Is there a translator in the house?!

It's true, Australians speak English but it's not the same as American English. You've no doubt already recognized the spelling differences: color becomes colour, favorite becomes favourite. Then there are the really fun abbreviated words - I love these! Barbecue becomes barbie, mailman becomes postie, McDonalds becomes Maccas. Australians have great words and phrases that we don't use in the US, like "throw a wobbly", which I first thought was akin to a bad pass in football but later discovered it refers to someone throwing a fit. What is not to love about this country, I ask you?!

Expressions

Go the Tiges
Why is that extra "the" in there? Why not GO TIGES?

Throw a wobbly
To throw a fit. If it's a particularly nasty fit, it's a "mean wobbly"!

Fair dinkum
Roughly translated (Is there any other way?!) it means: Cool. Yeah. OK. Alright. I can live with that. Sure.

Double meaning

barrack
Do not, I repeat, do NOT "root" for a player in Australian football unless you are in the privacy of your bedroom! You "barrack" for the boys!

Vocabulary words

dacking
They actually have a term for when the shorts come down in a tackle! I told you, I LOVE THIS COUNTRY! And, by the way, what DO you expect in a game of tackling with men wearing short shorts?! My biggest surprise is that it doesn't happen more often!

Aussie
We know what it is, but did you know it's pronounced Ozzie????

Punt Road
Home of the Richmond Tigers!

Pronounciation

Foley - Sounds like folly.
Richo - Matthew Richardson's nickname sounds like rich-oh.