Slang refers to words of phrases that are regarded as informal language. They are most commonly used speech than writing, and the language is usually restricted to a particular group of people.

Refer to the link below for a detailed list of English slang and languages features for a range of countries

http://www.peevish.co.uk/slang/links.htm

http://www.urbandictionary.com/

Britain

Commonly used British Slang

Refer to the websites below for a detailed list of British Slang

• • The very best of British
• – http://www.effingpot.com/slang.shtml

• • UK council
• – British Slang for International Students
     http://www.educationuk.org/global/articles/uk-slang/

America

Commonly used American Slang

Refer to the websites below for a detailed list of American slang.

• • FluentU: English Language and Culture Blog
• – 20 Essential American Slang words for English Learners
     http://www.fluentu.com/english/blog/american-english-slang-words-esl/

• • Cool American English.
• – Learn American Slang
     http://www.coolamericanenglish.com/american-english-slang.php

• • University of Northern Iowa
• – Popular American Slang words and phrases
     https://www.uni.edu/internationalservices/sites/default/files/popular_american_slang_words_and_phrases.pdf

Australia

Commonly used Australian idioms and slang
Australian slang is widely spoken across the country. It consists of words or phrases that are mainly considered as informal and most often used in speech.

Word	Meaning	Example
arvo	afternoon	What are you doing in the arvo?
Aussie	an Australian	Hugh Jackman’s an Aussie.
away with the pixies	daydreaming	Don’t bother talking to her, she’s away with the pixies.
barby	barbeque	Let’s put some meat on the barby!
bloke	man, guy	He’s a nice bloke
boozer	a pub	I’m going to the boozer for a few drinks.
dipstick	an idiot	She such a dipstick.
dunny	outside toilet	The dunny stinks real bad.
fair dinkum	true, genuine	He’s a fair dinkum Aussie.
fellas	group of guy friends	I’m going to the pub with the fellas.
G’day	Good day! How’s it going?	G’day! How are you doing?
Maccas	Mcdonald’s	Let’s go to Maccas tonight!
mate	friend	He’s a good mate of mine.
mozzie	mosquito	Bloody hell, there’s so many mozzies in here.
Oz	Australia	Visit me in Oz next year.
postie	postman	Has the postie come by today?
rack off!	Get lost!	Stop bothering me, rack off!
ripper	great	The parties going to be a ripper.
sheila	female/woman/girlfriend	Look at that Sheila over there
stoked	very pleased	I’m stoked about tomorrow’s trip.
vejjo	vegetarian	He doesn’t eat meat. He’s a veggo.
yewy	U-turn in traffic	Let’s make a yewy at the lights.

• – Note: Follow the link for more examples of Australian slang.
     http://www.australianexplorer.com/slang/

New Zealand

Commonly used New Zealand Slang

New Zealand slang is widely spoken across the country. It consists of words or phrases that are mainly considered as informal and most often used in speech.

Word	Meaning	Example
all good	everything’s fine	How’s the assessment going? All good!
bonnet and boot	hood and trunk of car	Can you please open up the bonnet and boot?
bro	used in place of ‘mate’ or ‘dude’	What’s up, bro?
buggered	tired	I’m so buggered, I need to sleep.
bugger off	go away	You’re annoying the hell out of me, bugger off!
carked it	to have died	His cat just carked it not long ago.
Chrissie	Christmas	Where are you going for Chrissie?
cuppa	a hot drink, usually a cup of tea or coffee	Would you like a cuppa?
cuz	short for cousin	Hey Cuz, how’s it going?
dairy	a corner shop or mini supermarket	I’m popping to the dairy for some bread and milk
dodgy	bad	That table looks dodgy, don’t buy it.
fizzy drink	soda	I’d like to try your fizzy drink.
gizza	give us a…	That cakes looks delicious, gizza!
Haka	a traditional Maori dance	The All Blacks always perform the Haka before a match .
hard case	a funny or witty person	What do you think of Ben? Oh, he’s a hard case.
hosing down	raining heavily	It’s hosing down outside.
hot chips	french fries	I love the hot chips from KFC better than Macca’s.
jandals	flip flops or thongs	Remember to wear your jandals in the shower.
kick the bucket	to die	He kicked the bucket two days ago.
Kiwi	can refer to a New Zealander, or the country’s national bird	Are you an Aussie or a Kiwi?
knackered	exhausted or tired	I was knackered when I got off duty.
Macca’s	McDonald’s	Let’s go to Macca’s for breakfast.
Maori	indigenous people of New Zealand	The Maori’s always have family gatherings.
piece of piss	describe something that’s very easy	Completing the homework was a piece of piss.
pissed	to be drunk or heavily intoxicated	What happened to him? He got pissed and fell down the stairs.
pressie	presents	I’m going out to shop for some pressies.
rellies	relatives or family	This Easter long weekend I’m visiting my rellies in Auckland.
scull	to drink an alcoholic drink quickly without stopping	Let’s see who’s the first to scull it all down.
shout	to treat someone to a meal	Are you free tonight? I’ll shout you dinner.
smashed	to be drunk or heavily intoxicated	They were smashed before the party really got going.
sparkie	electrician	I think we should call the sparkie to fix the wires.

Scotland

Commonly used Scottish Slang

Refer to the website below for a detailed list of British Slang

• • Old Scottish Sayings and Scottish Slang Words Your Granny Used To Say!
• – http://scotlandwelcomesyou.com/scottish-sayings/

Jacki-O’s (Australian radio host) interview with Kevin Hart (American singer/actor/producer) on Australian slang.


Watch the video and complete the subsequent exercises.

Choose the word or phrase that is closest in meaning to the underlined expression.

Song: Aussie lesson for Ellen

This song was a collaboration between Australian radio hosts Fitzy and Wippa and also Sydney brothers, Dailius and Julian Wilson. The songs purpose is to explain Australian words to Ellen Degeneres, an American TV host.

Exercise 1) Australian words
Listen to the song and match the words with their definition by dragging them into the appropriate box.

Exercise 2) Interpretation of American and Australian words
Listen to the song and match each listed word with its Australian counterpart.

Watch the video and then match the expressions with its meaning.

Watch the video below which features Lucky and Andy quizzing each other on American and New Zealand slang.


Indicate whether the slang is American or New Zealand.

Hugh Laurie guesting on The Ellen Show discussing American and British Slang

(Skills: Listening Comprehension, slang)

Exercise 1

Watch the video clip and select the most suitable answer.

Exercise 2

Drag the slang to its definition

Match the American English terms to the corresponding British English terms with an identical meaning.

Match each Scottish English term to its corresponding meaning.