New Zealand words
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New Zealand English vocabulary
Shared with Australia or other countries
- bring a plate — informal on invitations to social functions it constitutes a request that people attending should arrive with a plate-full of food, because catering is not provided. Many new arrivals in New Zealand have mistaken this and turned up with an empty plate, but only once. Perhaps used more by the older generation. Shared with Australia.
- chips, — french fries (USA). Shared with the UK and some other Commonwealth countries.
- chunder, slang — vomit, from "Watch out under".
- Claytons, slang adj. — low-quality imitation, not the real thing. Originated in Australia. For example, a hasty, temporary repair may be only a Claytons solution to a problem. Originally from the brand-name of a non-alcoholic whisky-flavoured beverage. Generally used by the older generation. See Claytons.
- footpath, — pavement or sidewalk. Shared by many countries outside the USA.
- fanny, slang — a crude word for female genitals, as in the UK. Although, sometimes buttocks as in the USA. Words such as "Fanny Pack" should be avoided in New Zealand (the New Zealand term is "beltbag" or "bumbag").
- footy, slang — football (usually Rugby Union, rarely League or soccer).
- G'day!/ Gidday!, interj. — A friendly, informal greeting, as in Australian English (From "good day") Examples, Gidday mate. Mostly used by the older generation.
- have someone on — To pull someone's leg: I was just having you on.
- lolly, — any of various sweets (pieces of candy). Iced lollies are "ice blocks".
- pom, n. — British person, usually English (derogatory). Mostly used by the older generation. See Alternative words for British.
- smoko, — rest break during work, originating in the days when smoking was a common practice and would take place during such breaks. Pronounced "smoke-o".
- super, — the old age pension scheme. Contraction of "superannuation".
- sweet as/sweet, adj. — fine as far as I'm concerned. The use of 'as' as an intensifier for adjectives has spread, for example 'It's cold as outside', or 'This summer has been hot as'.
- wag, slang v. — To play truant, as in Tom's wagging school today.
- wagon, — station wagon (USA), estate car (UK). Contraction of "station wagon"; the full term is often used.
Unique to New Zealand
- bach, — a small holiday home, usually near the beach, often with only one or two rooms and of simple construction. Pronounced "batch". (See also 'crib', below).
- chur bro pronounced chair — Slang, humorous usually a strong voicing of thanks but also a parting salutation. Shortened from "cheers brother" although can be said to either male or female. Common in Auckland.
- pottle — in some areas, the unit by which strawberries and certain other fruit are sold. In other parts of New Zealand, the terms "chip" and "punnet", shared with UK English, are better known.
- chilly bin - An Esky or other cooler
- chippies — Informal or potato chips, as in US "chips" and UK "crisps"
- choice! — informal excellent! Great idea!
- crib — another word for bach, more commonly used in the south of the South Island.
- dairy — equivalent to the British term corner shop.
- The Ditch — slang the Tasman Sea, the "ditch" separating New Zealand and Australia, almost always used in the phrase: "across the ditch", meaning, Australia. Occasionally also refers to Cook Strait, which separates the two main islands of the country.
- domain — as well as its common overseas uses, a public park or reserve, often with sports or camping facilities.
- eh! (occasionally spelled "aye") — Slang used for emphasis at the end of a sentence, eh! (A similar but not identical usage is found in Canadian English). See Eh.
- flat — a rented dwelling. Often a large multilevel home will be converted into an upstairs and downstairs flats, but there are fully-detached flats and blocks of flats as well. The term apartment is usually used for blocks of flats with shared internal access. (This is distinctly different from the British usage of the term, which is restricted to units within a block of flats). Also flatting, to share a flat.
- freezing works — a meat-packing plant, an abattoir.
- fulla — slang guy, from 'fellow'.
- Godzone - informal New Zealand: corruption from 'God's Own Country'.
- hard case — slang a person who has a very good sense of humour, a comedian.
- Jandals — slang as in US and UK "flip-flops", Australia "thongs". Portmanteau of Japanese Sandal. Seee Jandals.
- kiwi — informal a New Zealander, or as an adjective instead of New Zealand. New Zealanders never use kiwi to refer to kiwifruit.
- longdrop — informal as in US "outhouse" or "portapotty"
- Mainland — informal usually, but not always, refers (sometimes mildly humorously) to the South Island, which, despite its much smaller population, is the larger of the two main islands of New Zealand.
- OE or Big OE — informal overseas experience, time spent travelling and working overseas, usually beginning in London.
- Queen Street farmer — informal humorous a usually pejorative term for an investor in rural land with no knowledge of land use.
- Remuera tractor/Fendalton tractor — slang humorous a usually pejorative term for an SUV (compare Queen Street farmer, above). See Toorak Tractor.
- scarfie — slang a university student, particularly one studying at the University of Otago.
- tin - slang Corrugated roofing iron, an icon of New Zealand architecture and widely used in old and new houses.
- tinny - slang a tinfoil wrap containing an illegal drug, sold at a tinny house.
- up the Puhoi — slang far from civilisation. The Puhoi is a river just north of Auckland. Over the years the phrase has evolved and is now often heard as "Up the Boohai". It is also sometimes attributed to other New Zealand rivers. Again, more characteristic of the older generation.
- WOF/Warrant — (Warrant of Fitness), vehicle roadworthiness test, similar to British MoT and the Australian Roadworthy Certificate, except that it is required 6-monthly for older vehicles.
- Wops - slang rural areas or towns/localities on the fringes of larger towns/cities. (Wop Wops also less commonly used).
See also
New Zealand English
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