NOVEL WEB Glossary of Terms
For those of you who are not blessed to be Australian, here are most of the Aussie Slang terms used in the book, plus some Australiana references, and just to confuse everything, many of the abbreviations used in this book, some of which don’t actually exist in the real world. Which, of course, begs the question, ‘What is the real world?’.
First, some general notes. If something can be shortened, it probably will be in an Aussie's speech. So, except in more formal venues, and those Aussies who learned the King’s English in a stricter environment, an Aussie will rarely say 'they are', preferring 'they're'.
This shortening will extend past normal constrictions, so 'going to' would usually end up as 'gonna'. Also, the pauses between words will commonly disappear. So, 'did you have a good weekend' ends up as 'djavagoodweegend'.
If you watch an Aussie speak, you will note that they don't open their lips much as they talk. The Aussie distractors will jokingly say this is to protect against all the flies in Australia trying to get into your mouth. In reality, this is to protect from all of the flies in Australia trying to get into your mouth.
There is something like 30,000 species of flies in Australia, while the actual number of them at any one time is about 2 billion. Not sure who sat down and counted them, but hat’s off to them.
(Editor: The increased use of chemicals and medicines in Australian agriculture is suspected of causing a decline in dung beetle numbers, causing a resurgence in fly numbers, so the number of flies in Australia is probably edging towards 3 billion).
Other names for Australia - Great Southern Land, Great South Land, Terra Australis, New Holland, Australia del Espiritu Santo (Southern Land of the Holy Spirit), New South Wales, The Land Down Under, Oz.
Sydney is, of course, the best city in Australia.
Agro - Computer gaming term, means that you have the focus of the target
Alcohol - Liquor
Arvo - Afternoon.
Aussie - Australian.
Barbie - Barbeque (BBQ).
Bloke - A man.
Bludge - Easy, simple job where you can get away with not working as hard as you should, also means to avoid work. ‘Mate, Fred’s job’s such a bludge.’
Bogong - A type of Australian moth.
Bogan - Member of a social group in Australia renowned for their uncouth behaviour.
Bugger - In Australia, it is used as a common, mild, swear word. Older people may use the whole phrase 'bugger me'.
Chook - Chicken.
Drop Bear – Looks like your standard, cute, fuzzy Koala, but this vicious, ravening killer hides in trees, waiting for the unwary. When a likely victim walks under the tree, the Drop Bear will drop on them, ripping open their skulls to eat their brains. Not to be confused with the fictitious Spring Bear, who hides in long grass, springs onto the back of their victim, rips out their spine and beats them to death with it.
Dunno - Do not know.
G'day - Good day
Grog - slang term for alcoholic drinks
Mate - Someone beyond a casual friend.
Mob - Used in Australian slang in two ways. Can be used affectionately to describe your group of family and friends “got the whole mob comin' for a barbie this weekend”. Can also be used to describe an unruly group.
Pollies - Politicians.
Prime mover - tractor
Pub - Public House, think 'Bar', but with more sunlight, place you can sit down and enjoy a beer.
‘Roo - Kangaroo.
Semi, Semi-trailer – Tractor trailer
Sickie - 'Sick day' - a (usually paid) day off from work because you are ill. Often with the connotation that perhaps you were not quite as close to dying as you inferred to your boss.
Solicitor - Attorney
Toilet - Restroom
Veg, Veggie, veggies - Vegetables
Veranda - wrap-around porch
Wallet - Billfold
Whiteboard - Dry erase board
Yanking their chain – purposely saying or doing something to get a reaction from someone. Can be done as either friendly ribbing, or, more commonly, to intentionally give someone a hard time.
ACIC - Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (deals with criminal intelligence for the Feds)
ACoMP - Australian Council of Magical Practitioners
ACoS - Australian Council of Shifters
ACT – Australian Capital Territory, name of the area that the Australian Capital (Canberra) sits in. It is approximately halfway between Melbourne and Sydney, nestled within New South Wales (NSW).
AFP - Australian Federal Police (national police force - each State has their own police force as well)
AFP-BDD-v5-1 - Fictitious form supposedly used internally by the AFP to do an initial threat determination, version 5.1. BDD stands for Basic Danger Determination
AGO - Australian Geospatial Intelligence Organisation (Satellite stuff for the Feds).
ASD - Australian Signals Directorate (SIGINT & Cyber for the Feds)
ASIO - Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (collects intelligence on security threats for the Feds)
ASIS - Australian Secret Intelligence Service (spy types for the Feds)
AUSTRAC - Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (financial intelligence for the Feds)
Australia – The island continent, stretching from just south of the Equator to north of Antarctica. It is the sixth largest country by size and consists of six states (five on the main continent and Tasmania to the south) and two territories on the main island. There is also a number of other islands and a slice of Antarctica, known as the Remote Offshore Territories.
Australian political system - According to the Federal Constitution, there is the Monarchy - represented by the Governor General - then the Federal Government, responsible for grabbing as much money as they can and dealing with certain, specific tasks, such as national standards, defence, grabbing money (through taxes, tariffs, GST, etc) and overall control of certain tasks, such as public health and education, and grabbing money. It also recognises the State and Territory Governments, the second level of government - State Government. Each state has its own constitution which outlines the rights and responsibilities of the state and declares a 'Federal size hole', granting the Federal Government it's rights. It also defines the third level of government, Local Government. State government deals with the provision of Education, Health Care, Police, transport, etc. Each State Government has a Governor, representing the Monarchy and will also grab any money left over from the Federal Government's money grabs. Local Councils deal with local things like local roads, refuse collection, etc. Yes, they will also try and grab any money left over from what the States have grabbed. Yes, this is a simplification.
Comcare - Federal Government body involved with Safe Work practices. has taken the ADF to court multiple times for unsafe practices.
DIO - Defence Intelligence Organisation (Australian Defence intelligence arm)
Greens Party - The Greens Party is a minor party in Australian politics with an environmental platform. It is also one of the few parties that could argue for a 'left' label.
GST - Goods and Services Tax, a federally imposed tax on nearly all purchases of new goods or services - currently set at 10%. 'Fresh' produce is usually exempt. GST is gathered by the Federal Government and then distributed to the states and territories.
House of Representatives - Lower House in Australian Federal Politics. Each member represents one electorate in Australia. Also called ‘The House’.
Independents - A growing group of independent politicians being elected to Australian Politics, much to the annoyance of the ‘major’ parties.
Induction - the introductory training given to a new employee to ensure they have the required grasp of Occupational Safety, antidiscrimination, organisation procedures, and other such stuff.
Kilogram - Think two-and-a-bit pounds, they're not the same, but hey, close enough - unless you are designing a Mars Climate Orbiter.
Labor Party - The major not-so-right-wing political party in Australian Politics, well, not as right as the Liberal Party.
Liberal Party - The major right-wing political party in Australian Politics. This is a coalition made up of the Liberal Party and the National Party, usually called the LNP or the Liberal-National Coalition.
The Lodge - This is the name of the Prime Minister's residence in Canberra. This gives rise to the phrase, ‘give them the keys to the lodge’, meaning that the action will help someone get elected as the next Prime Minister. There is also usually a ceremony involving the previous PM giving the set of keys to the new, incoming PM. This is usually done with smiles and joy, with pink unicorns prancing on the front lawn, blowing pixie dust out of their backsides. There is a secondary residence, Kirribilli House, located in Sydney (of course). Who’d want to live in Melbourne? (grin)
Metre - Think yard, they're not the same, but hey, close enough - unless you are designing a Mars Climate Orbiter.
Minister - leadership (known as cabinet) role in the government, responsible for one or more areas within the government. A Shadow Minister is the same, but for the Opposition.
National Party - The smaller part of the major right-wing political party in Australian Politics.
NIC - National Intelligence Community (Umbrella organisation that includes all the other security mobs for the Feds)
ONI - Office of National Intelligence (does the intelligence assessments for the Feds)
PM - Prime Minister, current leader of the Party in charge of Australia. No, not the same as a President. The Prime Minister is elected by the ruling party from those in the Lower House.
Senate - Upper house in Australian Politics. Each senator is one of a group of people who represent the state or territory they are from. Normally, half of the Senate is elected in each election.
Whips – Virtually every political party in Australian Politics has a nominated person called a whip (Government Whip, Opposition Whip, Green’s Whip, etc). This role is to ensure everyone in their party is present for votes, help count those votes and any other tasks as allocated by their party.