Australian rhyming slang
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A common feature of traditional Australian English was rhyming slang, based on Cockney rhyming slang and imported by migrants from London in the 19th century. Rhyming slang consists of taking a phrase, usually of two words, which rhymes with a commonly used word, then using the second word of the phrase to represent the word. For example "Captain Cook" rhymes with "look", so to "have a captain cook" or to "have a captain" means to "have a look".
Rhyming slang was often used to create euphemistic terms for obscene words. In recent years this feature of Australian English has declined under the impact of mass popular culture.
The following are some of the more colourful examples.
- 3 KZ - "head", after former Melbourne AM radio station (now Gold-FM)
- Adrian Quist – "pissed" (that is drunk, not the US English sense of "annoyed" or "angry"). Now rarely heard. Named after a well-known Australian tennis player of the 1930s and 1940s.
- bag of fruit – "suit", as in suit and tie.
- Barry Beath - teeth
- billy lids – kids.
- bread crumb – as in bum.
- barry – a "shocker" (as in a poor performance), from the Australian crooner and actor Barry Crocker.
- Bugs Bunny - "money".
- captain – "look", from Captain James Cook, as in "Having a good Captain, are ya?"
- Charley Wheeler - "sheila" - Australian slang for a woman
- china plate – "mate", friend, buddy.
- chunder – to vomit. From Chunder Loo, a cartoon character who was once a regular feature in The Bulletin (not an abbreviation of "watch under", which is a false etymology). Falling out of use as the more common synonyms such as "throw-up", "have a spew", "chuck me guts up" and "be sick" persist. US terms like "puke" or "hurl" are also occasionally used.
- dad n dave - shave*
- darby and joan - "all alone"
- dead horse or race horse – "tomato sauce"
- Dog's eye with Dead horse - Meat Pie with Tomato Sauce
- dog and bone – "telephone".
- dropkick – originally "punt", from "dropkick punt", a kick used in various codes of football. Since the "punt" has now been forgotten, "dropkick" usually just means a stupid person.
- Eau-de-Cologne - "phone" - after a deoderant that was popular in the 60s and 70s
- Fiddly-did - "quid" - after a one pound note. Not used since decimal currency introduced in 1966
- frog and toad – "road", usually in the phrase "hit the frog 'n 'toad" (that is depart)
- good cheer – "beer".
- half-back flanker - "wanker", a position in Australian Rules Football
- Harold Holt – "salt". Derived from an Australian Prime Minister, who disappeared while swimming in the sea, in 1967.
- Harry Holt (see above) – "bolt", as in depart quickly.
- Hammer and Tack - "back"
- Hi Diddle Diddle - "middle", particularly in Australian Rules Football
- Horse's hoof – "poof" (homosexual)
- Hug 'n' kisses - "missus"
- Jack dancer – Cancer, "the big 'C'."
- James Hird - "turd"
- Joe Blake – "snake"
- Les Kiss - "piss", from former 1980s Australian Rugby League international Les Kiss, as in "I'm going for a Les Kiss."
- Loaf of Bread - "Head"
- Mal Meninga - "finger" (used in a sexual nature).
- Meat Pie – try a score in rugby league and union
- Noah's Ark – "shark"
- Onkaparinga - "finger", after place in Sth Australia and blanket manufacturer
- optic nerve – perve
- polly waffle - brothel
- Pork pie, porky pie or porkies – "is a form of lie, typically a white lie. It would be used as in "when I looked into it I realised the whole story was a porky pie."
- Reg grundy's – "undies", underpants, after Reg Grundy, well known Australian television producer. Sometimes also: "reginalds"
- Sausage roll – "goal", as in scoring point(s) for the team.
- scotch tape - "rape", generally used in shortened form "scotch"
- septic (or seppo) – "American", short for septic tank, which rhymes with Yank.
- snake's – "piss", from snake's hiss, as in "I'm busting for a snake's."
- steak and kidney – "Sydney"
- swing and a miss - "piss", from American baseball terminology, as in "Time for a swing and a miss."
- tea leaf - "thief".
- trouble & strife – "wife", as in "I can't come out I gotta stay home with the trouble and strife."
- Warwick Farms – Arms. After the racecourse in Sydney, Australia.
- Westpac banker - "wanker"
