http://psy.otago.ac.nz/r_oshea/FUN%20STUFF/oztaboo.html
Words Americans should avoid saying to Australasians
Robert P. O'Shea
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The spread of the Internet provides opportunities to offend or confuse
correspondents whom you imagine speak the same dialect of English as
you. This is to alert Americans to innocent words from their dialect
that Australasians (Australians and New Zealanders) may find offensive
or confusing. For a list of words Americans may find offensive, see my
American-Australian Slang Dictionary.
You are, however, less likely to offend or confuse Australasians than
you might think. Australians in particular are pretty hard to offend
even at the best of times. And because of the universal spread of
American language (mainly via TV), Australasians may consider your
linguistic origin and know what you mean.
This list is maintained by Robert P. O'Shea. If you find any errors or
omissions, or if you have any comments, please send e-mail to:
r_oshea@otago.ac.nz
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Usage panel members: Peter Belew (PB).
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Explanatory Chart:
word or phrase [optional part] part of speech. (Origin, both
etymological and geographical; frequency of use) 1. First American
meaning. Information about Australasian meaning and usage, including
(e.g., ``Examples'') (s.a. related words) and derived words or phrases
and preferred Australasian terms. (Initials of usage panel member, if
it was not possible to obtain verification of the word by at least one
other person) 2. Second meaning, etc.
derived part of speech. Pertaining to various meanings.
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bugger n. (American slang) Someone who is mildly but persistently
annoying. This term is used by older Australasians, however, to refer
to someone who engages in sodomy, which is not usually even discussed,
much less practised, in polite company.
bum n. A low person, a tramp, a panhandler. An Australasian may think
you are referring to pair of buttocks.
fanny n. (American slang) Buttocks. Fanny is an extremely offensive
Australasian slang term for the female genitalia, so announcing to an
Australasian that you ``patted your friend on the fanny'' can can
leave him or her with decidedly the wrong impression. The word you are
searching for is bum. The Australasian meaning of fanny is for some,
however, being pushed into oblivion by the repetition of this
innocuous American word in the theme song for the sitcom, The Nanny.
The preferred Australasian term for fanny pack is bum bag.
freeze vt. (American slang) To anesthetize locally. If an Australasian
suffered a wound, and you told him or her that you were going to
freeze it before stitching it, he or she begin to have serious doubts
about the quality of North-American health care.
go to the bathroom v. (American slang) To urinate or defecate. If you
ask an Australasian for the location of the bathroom, you are just as
liable to be shown a room containing only a bath. The word you are
searching for is toilet.
luck out n. (American slang) To have good fortune. To Australasians,
and particularly to New Zealanders, this means just the opposite. The
equivalent Australasian term may be luck in.
mince [meat] n. Stew made from dried fruits such as currants,
saltanas, and raisins. Australasians understand mince to be ground
beef, or hamburger. A New Zealand mince pie, one of the major food
groups in that country, will give you a very different taste sensation
from what you are expecting. Australians don't really refer to a basic
meat pie as a mince pie, but as a ``hob'oi''. One of Australia's
national dishes, however, is mince on toast. But I digress. The
Australasian term for a mince pie is fruit tart.
napkin n. Cloth or paper towel to protect the clothes while eating.
Australasians refer to napkins as serviettes. Saying ``napkin'' may
make Australasians think of a sanitary napkin, which is used to absorb
menstrual blood.
punt v. and n. To take the low-risk option. As with ``luck out'', for
Australasians ``to punt'' or ``to take a punt'' means just the
opposite, to take the high-risk option. This probably comes about from
the relative risks of punting in American football and in rugby. In
the former, a team punts on fourth down as a way of securing good
field position at the cost of possession. In the latter, a team punts
either on being given a penalty kick that is within range of the
kicker (thereby giving up a likely three points for a less likely five
or seven points from a try from the resulting line out) or as an
attacking move in general play. The closest Australasian synonym for
an American's punt is, ``kick for touch''.
Randy n. Abbreviation of the name Randolph. If you introduce someone
to an Australasian as Randy, he or she will think that person wants to
have sex. For example, if you say ``Hi, I'm Randy'', don't be
surprised if your correspondent suggests you have a cold shower.
root vi. 1. To cheer for a sports team. Root is an offensive
Australian slang verb meaning ``have sexual intercourse with''.
Announcing to an Australian that you ``are a cheerleader, so you don't
see many football games because you are in the stands rooting'' will
give a misleading impression about your devotion to the team. 2. To
grow roots. ``I rooted some plants'' is practised by vegiphiles in
Australia. 3. To dig or rummage. ``I was rooting around in my room for
the rent money'' is done only if an Australian does not actually have
the rent money.
n. An Australian may take the noun to refer to his or her sexual
partner. Even so, saying ``I tripped over a root'' will occasion only
the tiniest frisson of delight in your Australian correspondent; he or
she will understand.
varsity a. Referring to senior sports teams in schools, universities,
and clubs. An Australasian, and particularly a New Zealander, may
think you are referring to a university.
wet back n. An illegal immigrant into the US from Mexico. A new
Zealander may think you are referring to an enclosed, wood- or coal-
burning fire containing a connection to a house's hot water cylinder
(although I admit the context would surely make this mistake
unlikely).
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Back to Robert P. O'Shea's Home Page.
Comments to r_oshea@otago.ac.nz.
This page was created on 1 Dec 2000.
This page was last updated on 01 Apr 2006.
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| User: "Brad" |
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| Title: Re: Words Americans should avoid saying to Australasians |
24 Jul 2007 09:56:24 PM |
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Australians don't really refer to a basic
meat pie as a mince pie, but as a ``hob'oi''.
A what?
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| User: "Malcolm Taylor" |
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| Title: Re: Words Americans should avoid saying to Australasians |
24 Jul 2007 10:15:38 PM |
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"Brad" <google@vk2qq.com> wrote in message
news:1185332184.286791.76340@z24g2000prh.googlegroups.com...
Australians don't really refer to a basic
meat pie as a mince pie, but as a ``hob'oi''.
A what?
Yes, I saw that too. The original post seems to have been written by a Kiwi,
so perhaps they think that's what we call them. I have never heard the term
in my 60 years in South Australia.
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| User: "ant" |
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| Title: Re: Words Americans should avoid saying to Australasians |
25 Jul 2007 07:11:36 AM |
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Malcolm Taylor wrote:
"Brad" <google@vk2qq.com> wrote in message
news:1185332184.286791.76340@z24g2000prh.googlegroups.com...
Australians don't really refer to a basic
meat pie as a mince pie, but as a ``hob'oi''.
A what?
Yes, I saw that too. The original post seems to have been written by
a Kiwi, so perhaps they think that's what we call them. I have never
heard the term in my 60 years in South Australia.
I wonder if it's phonetic, the writer's only heard it, and it is meant to be
a Hot Pie.
--
ant
Don't try to reply to my email addy:
I'm borrowing that of the latest
scammer/spammer
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| User: "Malcolm Taylor" |
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| Title: Re: Words Americans should avoid saying to Australasians |
25 Jul 2007 08:00:16 AM |
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"ant" <lotto_officialmail@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:5gosutF3gaqm7U1@mid.individual.net...
Malcolm Taylor wrote:
"Brad" <google@vk2qq.com> wrote in message
news:1185332184.286791.76340@z24g2000prh.googlegroups.com...
Australians don't really refer to a basic
meat pie as a mince pie, but as a ``hob'oi''.
A what?
Yes, I saw that too. The original post seems to have been written by
a Kiwi, so perhaps they think that's what we call them. I have never
heard the term in my 60 years in South Australia.
I wonder if it's phonetic, the writer's only heard it, and it is meant to
be a Hot Pie.
Interesting theory. I never thought of that, but the way it is written, with
the apostrophe possibly indicating stress, you may be right. It could well
be a pronunciation, rather than a spelling.
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| User: "The CO" |
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| Title: Re: Words Americans should avoid saying to Australasians |
26 Jul 2007 10:51:50 PM |
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Malcolm Taylor wrote:
Interesting theory. I never thought of that, but the way it is written, with
the apostrophe possibly indicating stress, you may be right. It could well
be a pronunciation, rather than a spelling.
Might be a Kiwi translation of something I suppose.
As a native South Aussie, I've never heard it called anything but a
'pie'. Commonly 'Pie n sauce' since the basic pie is a bit bland
without tomato sauce (ketchup to you Yanks).
Standfast Vili's pies, sauce ruins them...
I'm in the Mid-North, were are you?
Geoff in South Oz
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| User: "Malcolm Taylor" |
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| Title: Re: Words Americans should avoid saying to Australasians |
27 Jul 2007 06:11:46 AM |
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"The CO" <the_xo@yahoo.com.au> wrote in message
news:qZdqi.5$AB1.4726@snnrp1.syd4.maint.ops.aspac.uu.net...
Malcolm Taylor wrote:
Interesting theory. I never thought of that, but the way it is written,
with the apostrophe possibly indicating stress, you may be right. It
could well be a pronunciation, rather than a spelling.
Might be a Kiwi translation of something I suppose.
As a native South Aussie, I've never heard it called anything but a 'pie'.
Commonly 'Pie n sauce' since the basic pie is a bit bland without tomato
sauce (ketchup to you Yanks).
Yes, usually just a "pie" so I'm not sure about the "ho'boi" ("hot pie")
pronunciation theory. Don't know what else he could have been talking about,
though, since it was supposed to be his idea of an Australianism.
Standfast Vili's pies, sauce ruins them...
I don't actually eat pies much, but I had a Vili's a couple of weeks ago
(without sauce). Very nice, although I generally prefer pasties.
I'm in the Mid-North, were are you?
Inner suburban Adelaide. Lived all my 60 years in Adelaide (only 4 different
suburbs).
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| User: "David Barnett" |
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| Title: Re: Words Americans should avoid saying to Australasians |
27 Jul 2007 07:35:19 PM |
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"Malcolm Taylor" <taylormv@telstra.com> wrote in message
news:46a9d6cd$0$44535$c30e37c6@lon-reader.news.telstra.net...
"The CO" <the_xo@yahoo.com.au> wrote in message
news:qZdqi.5$AB1.4726@snnrp1.syd4.maint.ops.aspac.uu.net...
Malcolm Taylor wrote:
Interesting theory. I never thought of that, but the way it is written,
with the apostrophe possibly indicating stress, you may be right. It
could well be a pronunciation, rather than a spelling.
Might be a Kiwi translation of something I suppose.
As a native South Aussie, I've never heard it called anything but a
'pie'. Commonly 'Pie n sauce' since the basic pie is a bit bland without
tomato sauce (ketchup to you Yanks).
Yes, usually just a "pie" so I'm not sure about the "ho'boi" ("hot pie")
pronunciation theory. Don't know what else he could have been talking
about, though, since it was supposed to be his idea of an Australianism.
Standfast Vili's pies, sauce ruins them...
I don't actually eat pies much, but I had a Vili's a couple of weeks ago
(without sauce). Very nice, although I generally prefer pasties.
I'm in the Mid-North, were are you?
Inner suburban Adelaide. Lived all my 60 years in Adelaide (only 4
different suburbs).
I don't know what this thread is all about, but I recall when I was in the
US many years back, I asked a girl in a shop for a coke, and she kept
thinking I was asking for a cake!
--
David Barnett
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| User: "Malcolm Taylor" |
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| Title: Re: Words Americans should avoid saying to Australasians |
27 Jul 2007 10:21:42 PM |
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"David Barnett" <dbarnett@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:bbwqi.12751$4A1.9782@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
"Malcolm Taylor" <taylormv@telstra.com> wrote in message
news:46a9d6cd$0$44535$c30e37c6@lon-reader.news.telstra.net...
"The CO" <the_xo@yahoo.com.au> wrote in message
news:qZdqi.5$AB1.4726@snnrp1.syd4.maint.ops.aspac.uu.net...
Malcolm Taylor wrote:
Interesting theory. I never thought of that, but the way it is written,
with the apostrophe possibly indicating stress, you may be right. It
could well be a pronunciation, rather than a spelling.
Might be a Kiwi translation of something I suppose.
As a native South Aussie, I've never heard it called anything but a
'pie'. Commonly 'Pie n sauce' since the basic pie is a bit bland without
tomato sauce (ketchup to you Yanks).
Yes, usually just a "pie" so I'm not sure about the "ho'boi" ("hot pie")
pronunciation theory. Don't know what else he could have been talking
about, though, since it was supposed to be his idea of an Australianism.
Standfast Vili's pies, sauce ruins them...
I don't actually eat pies much, but I had a Vili's a couple of weeks ago
(without sauce). Very nice, although I generally prefer pasties.
I'm in the Mid-North, were are you?
Inner suburban Adelaide. Lived all my 60 years in Adelaide (only 4
different suburbs).
I don't know what this thread is all about, but I recall when I was in the
US many years back, I asked a girl in a shop for a coke, and she kept
thinking I was asking for a cake!
--
David Barnett
The thread was originally quoting a Kiwi writer about differences between
American and Australasian word meanings (e.g. "fanny"). The Kiwi reckoned
that Australians called a meat pie a "hoboi" and we were discussing what on
earth he meant. Someone suggested it may be a pronunciation key for how he
heard the expression "hot pie".
With that vowel confusion between cake and coke, how would you get on in NZ,
David? I reckon there are at least as many vowel differences between Aus and
NZ as there are between Aus and USA.
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| User: "Who needs the Kwik E Mart ? I doooooo ! HOOROO !" |
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| Title: Re: Words Americans should avoid saying to Australasians |
27 Jul 2007 10:34:08 PM |
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On Jul 28, 1:21 pm, "Malcolm Taylor" <taylo...@telstra.com> wrote:
"David Barnett" <dbarn...@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:bbwqi.12751$4A1.9782@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
"Malcolm Taylor" <taylo...@telstra.com> wrote in message
news:46a9d6cd$0$44535$c30e37c6@lon-reader.news.telstra.net...
"The CO" <the...@yahoo.com.au> wrote in message
news:qZdqi.5$AB1.4726@snnrp1.syd4.maint.ops.aspac.uu.net...
Malcolm Taylor wrote:
Interesting theory. I never thought of that, but the way it is written,
with the apostrophe possibly indicating stress, you may be right. It
could well be a pronunciation, rather than a spelling.
Might be a Kiwi translation of something I suppose.
As a native South Aussie, I've never heard it called anything but a
'pie'. Commonly 'Pie n sauce' since the basic pie is a bit bland without
tomato sauce (ketchup to you Yanks).
Yes, usually just a "pie" so I'm not sure about the "ho'boi" ("hot pie")
pronunciation theory. Don't know what else he could have been talking
about, though, since it was supposed to be his idea of an Australianism.
Standfast Vili's pies, sauce ruins them...
I don't actually eat pies much, but I had a Vili's a couple of weeks ago
(without sauce). Very nice, although I generally prefer pasties.
I'm in the Mid-North, were are you?
Inner suburban Adelaide. Lived all my 60 years in Adelaide (only 4
different suburbs).
I don't know what this thread is all about, but I recall when I was in the
US many years back, I asked a girl in a shop for a coke, and she kept
thinking I was asking for a cake!
--
David Barnett
The thread was originally quoting a Kiwi writer about differences between
American and Australasian word meanings (e.g. "fanny"). The Kiwi reckoned
that Australians called a meat pie a "hoboi" and we were discussing what on
earth he meant. Someone suggested it may be a pronunciation key for how he
heard the expression "hot pie".
With that vowel confusion between cake and coke, how would you get on in NZ,
David? I reckon there are at least as many vowel differences between Aus and
NZ as there are between Aus and USA.- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -
Yup, there uz !!!
Sux dollars worth of fush & chups, please !!!!
HOOROO
UNCLE WALLY
-----
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| User: "Big LN" |
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| Title: Re: Words Americans should avoid saying to Australasians |
26 Jul 2007 11:08:23 PM |
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"The CO" <the_xo@yahoo.com.au> wrote in message
news:qZdqi.5$AB1.4726@snnrp1.syd4.maint.ops.aspac.uu.net...
Malcolm Taylor wrote:
As a native South Aussie, I've never heard it called anything but a 'pie'.
Dog's eye.
'Onya
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| User: "Werewolfy" |
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| Title: Re: Words Americans should avoid saying to Australasians |
27 Jul 2007 03:38:53 AM |
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On Jul 27, 5:08?am, "Big LN" <Big...@this.ng> wrote:
As a native South Aussie, I've never heard it called anything but a 'pie'.
Dog's eye.
'Onya
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