Australian - American Dictionary

Notes: Australian and American english are not static of course, and most American usages are making rapid inroads into Australian usage through the influence of media such as television and films and through the Australian usage of American products such as computers. Meanwhile Australian words are increasingly understood in the US. Also American usage varies substantially across the country. This list mainly reflects my experience in California in 1985-88. In many cases where direct translation was impossible I have often picked some American counterpart that seemed to be in the same spirit. Hence scone to biscuit, bubble and squeak to hash browns, mate to sidekick.

Gordon Smyth, 31 July 1989 (Last revised 8 April 2008)

For information about Australian English, see the Australian National Dictionary Centre. They will even answer email questions about origins and meanings of words.

OZ ... US

Car

bonnet ... hood
boot ... trunk
bumper bar ... bumper
mud guard ... fender
windscreen ... windshield
indicators ... indicators, blinkers
petrol ... gas
bitumen ... asphalt
sealed road ... paved road
gravel ... road metal
ute, utility ... pickup truck
3 or 5 door ... hatch back
give a lift ... give a ride
lorry ... big rig
car park ... parking lot
bowser ... gas pump
gallon ... gallon (is nearly 20% smaller, 3.8 litres instead of 4.5)
overtake ... pass
pass ... pass each other driving in opposite directions

Office

A4 ... lettersize (lettersize is shorter and wider than A4)
foolscap ... legal size
rubber ... eraser
blackboard ... blackboard, chalkboard
backboard duster ... blackboard eraser
sticky tape ... scotch tape
elastic band, lacky band ... rubber band
biro ... pen
post a letter ... mail a letter
display on notice board ... post a notice
postman ... mailman
drawing pins ... thumbtacks
paper knife ... letter opener
golfballs (selectric typewriter) ... elements
ground floor ... first floor (Oz floors are US floors less 1)
lift (building) ... elevator
notice board ... bulletin board
lavatory, toilet ... washroom, restroom

Food

biscuit ... cookie, cracker
burghul ... bulgur
scone ... biscuit (nearest equivalent, made with yeast instead of self-raising)
patty cake ... muffin (nearest equivalent)
lolly ... candy, treat
ice lolly ... popsicle, ice pop
plain flour ... all purpose flour
whole meal (bread) ... whole wheat
castor sugar ... confectionary sugar
rockmelon ... cantaloupe
paw paw ... papaya
shallots, spring onions ... green onions, scallions
capsicum ... bell pepper
Swede ... Rutabaga (turnip)
silver beet ... Swiss chard
punnet of strawberries ... pint, small basket of strawberries
sultanas ... yellow raisins
jam ... jam, jelly
jelly ... jello
chips ... French fries
potato crisps ... potato chips
fairy floss ... cotton candy
bubble and squeak ... hash browns (closest equivalent, bubble and squeak is fried left-overs and may contain chopped meat and greens as well as potatoes. Both dishes are eaten at breakfast.)
cool drink ... soft drink
ginger ale ... root beer
lemonade ... 7-up (not the same but similar)
lemon juice ... lemonade
tomato sauce ... catsup, ketchup
polyunsaturated margarine ... low cholesterol margarine
entree ... appetizer
main course ... entree
tea (tea in this context, meaning the main evening meal, may be short for high tea, although no one ever says that in Australia) ... dinner
tea time, morning tea, afternoon tea ... coffee break
half milk, half cream ... half and half
black or white coffee or tea ... coffee or tea with or without cream, coffee light
serviette ... napkin
scroggin ... gorp, trail mix
tucker ... grub
meat and salad roll ... hero, dagwood, submarine, hoagie sandwich
... blt (bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich)
make a sandwich ... make or fix a sandwich
packed lunch ... sack lunch or box lunch
hundred and thousands ... sprinkles (nearest equivalent)
custard sauce ... ---
jug of beer ... pitcher of beer
schooner, midi, pot ... small, large beer
restaurant bill ... restaurant check, restaurant bill
shout a round ... buy everyone drinks
tin ... can
mince steak ... mincemeat
chicken, chook ... chicken
meat pie ... ---
pastie ... ---
pavlova ... ---
sausage roll ... ---
lamington ... ---
pudding ... ---
stew ... ---
cooked in a pan, a bit like a pieklet ... drop scone
a rich confectionary cut into bars ... fudge
like a rich chocolate cake ... brownie
clam soup, the most common New England clam chowder is creamy, but there is also a less common red tomato based version ... clam chowder
--- ... clam juice
to bake under an open grill, i.e., bake and grill food simultaneously ... broil

bring a plate (Oz) =pot luck (US) adj: In Oz, one might say "All invited. Bring a plate." In the US, it's a "pot luck dinner". In either case, all guests bring a plate or dish of food which can be shared. In Britain it is apparently called "Dutch treat".
crumpet (Oz) n: 1. vaguely like an English muffin, only much better. Commonly eaten in place of toast during winter. 2. woman considered as a sexual object (seldom used now).
vegemite (Oz) n: Wholesome and sharp tasting black spread for toast and crackers. The definitive Australian icon, and there is definitely no US equivalent.

University

1st year, 2nd year etc ... freshman, sophomore, junior, senior
university, uni ... school, campus
at university ... in college
masters, PhD student ... graduate student
thesis ... dissertation
supervisor ... adviser
term ... quarter
autumn ... fall
sit in on course ... audit course
primary school ... elementary school
conch ... nerd
... geek
nought (numeral) ... zero
maths ... math
stats ... stat
sinh, cosh, pronounced "shine", "cosh" ... "sine h", "cos h", hyperbolic sine and cos
beta, pronounced "beeta" ... beta, pronounced "bayta"

Home

flat ... apartment
kitchen tidy ... trash can
rubbish bin ... garbage can
bucket ... pail
tap ... faucet, spigot
letter box ... mail box
verandah ... porch, deck
footpath ... sidewalk
lounge ... sofa
lounge room, sitting room ... living room
wardrobe ... cupboard
dresser, dressing table ... sideboard
cutlery ... flatware
knives ... cutlery
freezer ... freezer, icebox
kitchen bench ... kitchen counter
door frame ... door jam

verge (the grassed area between the footpath in front on your house and the road which you look after as part of your own front yard but which actually belongs to the city council) "You can park on the verge." ... easement (usually used only in legal language), swale (on a property that doesn't have a sidewalk/footpath or a cement curb, the grassy area closest to the road)

laundry trough ... laundry tub
clothes hoist ... clothes line
clothes pegs ... clothes pins
billy (usually a blackened tin pot used on a bushwalk) ... pot
billy tea (tea made in a billy on a bushwalk) ...
... escrow (the period between offer and settlment when buying a house) "How's the house buying going? We're in escrow."
estate agent ... realtor
block of land ... lot of land
cubby house ... tree house, play house
(baby's) dummy ... pacifier
lane ... alley
tomahawk ... hatchet
cotton wool ... absorbent cotton
rates ... local taxes
tidy up room, house ... pickup room, house
heating outlet ... register

bedsit (Oz) = studio apartment (US) n: An apartment with kitchen/living room and bathroom, but no separate bedroom. The US version can be very comfortable (I had one in Goleta, California), while British-style bedsits are often very cramped. A British style bedsit would probably attract the description "toy studio" if found in the US. I noticed the term "studio apartment" in use in Australia (Brisbane) for the first time in 1992, in a real estate advertisement. Obviously it sounded more impressive than "bedsit". In any case, this type of apartment is relatively uncommon in Australia.
continental quilt (Oz) n: See doona.
doona (Oz) = comforter (US) n: Quilted eiderdown with a down or synthetic filling. "Doona" is an Tradename. "Doona" is apparently used in Australia only, and is unknown in New Zealand and Britain, let alone the US.

People

dill ... fool
wowser ... teetotaler, non-gambler etc

Clothes

jumper, pullover ... sweater
polo neck (jumper) ... turtle neck (sweater)
... jumper (in the US jumper means a loose fitting sleaveless dress worn over a blouse. This is an older British usage - it's in the OED of 1933 - but is not in current Australian usage.)
singlet ... tank top, athletic shirt
nappy ... diaper
sanitary towels ... sanitary napkins
hair pins ... bobby pins
press studs ... snaps
track suit ... sweat suit, sweats
clothes horse ... clothes rack (?)
person who buys lots of clothes ... clothes horse
reel of cotton ... spool of thread

Hardware

spanner ... wrench
torch ... flashlight
oxie welder ... torch

Spellings

ardour, behaviour, colour, honour, glamour, flavour, labour, neighbour, odour, valour, vapour ... no "u"
arse ... ass
analogue, catalogue ... analog, catalog
analyse ... analyze
centre, litre, theatre... center, liter, theater
cheque ... check
computer disc ... computer disk
enquire ... inquire
enrolment ... enrollment
grey ... gray
instal ... install, instal
-ise, -ize (most words which are spelt with the -ize suffix in the US, can be spelt with either -ise or -ize in Australian English, although the -ise is more common) ... ize
modeller, modelling ... modeler, modeling
programme (music etc) ... program
sulphur ... sulfur

Pronunciations

beta: "beeta" ... "bayta"
quay: "key" ... "kway"
sinh, cosh, tanh: "shine", "cosh", "thahn" ... "sine ach", "cos ach", "tan ach"
z: "zed" ... "zee"

Measures

Celsius ... Fahrenheit (temperature measure are converted by F = 9/5*C + 32)
stone ... 14 lb
gallon (= 4.5 litres) ... gallon (= 3.8 liters)
metres ... yards
kilometres ... miles
fortnight ... two weeks
Saturday week etc ... a week from Saturday
Saturday last, Saturday next ... last Saturday, next Saturday
1 cent, 2 cent etc ... penny, nickel, dime, quarter
dollar note ... dollar bill
thousand million ... billion

Country

bushwalk ... hike
station ... ranch
droving ... muster, roundup
cocky (not derogatory) ... red neck (derogatory)
swagman, swaggie (not derogatory) ... bum, pan handler (derogatory)
mate (not derogatory) ... sidekick (slightly derogatory)
jackaroo ... cowboy
jilleroo ... cowgirl
woop woop ... boondocks, boonies
behind the black stump, back of Bourke ... podunk
bush bashing ... brush busting
outback ... ---
walkabout ... ---
creek ... creek (used in the East by not in California in my experience), stream
creek ... brook

Expressions

write to (something) ... write (someone)

Music

semi-quaver (Oz) = sixteenth note (US) quaver (Oz) = eighth note (US) crotchet (Oz) = quarter note (US) mimim (Oz) = half note (US) semi breve (Oz) = whole note (US) breve (Oz) = double note (US): Note that the American terms "quarter notes" etc are also in use in Australia, but the decriptive words are far more common.

Other

barrack for team ... root for team sport ... sports stocks (ski) ... poles football ... Australian rules gridiron, American football ... football hockey ... field hockey ice hockey ... hockey noughts and crosses ... tic tac toe newspaper cuttings ... newspaper clippings queue ... line quay ... wharf busker ... street artist unreliable ... flaky, flake out home and hosed ... home free homely ... homey plain ... homely glandular fever ... mono (nuclesis) rsi (repetition strain injury) ... repetitive stress syndrome (less serious), carpal tunnel syndrome (more serious, may even require surgery)
doggo ... play dead galah ... wise guy drongo ... bore cinch ... sure thing Father Christmas ... Santa Claus g'day ... hi, howdy ta-ta, seeya ... take care, take it easy tar, thanks ... thanks good on you ... good for you blacklist ... --- (now understood) poker machine ... slot machine shaggy dog story ... --- (now understood) lawyer ... lawyer, attorney (lawyer in generic casual use, attorney in professional contexts) aluminium ... aluminum chemist's ... drug store caretaker ... janitor warder ... prison guard engine ... locomotive shareholder ... stockholder plane ticket ("airticket" now used by travel agents in Oz also) ... plane ticket (colloquial), airticket (formal, in travel agency) disembark (from plane) ... deplane trendoid ... yuppie trendy suburb ... gentrified suburb
sus (that's a bit sus) ... suspect
sus out (we'll have to sus it out) ... check out
only (he's only covered completely in mud) ...
bloody (general emphasis, not polite but not real bad either) ... damned
tick off (items in a form) ... check off
tick off (the teacher caught the boy and ticked him off) ... scold, dress down
piss off ... go away, get lost, shove off irritate ... tick off "his bogoted attitude really ticks me off!", miff "That screaming child really has me miffed.", piss off (very common but also vulgar, borderline profane) "That rude sales clerk pissed me off."

dole (Oz) n: Unemployment benefits.
Father Christmas (Oz) = Santa Claus (US) n: Although never used when I was a child, "Santa Claus" is now, in 1997, in common use in Australian department stores.
funky adj: 1. Oz and US: eccentric, stylish, pleasant, as in good jazz or folk music. 2. US only: dirty or smelly, as in "the bicycle chain is funky".
innings (Oz) = inning (US) n: Turn to bat, as in cricket or baseball.
gaol (Oz) = jail (US) n, v: Same pronunciation.
often times (US) adv: The emphatic form "often times" in place of simply "often" is virtually never used in Australia, but it's quite common in the US (usually pronounced "offen-times"). The Oxford concise lists it as an older usage in British english.
paye-as-you-earn (PAYE) (Oz) v: Pay income tax automatically at source. Employer deducts a standard amount from each salary or wage payment, and forwards to the tax office.
rafferty's rules (Oz) n: no rules at all, as of a chaotic contest or organization.
reckon (Oz) v: In Oz, "I reckon" translates simply to "I think", but there is no real US equivalent for this very common Australian construction. (September 1999: Kent Parks of Raleigh, NC, writes that "reckon" is also used in the same sense in the Southern US.)

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Lyn Whitaker (Naval Postgraduate School), Andrea Jagla (RealNetworks) and AnnaLisa Michalski for input and suggestions. Thanks also to others whom I can no longer remember individually.