KC – And again, mea culpa.] | A headbutt to the nose, usually causing the nose to break |
| dish-licker | dog |
| secondment [KC – Not specifically Australian slang. I’d just not heard this word before.] | From Merriam-Webster: the detachment of a person (such as a military officer) from their regular organization for temporary assignment elsewhere |
| Back in a tick | Back in a second |
| clothes peg | clothes pin |
| dunny | toilet |
| walking frame | walker
|
| servo | Service station; gas station |
| footy | Australian rules football (contact sport; roots from rugby) |
| bikies | bikers |
| bikkies | cookies |
| You look like a dog’s breakfast | You look very messy |
| yabby (yabbies) | Australian crayfish (crawdad; crawfish) |
| gurgler | drain |
| Down the gurgler
[KC – With your bad luck in Vegas, that paycheck is down the gurgler.] |
Down the drain; wasted |
That’s what I’ve gathered so far! I find it interesting that contact sports, headbutts, face-slicing, and motorcycle gang members all sound so cute: footy, kisses, smiles, and bikies. Australia might be a difficult place to figure out if you don’t do some research first. 😊
Enjoy your day!
Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Technical Publications
Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com
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