Spit the dummy Meaning: To indulge in a sudden display of anger or frustration; to lose one's temper. A similar display of when an infant spits out their pacifier “dummy” and bursts into a hysterical crying fit. Example: “He spat the dummy when he didn't get the promotion”.
Lemony means annoyed, as in, I got lemony at the kid. This piece of Aussie slang dates back to the 1940s.
Aussie slang features plenty of colourful ways of saying someone is throwing a tantrum or losing their temper. Aside from spit the dummy, the most well-known phrases include chuck a micky and chuck a wobbly.
Aussie Word of the Week
A blue is a fight, dispute or row. You can bung on a blue, stack on a blue or turn on a blue. The slang word has been around since the 1940s and is used to refer to everything from fisticuffs at the pub to a brawl on the footy field.
Aggro: means angry, aggressive or something that may cause aggravation. “I hope my housemate cleaned up their dirty dishes because I don't want to get aggro.”
Cranky : in a bad mood, angry.
verb (used without object),whinged, whing·ing. British and Australian Informal. to complain; whine.
Goss is a common Aussie abbreviation of gossip but perhaps the most well known of all is yarn. Mainly meaning to talk or chat, the verb sense of yarn means to gossip. Backbiting is a more malicious form of gossip.
noun,plural dron·gos. Australian Slang. a stupid or slow-witted person; simpleton.
gronk (plural gronks) (Australia, derogatory, informal) An unintelligent and callous person.
But a number of widely-used words that have either originated in Australian English, or where the first evidence and primary usage is Australian. These include 'petrolhead' (a car enthusiast), 'ratbag' (a troublemaker), 'rustbucket' (a dilapidated car) and 'wheelie bin' (a large two-wheeled bin for household rubbish).
Dinger. The term 'dinger' may have originated from popular culture, such as television shows, movies, and music; however, it's unknown exactly when the term was first coined. It's commonplace to refer to a condom as a 'dinger' in Australia.
This could occur because the word “no” is an example of what linguists call an open syllable, meaning it has no consonant at its close. This allows the speaker to lengthen the vowel and draw it out – a feature we love in different Australian accents!
While some Australian speakers would pronounce “no” as a diphthong, starting on “oh” as in dog and ending on “oo” as in put, others begin with an unstressed “a” (the sound at the end of the word “sofa”), then move to the “oh” and then “oo”.
sook (plural sooks) (Australia, Atlantic Canada, New Zealand, slang, derogatory) A crybaby, a complainer, a whinger; a shy or timid person, a wimp; a coward. Don't be such a sook. (Australia, Atlantic Canada, New Zealand, slang) A sulk or complaint; an act of sulking.
Nippers are young surf lifesavers, usually aged between 5 and 14 years old, in clubs across Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Unlike senior surf lifesavers, the majority of them do not patrol the beaches. The focus for Nippers tends to be on fun, and surf awareness.
Contributor's comments: Another word for really drunk, or under the influence of excessive alcohol: "Chris was really maggot last night." Contributor's comments: to be really drunk: "I was really maggot last night."
Aussie Word of the Week
You may know that a nipper is a child, as well the name for a junior lifesaver, but did you know that a nipper was also a young lad on a construction site or in a mine who did small odd jobs, such as making tea and buying lunch? This meaning of nipper dates from the 1910s.
noun. informal, mainly Australian and NZ a fool; idiot.
Mickey Mouse
Well, this Australian slang phrase has nothing to do with him. In Australia, if someone reacts with a loud “Mickey Mouse!” to an idea or a piece of news, they just mean “Great”, “Excellent” or “Very good”.
Sheila = Girl
Yes, that is the Australian slang for girl.
A phrase with a bit more of a fluid motion to it is to give someone the flick. This also means to dismiss, sack or send someone packing and has been Aussie slang since at least the 1980s.