Monday, February 06, 2006

Kiwi Speak, with Definitions

I tested Gert on some of these ... much laughter ensued as he failed to guess the meaning of a large majority of these special 'made in New Zealand' words and phrases. You can find out more than you possibly want to know here.

A sample ...?
Sure.
bloke: usually a man, and often used when referring to a stranger as in, "That bloke, Joe Blow, is a really nice guy once you get to know him".
blow me down: expression of surprise, as in; "Well! Blow me down, I didn't know that."
Bob's your Uncle: roughly translates to 'there ya go - that's all there is to it!' Just press this big red button that says 'Launch Missile', and "Bob's your uncle".
bonk: to have sex with
lift: elevator
lolly: candy
loo: bathroom
plod: friendly term for local policeman
pong: bad smell
rark up: give somebody a good telling off
rattle your dags: hurry up; get a move on. And from Jeff Law...The expression 'Rattle your dags' reputedly refers to a somewhat mucky sheep 'rattling it's dags (dried excretia hanging from the wool)' when running!
vegemite: spread for toast or bread. Indescribable, but missed by many expat Kiwi's. Bill Tabb describes it as... "A spread the color of dark molasses, the consistency of cold honey and the flavor of yeasty soy sauce. A flavor that is acquired, and quite good on warm soft pretzels here in California."
wet blanket: Someone who spoils the fun of others; someone who doesn't get into the "swing" of things, particularly at a social occasion.
hard case: joker; comedian.
hard yakka: hard work, associated with labouring.

8 comments:

Alison said...

what about Plonker... and Ta... that one always confuses me :)

Di Mackey said...

'Ta' is there on the site ... hmmm, 'plonker' was left off the list ...

A plonker - an idiot.

BarbaraFromCalifornia said...

I wanted to thank you for the beautiful poem, from friend to friend you posted on my blog.

Today, I had to let go of my beloved friend, which was so difficult and painful. Reading these words from Karen Clouston has helped me thorough the day. Thank you.

Unknown said...

Than you for this informative post. I will go through the link and try to use some of them in my own writing. lol That's great stuff!

Anonymous said...

hello my proud blogger mother
i needed to steal some of saharas photos off you site to show off tonight so i thought i owed it to you to read some of it too. it's a very nice blog site... i read your peanut butter entry and wondered why i ever let you leave dunedin. you and sue. i'm going. home probably. my warcraft is down and sahara is being babysat for the night. i don't know what to do. i don't even have a bad little baby to go wake up and play with. poor me :(

Di Mackey said...

Lol, hello anonymous creature, it was delicious to find your comment in here ... Hmmm, I think as repayment for 'using' Sahara photos from here, you could send me some new ones.

Di Mackey said...

Barbara, I'm glad it helped. I was so sad when I read your message this morning.

Dopberman ... lol, good luck with the Kiwi-speak. I taught my Turkish students to wink and say 'G'day mate' as a greeting. Some did terrifyly good impressions and it seems that no parents ever found out that kiwi-speak was taught in small doses.

Unknown said...

I have been watching Crocodile Hunter so much that I think I would do almost fine. I've got to ask my Australian-Finn friend to prep me some..