Sunday 30 December 2018

Fair dinkum


Fair dinkum this is a hot Christmas
Even Ma got crook having to cook
So puts on a face

Bought a box of beaut chockies for Ma
By crikey they melted in the ute
Just like Marble Bar

Kids dead set to have a skinny dip
The creek's water and fish have all gone
On a day like this

Water tank's low dunno how it will go
All the stock are bleating in vain
They're always a pain

So flat out like a lizard drinking
Fixed fence, fed stock and cleaned all their troughs
Hard yakka all done

Then who do I see but brother Bill
"G'day" he says "Been driving all night"
"Could I stay a day?

"Thought I'd have Chrissie in the bush
"Fixed it with Ma, we'll get legless again"
"No worries", I grinned

"Bit of work to do first, don't you see?
Best get that clobber off, lend a hand
You're back on the land!"

T'was best time we had since we lost Dad
Gave hard yakka a rest and Bill said
"How I love "Straya"

Australian slang expressions and meaning:

Beaut                                          Beautiful, Great
Bush                                           Distant countryside
Chrissie                                      Christmas
Clobber                                      Clothes
Crook                                          Annoyed, Sick
Dead Set                                    Intent, True
Dunno                                         Don't know
Fair dinkum                                The truth, The real thing
Flat out like a lizard drinking      Very fast, busy
G'day                                          Polite Hello      
Gorn                                           Vanished, gone
Legless                                       Happily Drunk
Ma                                              Wife (especially with kids)
Marble Bar                                  Hottest town in Australia
No worries                                  No problem, It's OK
Skinny Dip                                  Naked bathing
"Straya"                                      Australia, Home
Ute                                             Utillity, small car sized truck 
Hard Yakka                                Hard work

Image found at https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/485403666061082839/

9 comments:

  1. I love your Australian slang! This is so good! I enjoyed reading it thoroughly.

    ReplyDelete
  2. He's got a head like a robber's dog!
    One of my favourites.

    Happy New Year !

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh this is so real.. such slang I've never heard, and it would take time for me to learn...

    ReplyDelete
  4. One of my favorite NPR shows (Wait, Wait. Don't Tell Me) had a bit about deciphering newspaper headlines written with different slang. I didn't do too bad with UK slang, but Australian slang often stumped me. Thank you for the primer!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Aussie country speak spoken here, Robin. Nice reading too, we use a fair amount of those here in Texas. I know Utes, we saw quite a few in Tasmania. They aren't common anymore in the U.S. since Ford and Chevy quit their Rancheros and El Caminos. Seems I've seen a few Falcons but they may all have been in foreign countries, Australia for sure. I have had small Datsuns and one Chevy S-10 but they were just small sized pickups.
    ..

    ReplyDelete
  6. Enjoyed reading this piece Robin.....and being an Aussie I understood every word.
    All the best for 2019.
    Peggy xx

    ReplyDelete
  7. Replies
    1. Pommy! I've been here since 1966 became a citizen and got Australia prepared for the 20th century!

      Delete
  8. ""Thought I'd have Chrissie in the bush
    "Fixed it with Ma, we'll get legless again"
    "No worries", I grinned"

    cute!!!

    gillena end 2018

    gillena Happy New Year

    much love...

    ReplyDelete