{"id":686,"date":"2009-07-09T23:00:27","date_gmt":"2009-07-09T13:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theprofessionalhobo.com\/?p=686"},"modified":"2024-06-19T07:41:44","modified_gmt":"2024-06-19T11:41:44","slug":"australian-abbreviations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theprofessionalhobo.com\/australian-abbreviations\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian Abbreviations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In my series of posts on Australian <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theprofessionalhobo.com\/australian-expressions-of-pleasure\/\">expressions<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theprofessionalhobo.com\/more-things-that-make-australia-unique\/\">idiosyncrasies<\/a>, I realize that I have left you, dear readers, sadly in the dark. You see, I have just now unlocked one of the secrets to speaking like an Aussie in no time. In a way it is so simple that I adopted it without realizing it; in another way it was one of the largest initial barriers in my ability to follow a fast-paced conversation: <strong>the clever use of Australian abbreviations<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>This post was originally published in 2009. It has since been updated for accuracy of links and content.\u00a0<\/em><br \/><br \/><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\u201ca\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Chop off the last half of a word and replace it with \u201ca\u201d, and you\u2019ve got the basics. Here are a few examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cuppa = cup of tea or coffee<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Macka = Mackenzie<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maccas = McDonalds (although you will also hear it pronounced as Mackers)<br \/><br \/><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\u201cer\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This follows the same principle as above (which is the basic principle of Australian abbreviations!). The sticky part is that it can be tough (with my Canadian ears) to differentiate between an Australian saying \u201ca\u201d and \u201cer\u201d, so there may well be some leeway between this category and the \u201ca\u201d one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chuckers = nun chucks<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mackers = McDonalds<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sanger = sandwich (yup \u2013 I had trouble making the leap from sandwich to sanger the first time myself)<br \/><br \/><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\u201cie\u201d or \u201cy\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This one of the more common forms of Australian abbreviation as I can tell, with some very popular words in the repertoire, such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Aussie = Australian<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"..\/australian-hamburgers-lamingtons-meat-pies-and-other-foods\/\">Barbie<\/a> = barbeque<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bikkie = biscuit\/cracker\/cookie (yes, all three)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Brissie = Brisbane<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theprofessionalhobo.com\/the-afl-grand-final-an-australian-institution\/\">Footy <\/a>= football<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Greenie = environmentally friendly person<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Linnie\/Lindie = Linda<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mozzie = mosquito<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tradie = tradesman<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Uni = university (it\u2019s not an \u201cie\u201d or \u201cy\u201d abbreviation, but it\u2019s close)<br \/><br \/><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\u201co\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Arvo = afternoon (I\u2019m not sure where the \u201cr\u201d came from)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Avo = avocado (not to be confused with arvo\/afternoon, which I\u2019ve done frequently \u2013 it gets messy)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bizzo = business<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bottle-O = bottle shop \/ liquor store<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Doco = documentary<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Johnno = John<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Journo = journalist<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Smoko = smoke break<br \/><br \/><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\u201cza\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This, I\u2019ve only recently tuned in to hearing and identifying the roots of, so examples from my vocabulary are slim. (Australian readers, please help me out!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sharon = Shazza (which also happens to be a descriptive term for a woman who is basically trailer trash \u2013 I pity the girl named Sharon)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many of these abbreviations are not specific to any particular generation or class of individual; instead they are commonly used terms in Australian dialogue, on television (not that television is the be-all and end-all of culture, but it\u2019s even on the news), and even in writing. I\u2019ve probably used the word \u201cAussie\u201d about a thousand times to date on this website alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I know there are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.babbel.com\/en\/magazine\/aussies-love-abbreviations\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">many more<\/a> Aussie abbrevos (?-maybe it\u2019s abbrevvies), so mates, pony up: how do you minimize those pesky unnecessary syllables?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In my series of posts on Australian expressions and idiosyncrasies, I realize that I have left you, dear readers, sadly in the dark. You see, I have just now unlocked one of the secrets to speaking like an Aussie in no time. In a way it is so simple that &#8230; <a title=\"Australian Abbreviations\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theprofessionalhobo.com\/australian-abbreviations\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Australian Abbreviations\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-australia"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Learning Australian Abbreviations - The Professional Hobo<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn how to speak like an &quot;Aussie&quot; (see? That&#039;s an abbreviation) by using Australian\u00a0abbreviations and Australian slang. Here&#039;s the code.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theprofessionalhobo.com\/australian-abbreviations\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Learning Australian Abbreviations - The Professional Hobo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn how to speak like an &quot;Aussie&quot; (see? That&#039;s an abbreviation) by using Australian\u00a0abbreviations and Australian slang. 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