Aussie-ism's Part Deux

Shortly after I moved to Australia, I wrote a blog post about some of the funny sayings I have heard. Since then, whenever I hear new ones, I have tried to remember them so I could write another blog post. Here are the latest:

• Crook - sick or ill. "Sorry boss, I am crook today. See you tomorrow."
• Under the Pump - a lot of work to do against a fast-approaching deadline. "Look mate, I would love to talk but am really under the pump."
• Cheeky - funny or silly. "Yeah he was cute and kind of cheeky."
• Flat Out  - busy. "I'd love to go to the pub but am just flat out at the moment."
• I Reckon - I figure.... "I reckon I need another coffee. I haven't had one in the last 20 minutes."
• No Dramas - used interchangeably with "no worries", a personal favorite. "I know you just made a huge mistake, but no dramas."
• How you going? - How are you doing? I still don't know where we are going, but I say this ALL the time now. They also will say "How are you traveling?".
• Bloke - guy or man. "yeah, look, he's a good bloke."
• Good on ye - good for you. "You won that game of Words with Friends? Good on ye!"

I love these. I hear them all the time and they are becoming part of my vernacular.


On the food front, I have had to learn some basics as well. One funny thing I've learned is that they are almost offended when they see you stir sugar in your coffee once they've made it for you. They'd MUCH prefer to prepare the coffee with the sugar stirred in by them. Don't ask me why...but if you don't order "plus 1 sugar" and have them stir it in while they make it, they will say something to you like "you know I could have added that in. Remember that for next time." So weird. But they take their coffee so seriously that I don't mess with that and now order my "plus 1" in advance.  Last thing you ever want to do is offend your Aussie barista. 


Also, important to know the following when viewing an Aussie menu:


Tasty Cheese - you'll actually see this on menus. It's a type of cheese, which I find hilarious. It's Australia's version of American cheese, but is actually a mild cheddar.


Capcisum - red or green pepper. It's in everything.


Prawn - shrimp.  If you say "pad thai with shrimp", they look at you like you have 6 heads. you have to say prawn.


Lettuce - there are all kinds of lettuce. "Cos" is your general leafy green lettuce. "Rocket" is arugula. "Iceberg" is iceberg.


Bacon - you've heard me talk about this before. I LOVE bacon. But bacon here is a slab of ham grilled briefly in a pan.  You'll see "CRISPY Bacon" on menus, and that is their attempt to placate all the Americans who miss American bacon. But it's still that same slab of ham just cooked longer in the pan. Do not fall for it...even crispy bacon isn't the bacon you know and love, and will miss desperately.


Tomato Sauce - ketchup. It's of course pronounced "toe-maah-toe". Again, you might as well have 6 heads if you ask for ketchup.


Lastly, I am starting to get used to the side dishes offered for breakfast/brunch. Your choices are: baked beans (not like American baked beans, more tomato-sauce based), avocado, mushrooms, toast or premier toast (premier is fancier, I suppose. To me, toast is toast.), pumpkin (cubes of butternut squash) or hash browns (which look and taste like McDs hash browns).


Until next time, xoxo


p.s. I am going to start a beach chair business. Let me know if you'd like to invest. At Bondi Beach last weekend, there were thousands of people and NOT ONE beach chair. Everyone sits on towels and blankets. I still don't know why but I will ask around and report back. This seems so silly to me....Chairs rule.