C

Cactus : Worthless, broken. e.g. “Well that’s it Robin, I’m sorry but you old bomb car is really cactus now!” See also Mongo cactus
Cackle Berries : A chicken egg. e.g. “Mum, I’d like two cackle berries for brekkie, please.” See also Googy
Call by : To stop in for a brief visit
Can : Pop or beer. See also Tinnie
Capsicum : A bell pepper
Caravan : A trailer. e.g. “Did you hear old Neville bought a new caravan”
Carbie : A vehicle carburettor. e.g. “What’s the problem with your car mate? I don’t know exactly, but I think it’s with the carbie”
Cattle Duffer : Cattle Rustler. See also Poddy dodger 2. A person who benefits from dishonest profit
Channel Land : A vast area of outback land, (also referred to as channel country) that in the event of sudden torrential rain, fills quickly, swelling normally dry riverbeds to capacity and creating a expansive area of raging water. It then subsides almost as rapidly as it began. True incidents have been told of people who have been caught unaware by this freak and infrequent occurrence, and fortunate to escape with their lives. Only to return a few days later to find their personal belongings or even their car lodged ten metres high in a tree
Check out chick : A cashier
Cheeky : Disrespectful, rude, impolite. e.g. “Don’t you answer me back in that tone of voice, you cheeky boy.” 2. Mischievous, disobedient, unruly. e.g. “He was so cheeky Ben, that’s the reason your uncle Dave got so many smacks when he was a little boy”
Cheque : Check, as in writing out a personal check
Chemist : A pharmacy or drug store
Chew and Spew : A local hamburger joint. e.g. “Let’s go to the local chew and spew and pick up a burger on the way to the beach”
Chewy : Chewing gum
Chick : A young female usually in her teens
Chico roll : A Chinese like egg roll
Chilled one : A cold can of Aussie beer. e.g. “Throw us another chilled one, will you mate!” See also cold one
Chinwag : Discussion, chat, conversation. e.g. “Will be over, as soon as me missus comes back from having a bit of a Chinwag with her sister”
Chips : French fries. 2. Nicks in the paintwork ol a motor vehicle.
Chock a block : Completely full, stuffed, Squeezed together. e.g. “There’s no way I can get any more into the boot of the car, it’s already chock a block”
Chook : A chicken. e.g. “Did you cook that chook for tucker mum?”
Chayote : A popular and easy to grow vegetable similar to squash
Choof off : Depart, leave, exit. e.g. “As I already told you mate, I’m not interested, will you please choof off?”
Chrissie : Christmas
Christian name : First name of a person
Cricket : A game performed in the open air by two teams of eleven players, employing two bats, a hard ball and a set of wickets
Cricketer : A person who plays the game of cricket
Chronic : Arrogant, dominant, overbearing. 2. Severe, intense. e.g. “Old lofty has a real chronic nature about him, it can really get me aggro at times”
Chuck : To throw up, vomit or regurgitate. 2. To throw or toss. e.g. “That’s good, Amanda, pick up the ball and chuck it to uncle Dove.” 3. Perform, Stage, act. e.g. “Talk about undisciplined kids, if the neighbours ankle biter doesn’t get his own way, he chucks a fit!”
Chuck off : To scorn, mock or belittle. e.g. “Cut it out mate, don’t chuck off at him, he is alright”
Chunder : Heavy, agitated (surf) waves. 2. To throw up or vomit 3. Sick or seasick
Chundered : Wiped out, lost control. e.g. “Look at Peter, he really got chundered good that time.” 2. Act of throwing up.
Chuttie : An older expression for chewing gum
Cicada : A cricket like insect (a delicacy of most birds) that sheds it skin leaving behind a shell with the outline of its body. Most young Australian children at one time or another have found a cicada shell attached to a fence or tree. See also Piss waker
Claytons : A well known and advertised non-alcoholic drink that looks like and tastes like whiskey. 2. Imaginary fictitious, invented. For example, a “Claytons Aussie” is a person who thinks he or she is an Australian, but really is not an Australian citizen at all
Clapped : Worn out, finished with or of no further use. e.g. “What, you bought old Toni's bomb, he told me himself he thought it was clapped out”
Clapped out : As above
Clear off : A strong command to leave. e.g. “Clear off, and don’t let me catch you drinking around here again”
Clout : No intelligence, ability or foresight. e.g. “By the way he is acting, I don’t think he’s got much clout”
2. Effort, energy, exertion. e.g. “Get going mate, put your back into it and give it some clout”
Cluey : Perceptive, astute, knowledgeable. e.g. “Why don’t you go and ask him. He is a real cluey guy, and I’m sure he will help you out”
Clucky : A woman’s desire or expression to become pregnant. e.g. “You sure you not planning on having kids because your missus sounds clucky lately”
Coat hanger : The famous Sydney harbor bridge in the state of New South Wales. e.g. “Did you hear about the silly galah who tried to throw himself off the coat hanger”
Cobber : A close friend or companion. Today the word “cobber” is mainly used by the diggers, shouting schooners at the local pub. The word mate has replaced “Cobber” and is used primarily by the younger generation
Cockatoo : A large, white, noisy native bird of Australia. 2. An owner of a small outback property. 3. A lookout (person) during unlawful operations
Cockatoo farmer : An outback farmer. Also referred to as Cockatoo settler
Cocky : Smart, shrewd, a show off. e.g. “You think your real cocky don’t you mate, well you’ve got a lot more to learn in life”
2. An outback farmer. A shortened form of Cockatoo farmer
Cold one : A cold beer. See also Frostie
Cold as a babies bum : Lukewarm, temperate, moderate. e.g. “No thanks, I’ll make my own cup of tea, the last one you gave me was as cold as a babies bum
2. An uncouth word directed towards an unfeeling or indifferent type of person
Colonial boy : An early Australian subject of the British crown. 2. An Australian male getting on in (age) years
Come off the grass : Tell me the truth, give it to me straight
Come the raw prawn : Pretend, imagine or invent an act of innocence or lack of understanding. e.g. “Don’t put on the raw prawn with me, I know how you really got the moolah!”
2. An endeavour to mislead, swindle or take advantage of others. e.g. “Listen hear mate! I’ve heard enough of you Bull Larky, don’t think you can come the raw prawn with me”
Commo : A communist person
Compo : Compensation due to work related accidents or sickness
Conk : Strike, hit, punch. e.g. “Chastise the boy, but don’t conk him on the head, you could really hurt him!”
Cooee : A piercing shout or cry expressed mainly in the outback or bush. See also Within cooee
Coola bin : A convenient, compact cooler for drinks or food. See also Esky
Cop it sweet : Accept the inevitable. e.g. “Calm down mate, just cop it sweet, there’s nothing you can do about it”
Cop Shop : Police Station
Corroboree : A ritualistic Dance preformed by chanting Aborigines. 2. A mockery a laughingstock or farce. e.g. “Calm down everyone you turning the meeting into a Corroboree”
Cossie : Swimming attire or uniform. See also Togs
Cotton wool bud : A Q-tip
Counter lunch : A reasonable priced meal purchased at a hotel. e.g. “Let’s go down to the local pub for a few schooners, I’ll even shout you to a counter lunch”
Cow : An offensive word directed towards a disagreeable, often egotistical or thick headed individual. e.g. “you stupid cow, you really get me aggro, we’ll never resolve the problem if you keep on arguing about it!”
2. Distasteful, miserable, annoying. e.g. “You can forget sailing, it’s a cow of a day, what with the howling rain and high seas you’ll never get around the headland”
3. Obstinate, infuriating, unforeseeable. e.g. “Come on, you rotten cow, twist open, you can’t be on that tight!”
Crack down on : Confiscate, seize or apprehend someone or something. e.g. “Did you hear about Mike, the Police finally did crack down on him?”
Crack on to : To capture the attention or adoration of the opposite sex. e.g. “Who is he dating at the moment? I think he is trying to crack on to that redhead Robin”
Crack it big : To achieve affluence, wealth or prosperity
Crack of the whip : See Fair crack of the whip
Cracker : A fire cracker. 2. Money of little value. e.g. “You keep it mate, I’m not interested it’s not worth a cracker!”
Cracker night : Fireworks night, similar to the American 4th of July
Crash hot : Terrific, marvellous, sensational. e.g. “Your idea of wagging school today and going to the beach instead, was crash hot!”
Cripes : An outcry of mild shock, amazement or disbelief. e.g. “Did you hear me neighbour walked out on his missus for good?” Cripes, I never thought he was that type of bloke”
Crikey : A strong explanation of disapproval. e.g. “By Crikey, if you keep mucking around, I’ll bet the living Ricky's out of you”
2. Surprised, astonished, amazed
Crook : Sick, ill or unwell. e.g. “Thanks anyway, but I’ll take a raincheck okay, I’m feeling crook today, but I’ll be seeing you” 2. To voice your indignation, dissatisfaction or disapproval. e.g. “I could really go crook at the bank for messing up my account!” 3. A state of being aggravated, angry or irritated. e.g.”They stole Pops golf clubs and he is real crook about it, so I don’t think now is the right time to talk to him” 4. To insult, abuse or offend. e.g. “Robin sure went crook on me for cracking her best chinaware” 5. Valueless, useless or phony. e.g. “It’s a crook watch you sold me, the Jeweller said it’s not worth two Bob!”
Crooked on : Dislike, despise or scorn. e.g. “I feel crooked on myself for the way I’ve treated you, forgive me”
Crooked as a dogs hind leg : Uneven, bent, lopsided. e.g. “You think you put the fence up straight, but crikey I reckon it looks as crooked as a dog’s hind leg”
Crumpet : An English style of muffin
Crust : Support, livelihood or a living. e.g. “Old Dave works hard to earn his crust”
Cuppa : A hot drink, usually in reference to tea or coffee
Curry : To voice your anger towards others e.g. “That stupid galah, he won’t argue with me again, I really gave him some curry that time” 2. To insult, abuse or harass

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