Australian Slang D - N

damper

bush bread made from flour and water and cooked in a camp oven

desert

a large area of sand, stone or low vegetation where it is always very hot and dry

didgeridoo

a long wooden musical instrument, played especially in Australia

dingo

indigenous wild dog

dip

a place where the surface of the road or ground goes down suddenly, then goes up again

dog fence

the world's largest fence, erected to keep Dingos out of south-eastern Australia

down under

Australia

droving

moving livestock a considerable distance

dunny

an outdoor toilet

Eski

trademark name for a portable ice box used for keeping beer and food cool

fair dinkum

virtually the same as True Blue - honest, reliable, trustworthy ; 'Are you fair dinkum?' means 'are you telling the truth?'

feral animals

feral animals used to live with humans but have become wild. In Australia these are brumbies (horses), camels, cats, donkeys, goats etc.

fettler

a worker on the railway lines

flash floods

a sudden flood that is caused by a lot of rain falling in a short period of time

floodway

where a creek could cross the road after heavy rains

fossicking

hunting for gems or semiprecious stones

four-wheel-drive (4WD)

a system in a car or other vehicle by which the power of the engine is given to all four wheels to make it easier to drive

g'day

good day, traditional Australian greeting; an informal way of saying 'hello'

galah

noisy parrot, thus a noisy idiot

gibber

Aboriginal word for stone or boulder;

gibber plain

stony desert = small, loose stones found scattered over plains;

made up of many small rocks or stones ('gibbers') after the lighter sands and clays have washed or blown away over time.

gidgee

a type of small acacia

goanna

native Australian lizard

grade

to level a road, usually by means of a bulldozer fitted with a 'blade' that scrapes off the top layer and pushes it to the side

grader

a vehicle that grades the uneven surface of an unsealed road

gravel road

an unsealed road with a surface made of gravel

grid

metal bars over a road to keep cattle at one side of the grid

Homestead

the main house on a farm, the residence of a station owner or manager

hotel

a pub - there's no garanty that it offers a bed

Joey

young kangaroo or wallaby

jumbuck

sheep

jump-ups

name given to low ranges, isolated hills and low tablelands

Kelpie

Australian sheep dog, originally bred from a Scottish collie

koori

Aborigine (mostly south of the Murray River)

Lamington

square of sponge cake covered in chocolate icing and coconut

livestock

the animals that are kept on a farm

Magpie

Australian native bird

mallee

the mallee tree is a small eucalyptus that spreads its branches below the earth's surface and emerges multi-trunked. There are many varieties and are found all over the southern half of Australia.

mate

general a term of familiarity, whether you know the person or not; a friend

matilda

a swag

min min

mysterious lights at night in the outback

mound springs

natural outlets of the Great Artesian Basin, sometimes surrounded by walls of minerals

mozzies

mosquitoes

mulga

arid-zone acacia

muster

round up (find and gather together) livestock