• billwashere@lemmy.worldEnglish
    3·
    16 hours ago

    Fuck me dead I was just trying to nut out.

    I feel like I could be Aussie. Especially if I get to call people a cheeky cunt with no repercussions.

  • TerraRoot@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    311·
    2 days ago

    “Oh, you don’t wanna go to Bugarup,” said Remorse. “Nothing in Bugarup but a bunch of wowsers and pooftahs.” “’s okay, I like parrots,” mumbled Rincewind, who was just hoping that they would let him go so that he could hold on to the ground again. “Er…what’s Ecksian for going mad with terrified fatigue and collapsing in a boneless heap?” The men looked at one another. “Isn’t that ‘snagged as a wombat’s tonker’?” “No, no, no, that’s when you chuck a twister, isn’t it?” said Clancy. “What? Strewth, no. Chucking a twister’s when…when you…yeah, it’s when you…yeah, it’s when your nose…Hang on, that’s ‘bend a smartie’…” “Er—” said Rincewind, clutching his head. “What? ‘Bend a smartie’ is when your ears get blocked underwater.” Clancy looked uncertain, and then seemed to reach a decision. “Yeah, that’s right!” “Nah, that’s ‘gonging like a possum’s armpit,’ mate.” “Excuse me—” said Rincewind. “That ain’t right. ‘Gonging like a possum’s armpit’ is when you crack a crusty. When your ears are stuffed like a Mudjee’s kettle after a week of Fridays, that’s ‘stuck up like Morgan’s mule.’” “No, you’re referrin’ to ‘happier than Morgan’s mule in a choccy patch’—” “You mean ‘as fast as Morgan’s mule after it ate Ma’s crow pie.’” “How fast was that? Exactly?” said Rincewind. They all stared at him. “Faster’n a eel in a snake pit, mate!” said Clancy. “Don’t you understand plain language?”

      • TerraRoot@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        1·
        6 hours ago

        Sand sailing ragatta, ya wot? I often find my self after reading good books picking up the slang a little, if I start saying “no worries” more often my wife will know I’ve been reading Terry Prachett

  • Random Dent@lemmy.mlEnglish
    322·
    2 days ago

    I happens as a Brit too. Recently I casually used the phrase “use your loaf” around some North Americans. I then had to explain that loaf = loaf of bread = head. They were like “why” and then I had to try to explain the concept of Cockney Rhyming Slang, and then there was a barrage of questions about the origin of Cockney Rhyming Slang and all the other examples. I don’t know, I’m not even Cockney!

    • tetris11@feddit.ukEnglish
      5·
      2 days ago

      I once used the phrase “put some mustard on their custard” and got some pretty strange looks

    • Hossenfeffer@feddit.ukEnglish
      6·
      2 days ago

      When I worked in the states, my team bought me a superman flag so I could wave the S-flag whenever I was being sarcastic. Because otherwise they wouldn’t spot it.

      • axx@slrpnk.netEnglish
        6·
        2 days ago

        Americans being amazed that non-Americans are not American is still a reliable trope.

    • dream_weasel@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      5·
      1 day ago

      The only thing we do with a loaf is pinch it. And I don’t mean steal…

      As for rhyming slang, just… how? Lots of things rhyme with so many other things and syllables apparently don’t even matter (see apples and pears).

  • EvenOdds@lemmy.zipEnglish
    6·
    1 day ago

    I’ve had strange looks when I say “crack the shits” or just “crack it”. Take it for granted that everyone uses these terms.

    • mig@lemmy.worldEnglish
      6·
      1 day ago

      And what would everyone be using these terms to describe?

      Pooping? Being tough on crime? Solving a problem? Bullying delinquent children? Or maybe finishing a difficult piece of work.

      • flubba86@lemmy.worldEnglish
        4·
        17 hours ago

        The phrase “to crack the shits” means when someone gets pushed over the threshold to become angry. Like “I used all the milk and Dad cracked the shits”. Or “None of the students in the class completed their homework so the teacher cracked the shits”. Or “everyone’s going to crack the shits if we don’t get a pay raise this year”.

  • flubba86@lemmy.worldEnglish
    8·
    2 days ago

    Not sure if it needs to be pointed out… to “nut it out” doesn’t mean what Americans think it means. It means to use your head to come up with a solution. The nut is your head.

  • Rugnjr@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
    83·
    2 days ago

    Happens the other way too. Used to work in IT with Australians and it was hard for them to stifle giggles whenever I was talking about routing packets or routers.

    For them, “rooting” means fucking

      • Whats_your_reasoning@lemmy.worldEnglish
        23·
        2 days ago

        I live in the US. For me a computer router is pronounced with an “ow” sound. Like if a Brit were “having a row” with someone, but with -ter at the end. Changing course (“rerouting”) also uses that pronunciation. However, highway “routes” can be pronounced with that same vowel, or as “root” like a plant root.

        Which way is “correct” by Kiwi standards?

  • ParadoxSeahorse@lemmy.worldEnglish
    55·
    2 days ago

    You can just make them up

    “You can’t fling a dick in a pond without lunging a tugworm”

    “Flock me a dozen cranberries and I’ll show you a real bandana”

    “Eatin’s alright for the kanga, it’s the Joey’s that’ll cunt up your goomers”.

    They’re all shit but you get me

    • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.dbzer0.comOPEnglish
      18·
      2 days ago

      You can just make them up

      Sure, but if your boss and/or HR finds out, you’ll probably get in trouble for it unless your workplace is much cooler about that sort of thing than most 🤷🏻

      It’s true, though. Flinging a dick in a pond would entail some changes in the laws of physics, tugworm or no 😄

  • rumba@lemmy.zipEnglish
    23·
    2 days ago

    I had a friend from Aus, she was doing nanny work. The first time she went to a baseball game and the baseball song came to “let’s root root root for the home team”. Apparently, root means to fuck.

  • FistingEnthusiast@lemmy.worldEnglish
    57·
    2 days ago

    In New Zealand, a “dag” is someone who has a good sense of humour and is fun (unlike in Australia where it has cringy connotations)

    Explaining to a Yank that calling someone a shitty piece of wool, stuck to a sheep’s arse is a compliment takes some convincing

    And then there’s “cunt”…

    • PapaStevesy@lemmy.worldEnglish
      5·
      2 days ago

      Explaining to a Yank that calling someone a shitty piece of wool, stuck to a sheep’s arse is a compliment takes some convincing

      What word are you referring to here? I don’t know of any American slang that means a shitty piece of wool stuck to a sheep’s ass, *dingleberry" is the closest we got and that’s not species-specific. The only thing I can think of that dag means/has meant in America is a minced oath, for either God or damn (“dagnabbit”, “dag yo”). Add an O on the end and you get a largely archaic racial slur for Italian people or a highly-localized regional sandwich. Didn’t know about the sandwich until I was driving through NE Minneapolis and saw a bar sign advertising “Dagos & Liquor” and briefly had to clutch my pearls until a local explained.

    • Broadfern@lemmy.worldEnglish
      18·
      2 days ago

      I love the Aussie (and I presume Kiwi as well) use of the word “cunt.” Y’all have made it so fun 😄

      • luciferofastora@feddit.orgEnglish
        7·
        2 days ago

        Is it the Aussies that use it as a universal, context-sensitive way to refer to people in general, but usually in a friendly or endearing way?

        English isn’t my first language, so I just pick up bits and pieces that I like and make my own dialect. No clue where I pick them up, but they’re mine now.

    • 𝙈𝙞𝙖@quokk.auEnglish
      8·
      2 days ago

      In AustraliaIve always associated a dag with someone who dresses very idgaf; Stained trackie dacks, does whatever makes them happy without social concerns, etc. it’s slightly affectionate.

  • Courtney (she/her/they) @lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
    37·
    2 days ago

    “fuck me dead” wouldn’t even get a reaction from me. I’m used to off the wall phrases, and as long as I can figure out contextually what is being said, I’ll roll with it.

  • taiyang@lemmy.worldEnglish
    25·
    2 days ago

    Imagine your main exposure to Australian lingo is from the kids show Bluey and at and some point mum goes “fuck me dead.”