HING!There are so many words shortened with an "ie" I can't even begin to count. The most obvious to Americans being "barbie" for BBQ. Of course no one here says "shrimp" but "prawns" so the saying "throw another shrimp on the barbie"was definitely geared towards Americans. Then there is breckie, rellies, mozzies, prezzies=breakfast, relatives, mosquitoes, presents. Afternoon is shortened to "arvo", gossip is simply "goss" and margarine is just "marg". Even on a serious newscast the anchor kept referring to the "sus" since suspect just takes way too long to say.
They also do a bit of the rhyming slang that the Irish do that has always escaped my American understanding. For example "britto" can mean beer because beer rhymes with Brittany Spears. Matt's Mom is good at coming up with these rhyming examples.
But the best are just the little sayings. Cheryl says "Grouse!"alot which in time I learned means "great." It's very cute when she says it ...if I say it somehow grouse sounds more like a rodent type creature. "Flat out like a lizard drinking" is another one I like meaning "very busy". But my favorite is "Fair Dinkum". Now, Australians need to be careful using this around us Yanks as proven by one Sophie Reynolds from New South Wales. On a Delta flight in the USA Ms. Reynolds asked the flight attendant for some pretzels. When the flight attendant answered back that Delta doesn't have pretzels Ms. Reynolds replied "Fair Dinkum." The flight attendant, thinking she had been sworn at, confiscated Ms. Reynolds passport and arranged for three large airport security to meet the plane and escort Ms. Reynolds for interviewing. During questioning the matter was resolved when the meaning of "Fair Dinkum" was found out to be the equivalent of saying "honestly" or "for real".
I am learning slowly. It really can be like a whole new language learning another countries slang. If anyone wants to learn more just click here. http://members.ozemail.com.au/~enigman/australia/slang.html
