Strewth mate, talking Strine is a bloody strain

G'day you old bastard. Goin' to the footie this arvo?

Translation - Greetings, dear friend. Do you plan to go to the match this afternoon?

My handbrake may be a top Sheila, but we had a real blue last night.

Translation - My wife is a first-rate lady but we had a huge argument last night.

I'm going to chuck some chook on the barbie. Why not bring over a carton of tinnies?

Translation - I am going to barbecue some chicken. Why not bring over a pack of beer?

For all those Olympic visitors who thought Australia was an English-speaking country, it is time to think again - speaking "Strine" can be a real strain.

So the organisers of Sydney's Olympic Games have put out a special CD as an instant introduction to the highly individualistic way Australians choose to speak English.

Imagine the utter bafflement of Americans faced with this greeting: Jeez, youse septics are a funny bunch of blokes.

As the guide helpfully explains, septic tank is rhyming slang for Yank. Hence the jovial greeting.

In this sports-mad country, two drinkers in a pub will happily bet on two flies crawling up a wall. So gambling colloquialisms can come in handy.

Commiserate with fellow losers on the pokies (poker machines) by saying, "I've done me brass, too (I too have lost my money)."

And don't be too baffled if someone offers you some electric spinach. Look puzzled and he will insist it is the finest wacky weed - for this is Australian slang for marijuana.

Australians, an upfront and direct collection of 20 million extroverts, love to puncture the pretentious.

Try this classic putdown for the showy and ostentatious: He thinks he's as flash as a rat with a gold tooth.

And slang neatly encapsulates the yin and yang of the Australian personality - the larrikin is happy-go-lucky and irreverent; the wowser a straight-laced killjoy.

Herald Online Olympic News