In Australia, "thugs" aren't universally called one specific slang word; it depends on context, but terms like "bikies" (outlaw motorcyclists), "hoodlums," "rascals," "hooligans," or even derogatory terms like "bogans" (for unsophisticated/aggressive types) or modern youth slang like "eshays" (wannabe gangsters) might be used, alongside standard terms like "criminals," "gangsters," or "thugs" themselves.
Squizzy, Tankbuster, Lennox and Stokes: the notorious gangsters of Australia's Roaring Twenties. Discover the danger and the drama behind Australia's convict history.
larrikin. larrikin, Australian slang term of unknown origin popularized in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It signifies a young hoodlum or hooligan in the impoverished subculture of urban Australia.
In Australian slang, "goon" refers to cheap, boxed wine, especially the kind in a plastic bladder inside a cardboard box, also called a "goon sack" or "goon bag". The term likely comes from a humorous shortening of "flagon," and it's iconic in student/party culture, often used in drinking games like "Goon of Fortune". While "goon" can mean fool in general English, in Australia, it almost always means this inexpensive wine.
Dodgy: This is an essential word. There is no equivalent in American English. The closest translation would be “sketchy,” but “dodgy” does not have the same lascivious undertones.
(Australia, slang) A fool. (poker, slang, derogatory) A poor player who makes mistakes. (slang) A donkey (the animal).
Bogan (/ˈboʊɡən/ BOHG-ən) is Australian and New Zealand slang to describe a person whose speech, clothing, behaviour, or attitudes are considered unrefined or unsophisticated.
Common Australian slang for a girl includes "Sheila" (older, sometimes dated or slightly derogatory), "chick," or just using general terms like "mate," "gal," or "lass," with context and tone being important, but "girl" is still widely used; some slang, like "moll," can refer to a girlfriend or a promiscuous woman, while "bogan" describes an unsophisticated person.
Woop Woop. Woop Woop is used to refer to a place in the middle of nowhere. People use it to signify that a location is far away, unfamiliar to them, and difficult to get to.
How's it going (or garn)
Translation: How are you? Example: Hey mate, how ya garn?
"Oy oy oy" in Australia is most famously part of the patriotic chant "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi!" used at sporting events to show national pride, but "Oi" also functions as a general Australian informal interjection, like "hey" or "excuse me," to get someone's attention. The chant itself comes from the British "Oggy Oggy Oggy" cheer for Cornish pasties and became popular in Australia after the 2000 Olympics.
mobster (US, slang)
(UK, Australia, colloquial, slang) A popular person; also used as an epithet.
Larrikin. Larrikin is an Australian English term meaning "a mischievous young person, an uncultivated, rowdy but good-hearted person", or "a person who acts with apparent disregard for social or political conventions".
5T was a Vietnamese crime gang active in the Cabramatta area of Sydney, Australia in the final two decades of the 20th century. Arose from Vietnamese Youths who came to Australia with their parents after the fall of Saigon in 1975. Tri Minh Tran was their leader.
Here, the origin of a few other interesting mob nicknames:
The birds have also come to be regarded as a problem species in Victoria as a result of their scavenging activities, scattering rubbish from tips and bins in the process, and earning the widespread nickname "bin chicken". They are even known to snatch sandwiches from picnickers.
A Flaming Galah is Australian slang for someone who is a bit doofus, a bit of a fool, a bit of a mentalist but nonetheless is a very loveable creature. A Flaming Galah is a person who makes a fool of themselves but isn't afraid to laugh at themselves when everyone else starts laughing at them.
"Hoo-ha" (or hoo-hah) slang means a fuss, commotion, or uproar, often about something unimportant, but it can also euphemistically refer to genitalia, especially in more vulgar slang contexts. It can also be an exclamation of surprise or excitement, or even describe a laugh or chortle.
Pommy or pom
Newspapers in Australia were using the term by 1912, with it appearing first in Western Australia, and was said to be short for pomegranate, with the terms "jimmy" and "jimmigrant" also in use. The term Ten-pound Pom refers to British (subsidized) migrants to Australia and New Zealand after World War II.
A "bogan" in Australia (and New Zealand) is slang for an uncouth, unsophisticated, or unrefined person, often from a working-class background, characterized by specific tastes, fashion (like mullets, flannelette shirts), speech, and behavior, though the term can be derogatory, humorous, or even self-adopted, depending on context and intent, referring to a laid-back, anti-establishment attitude rather than just poverty.
Missus. A person's wife or girlfriend. I'm taking the missus out for their birthday.
In our recent survey on classic Australian slang terms bloody featured in 2.28 per cent of the 4523 responses. Elsewhere, we found that it occurs in about 0.2 per cent of sentences Aussies use. So yes, it's used a lot.
"Ozzy Ozzy Ozzy, Oi Oi Oi" (often written as "Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi") is a patriotic Australian sports chant, a rallying cry of national pride, originating from older British cheers like "Oggy Oggy Oggy," with "Aussie" being slang for Australian, and "Oi" functioning as an emphatic interjection, similar to "Hey!" or "Go!". It's used at sporting events, sometimes considered a bit cheesy or "cringey" by some Australians, but generally seen as an inclusive way to support national teams.
Bludger. (Noun) A lazy person. “I'm running around like a headless chook organising this bloody barbie, and Johnno's just sitting there like a bludger!”