Sometimes the word eshay (usually when it's shouted) literally means “run”. Other common vernacular includes, illchay (chill), eetswa (sweet), adlay (lad), ashcay (cash) or gronk (an idiot or irritating person). The most famous Australian eshay would have to be Will McDonald's Ca$h in Heartbreak High.
Eshay's use a combination of modified pig Latin and swearing. Common phrases in their slang include illchay, meaning chill or relax; eetswa, meaning sweet or good; and adlay, meaning lad. Other words include ashcay (cash), gronk (an annoying person), and staunching (stealing from someone).
Noun. (Australia, slang) A member of an Australian youth subculture favouring sportswear and electronic dance music, and commonly associated with criminal activity.
It started out as Pig Latin for sesh or session and eventually became so common it just means "cool" now.
— piper (@piperchamp) September 24, 2022. If you have no clue what an eshay is, I would best describe them as onions. They have layers, and every eshay is different. But to simplify: an eshay is a stereotypical term for an Australian who typically engages in stealing, drug-dealing, and other criminal activity.
Eshays can typically be identified by wearing Nike TN trainers with polo shirts, puffer jackets, tracksuit pants or baggy shorts and baseball caps. Their favourite brands include Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, and Lacoste, paired with Nautica, Adidas, Under Armour and Ellesse.
Australian slang such as "root" and "eshay", liberal use of the C-bomb, as well as Gen-Z terminology like "pick me" are a mainstay in Heartbreak High's dialogue.
March 2021) Eshay (/ˈɛʃeɪ/) is a slang expression associated with an Australian urban youth subculture that originated from Western Sydney in the late 1980s, but which News Corporation coverage has brought into the mainstream since the late 2010s. In New Zealand, "hoodrats" are a similar subculture.
'Fucken Oath' has since become a cult classic and remains the most iconic Eshay track of all time.
gronk. extremely derogatory term for a person less intelligent than oneself: You're such a gronk.
basically, an eshay is the Australian equivalent of the British Chav. Like any subculture, eshays are defined by a set of values, for eshays these include: Outfits: Polo shirts, shorts, trackies, bumbags, speed dealers (90s style sunglasses) and puffer jackets. Brands: Nike, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger and Nautica.
What does Eetswa mean? ' Eetswa' is a term from Pig Latin which is a made up language that uses English words and turns them front and back. Eetswa is mostly used by Eshay lads in Australia. The literal meaning of Eetswa is 'sweet' (also for 'good'). It is also used to say 'thank you'!
Bogan (bow-gun) / Redneck
Britain has chavs, the United States has rednecks, and Australia has bogans. Often spotted in their traditional dress – flannelette shirt, footy shorts and thongs – with a cigarette in one hand, a bourbon in the other, with a mullet shading the tattoos on their neck.
The term eshay has become well established in Australia in recent years, influenced heavily by Aussie hip hop in the early 2000s and given exposure via social media.
Drug dealers, graffiti artists, troublemakers, and criminals have always been notoriously associated with the shoe. For most, this purchase would be deemed extravagant. But for individuals with such a disposable income, looking to create a statement for themselves, the TN represented an expression of their lifestyle.
So Eetswa means “sweet,” or “good,” “well,” “nice.” It takes the “eet” at the end and brings it to the front, and the “sw” at the beginning and switched it towards the end. And that becomes “Eetsway” to complete the word.
The term eshay is similar to the UK phrase 'chav' and can be interchangeable with 'lad', which in turn sometimes becomes 'adlay'.
'Gutter rap' or 'lad rap' was born from the eshay subculture, and was centred around lyrics about growing up disadvantaged in public housing flats.
After making its debut on our shores in 1998, the shoe – widely known as the TN - was soon adopted by problematic youth cultures and became the footwear of choice for “eshays”, groups of young men known for antisocial behaviour.
The word 'Eshay' is a Pig Latin derivative of the word sesh or session, which is the traditional Australian past-time of hanging out, binge drinking and taking drugs in a small to medium group of friends.
Historians and etymologists are still unsure as to precisely where the term bogan originated. Some research suggests the term originated from specific areas around Melbourne's western suburbs during the 1980s. Others believe it comes from communities living near the Bogan River in rural NSW.
WARNING: This contains spoilers for Heartbreak High
Weatherall said playing an Indigenous man like Malakai was really special. "Reading that script the first time, to see a character like Malakai, as an Indigenous man," he said.