Glossary of Australian Terms for 'Life Song' - Welcome to Christine M Knight

Glossary of Australian Terms for ‘Life Song’

arvo is Australian slang for afternoon.

Bloke means a man.

Bouffy means big and fluffy; it usually refers to a hairstyle.

Bump in and out refers to the process of moving a band’s equipment in and off stage and in and out of the performance venue.

Crank up in the context used in the storymeansincrease the volume to very loud.

CWA is an abbreviation or The Country Women’s Association. It is a non-profit, non-party political and non-sectarian organisation for country and city women. Members work for the welfare of all women and children through representation to all levels of government, undertaking fundraising events, providing networking opportunities and teaching life skills.

Esky is a popular brand name cooler in Australia and is a trademark owned by Coleman Brands Pty Ltd and which specifically identifies an Esky brand name icebox cooler. Loose ice is added to the esky to enable people to keep food cold while it is being transported. Esky has become the generic name for any cooler.

Fella is an informal word for a male that is not age specific. Nowadays, it can also be used as universal term for either gender. Its use shows familiarity between speakers just as the use of mate does.

Flex time is a workplace time management system that allows workers to vary their hours in the workplace. It also enables workers to take time-off in lieu of being paid for working more hours than the workplace agreement requires.

Floaties are a floatation device used mostly for children who don’t know how to swim.

Happy chappy is a word from rhyming slang. It means a happy person, usually male.

Icey pole is an inexpensive flavoured ice block on stick.

IRB is an inflatable rigid-hull boat with an outboard motor popular in the life saving movement. Also known as a rubber duckie by lifesavers.

A jock is a putdown term for men preoccupied with brutish behaviour and fixated on sex. Jocks is also slang for underpants.

John Howard was an Australian Liberal party politician who served as the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He is the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister. He represented the Division of Bennelong in New South Wales from 1974-2007. John Howard led the Liberal-National coalition to victory at the 1996 Federal election, defeating Paul Keating’s Labor government.

Paul Keating was an Australian Labor party politician who served as the 24th Prime Minister of Australia. He replaced his colleague, Bob Hawke as Prime Minister and governed from 1991 until his party lost the 1996 Federal election. As an aside, I taught Paul Keating’s daughters when they were in high school – truly beautiful young women, inside and out.

KENO is a gambling game popular in pubs and casinos. It is like bingo.

Kogal fashion was popular in the 1990s and originated in Japan. It originally involved wearing an outfit based on a Japanese school uniform, but with a shortened skirt, loose socks, and dyed hair and a scarf as well. This style widened to involve other youth street fashion looks as well.

A knob head is Australian slang for fool or idiot. It is the Aussie equivalent for jerk or arsehole.

Maxed out means to reach the maximum in something. For instance, if someone maxed out a credit card that means the person has borrowed to the maximum limit of the credit card.

Mate isused to mean a good friend but has become more generic in meaning and now means friend.

Matey refers to a very youngfriend. Australians have a preference for adding y to words that represent familiar things and people.

Minties are a brand of candy produced in Australia. They are a hard, white and chewy, square mint-flavoured lolly. Australians call candy a lolly or lollies.

nong is Australian slang and is used as a mild and/or endearing insult. It means a bit of a twit, or idiot. Nothing too mean or horrid is meant by calling someone a nong.

Norfolk Pines are a type of conifer originally found on Norfolk Island that is located in the Pacific Ocean between Australia, New Zealand, and New Caledonia. Norfolk Pines have been transplanted in many east coast regions in Australia.

A portaloo is a type of portable toilet that event organisers hire.

Royal Easter Show is the major New South Wales agricultural, horticultural and industrial event held annually in Sydney at Easter to promote and display livestock, produce, rural and industry merchandise. Prior to the Royal Easter Show, regional shows are held across New South Wales.

Rubber duckie is slang for an inflatable rigid hull boat with an outboard motor. It is also known as an IRB. See IRB in this glossary.

The Surf Life Saving Movement ‘has a proud tradition of saving lives for over 100 years. Since 1907, surf lifesavers have volunteered their time and effort to provide a dedicated lifesaving service around the country.’ http://www.slsfoundation.com.au/default.aspx

Wah-wah pedal alters the sound of the guitar. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wah-wah_pedal

Note to Readers: If there is a term in ‘Life Song’ that I’ve overlooked and that you think needs explanation, please let me know through this website so that I can update this glossary.

MUSIC – YOUTUBE LINKS

TlC Waterfall http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=It306odRXoQ

Garbage Only When It Rains http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esEdC0c3YI4

John Mellencamp Wild Night http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJJC7Vujagc

Shania Twain I’m Outta Here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tiVr-q3wnk

Joe Cocker With A Little Help From My Friends http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wG6Cgmgn5U

Elvis Presley

Baby Let’s Play House http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Arm16wyUdI

Love Me Tender http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Y-bd3aDMGA

It Feels So Right http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sxwODr0d4Q

Such A Night http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jc88evqEbjI

Hound Dog http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HWhrPaDTj4