Even though Australia was settled by the British, the country has developed it’s own slang language. There are many reasons why the differences have emerged however here the differences will be shown and the reasons are another story and may come later.

British police are colloquially called “plods, bobbies, coppers”. In Australia the word “copper” is used.

When the police, principal, boss or superior officer will punish you, or when someone may get revenge on you a British person would say “They’re going to do you now,” while an Australian person wold say “They’re going to get you” and “They’re going to make you pay”.

A posh person is normally called a “toff” by British speakers, while Australians would use the word “ponce”.

The currency is always called by its proper name. In the UK, “quid” is slang for pounds while in Australia “bucks” is used instead of dollars. The reason for this difference is American influence. In America, “buck” as a slang word for money was influenced by colonial times where Europeans and American Indians used goats, deer, and antelopes as a form of currency.

In Australia if you want to call someone “crazy”, idiotic, unreasonable, blind to danger, short tempered, you normally use the word “nuts” or maybe “nutso”, and for people who are extreme examples; “mad as a cut snake”. In the UK you would normally hear the description “mental”.

Other people are seen as rude, dishonest, neglectful, unpleasant, selfish, lazy or you may dislike them for any number of reasons. In Australia, that type of person is a “jerk”, “rat bag” or “scum bag”. In Britain, the word is “twat”. The British also use the word “twat” to mean “to beat up”, while in Australia people might say “bash” and “pummel”.

These are just some Australian slang word, but watch these blogs because more info about Australian slang just might “pop up” (appear :)).