10 words exclusive to Australia

1. Havas

A brand of sandles or “thongs,” as they’re called down here. You’ll have a hard time convincing an Australian to wear shoes to begin with, but if there is something on their feet, it’s almost always a pair or “Havaianas” as the rest of the world knows them.

2. Schooner/pot

It was enough of a challenge for me to adjust to the metric system after leaving The States, but now I’ve had to relearn how to order a beer. In the UK, you ask for a pint and you get a pint. A half-pint gets you half that. Here you have to learn that schooner equals 485 milliliters of beer — unless you’re in South Australia, where it equals 285mL. Long story short, unless you’re in South Australia a pot is a half-pint and a schooner is in between a half-pint and a pint. Oh, and “schooner” is pronounced “SKOON-er.”

3. Short black/long black/long mac/short mac/flat white

A long black

 I could write an entire entry on the incredibly specific terminology for coffee in this country, but here’s the breakdown:

If you’re American, a coffee is not what you think. They don’t do filter coffee here, so asking for a coffee gets you a latte by default. A short black is a shot of espresso. A short mac (or short macchiato) is a shot of espresso topped with a teaspoon of milk froth. A long mac is two shots of espresso topped with a teaspoon of milk froth. A long black is a close relative to an Americano. It’s a 50/50 mixture of hot water and two shots of espresso, poured so the crema is preserved on the top layer. A flat white is a latte minus the foam.

4. Iced coffee/Iced chocolate/Spider 

A lime spider

Coffee shops also offer some interesting desserts. All these drinks are what I used to know as root beer floats, minus the root beer. An iced coffee is a scoop of ice cream floating in a mixture of espresso, milk and a spoonful of sugar topped with whipped cream. An iced chocolate is ice cream floating in chocolate milk topped with whipped cream. A spider is ice cream floating in “lemonade” spiked with a flavored cordial. (Note: Aussie lemonade is what I would call Sprite. Americans are the only ones I know of who are purists when it comes to lemonade. Lemonade here is a carbonated, slightly lemon flavored sugary drink.) Depending on the cordial, you will have a lime/rasperry/lemon/etc spider.

5. “Old mate”

This one had me stumped for a long time. Calling someone “old mate” is just a replacement for “that guy.” A lot of cultures have an equivalent for informally identifying an unfamiliar person. In Ireland it’s “your man/your wan” for a passing man or woman, respectively. Acceptable use: “Is your man/wan over there in line before us?” In Australia, “old mate” is incredibly broad and can apply to just about anyone. “Watch out for old mate over there, he looks shady.” “Old mate let me in the club without making me pay the cover charge.” “Old mate tipped well.”

6. Lemon Lime Bitters

Lemon Lime Bitters

One of my favorite things in Australia — a delicious summery drink enjoyed by just about everyone down here. It’s a squeeze of lime and lemonade (see above lemonade definition) topped with a slice of lemon and a few squirts of bitters. Ideally, is should be stirred so as to be partially mixed, but still preserve the red bitters-tinted upper layer and clear lemonade layer of the bottom.

7. Boardies

An illustration of acceptable and unacceptable beachwear.

Also known as board shorts, these are the only acceptable form of swimwear for men. They’re lightweight shorts that have no lining on the inside like the swim trunks I’m used to. No matter who I ask, I can’t seem to get a uniform answer from Aussies on if you’re supposed to wear anything under your boardies while swimming.

8. Footy/Soccer/American Football

Aussie Rules Football or "footy"

Finally, a country that calls soccer “soccer.” The reason is Aussies have their only version of football called Aussie Rules Football or “footy” for short. The football I grew up with is reasonably popular to watch but needs the qualifier “American football” so as not to cause confusion.

9. Hook turns

All these cars on the very left side of the intersection are waiting to turn right.

Melbournians are fiercely proud of their tram system. It’s their trump card for anyone who claims Sydney is better than Melbourne. The problem with the trams is it complicates some busy intersections in central Melbourne. See, the trams share the road with the cars, so in the downtown area where things can get congested, a car waiting to turn right at a traffic signal would keep the trams waiting for ages (remember, traffic drives on the left side of the road in Australia). Since authorities don’t want cars waiting to cross the line of traffic to hold up the trams, they paint a parking space on the very far side of the intersection. In order to take a right, you have to pull into a painted box on the very left side of the intersection. You wait there until the light is juuuuust about to turn red, then perform your hook turn, scurrying across 4+ lanes of traffic in the few seconds before the light turns red and you’re hit by cars going in the other direction. It’s very confusing.

10. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha (Kookaburra call)

Okay, so this isn’t a word, but you can’t be in anywhere in rural Australia without hearing the constant white noise of the loudest bird call you’ll ever hear in your life.