In Newtown, Sydney, there is a sign near the train station that reads ‘the land of the Cadigal people of the Eora nation’. In Stanmore, Sydney, about 2km away, there is a sign that proclaims ‘the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation’. This is the same Indigenous group, so why are there … Read more
Here in Australia, we have always taken up words and expressions from other English-speaking parts of the world.
Beautiful words are in the eye of the beholder. We’ve taken some suggestions and put together a few more words that we think evoke a sense of loveliness either in the way they sound or the way they look, and sometimes in the definition. You can read our first list of beautiful words here, and … Read more
Each week, we have a look at a slang word from Australian English. You can see other Aussie Word of the Week posts from the Macquarie Dictionary here. This week we look at knock ’em down rains.
You’d be forgiven for mishearing this and thinking the conversation was going to be about another Aussie classic, the yabby, but however similar this word is, it has a very different meaning. To yabber is to talk or chat; to chatter or rabbit on. It is Aussie slang thought to have originated in the language of the Wuywurrung, an … Read more
Hooroo as a farewell has been in use in Australia since at least 1916. It comes from the term hooray which was recorded in the Bulletin way back in 1898. It has been used on Australian TV in the past as a sign off from big shows including those of Molly Meldrum. Read some more tidbits on … Read more
Things have been crook in Tallarook since at least the 1960s in Australia. It comes from Tallarook, a town in central northern Victoria; one of a number of humorous rhyming expressions based on placenames dating from the early 1930s and widespread among soldiers during World War II. Other examples of rhyming expressions such as this are there’s no … Read more
The Sydney Language is the name given to the Australian Aboriginal language that was spoken in the greater Sydney area, comprising Dharug and Eora. The names Dharug and Eora were given by linguists to refer to the inland and coastal dialects of the language. Read more…
Read more about what our Committee thought of this word and view the whole the shortlist.
In 2015, the word was captain’s call. In 2016, it was fake news. In 2017, the controversial milkshake duck took out the top spot. And in 2018, we selected me too as the overall winner.
