I Tweeted recently about coming home on a horrible Winter night to a glass of red and my supremely daggy trackie dacks… and was asked what on earth I was talking about!
Trust me to use a bit of Aussie slang on the very international Tweetiverse — oops! So herewith, for all of you not lucky enough to live in The Lucky Country I am offering a Fashion-focused Guide to Aussie Slang.
Cactus or stuffed: tired, damaged, or not working. “I bought a top from Supre and it was stuffed within a week.” “Say one more thing about the air up here, mate, and you’re cactus.”
Ankle-biter: short person (usually a child). “I’m just trying to find some halfway decent shoes, but everything’s built for ankle biters.”
Trackie Dacks: Tracksuit pants. Do not under any circumstances wear your Trackie Dacks outside home and gym. You will be mistaken for a bogan.
‘Dacks’ is derived from ‘underdacks‘ or ‘undies‘ (also known as ‘underpants‘, ‘jocks‘, or ‘knickers‘) which are intended for private use under one’s clothing. Juicy Couture made a valiant effort to resuscitate ‘trackies’ for stylish outdoor use, and were foiled by Ms Spears who is a bogan if I ever saw one.
Proof: undies easily visible. By the way, undies can never be described as thongs. In Australia thongs are comfy bit of convenience footwear. Elsewhere in the world, they may be known as ‘flip-flops’. Like most great Aussie stuff, we nicked these from New Zealanders, who call them Jandals.
Aussies think that the word ‘Jandals’ is the stupidest thing they have ever heard. Which would probably be true if there wasn’t a stupid word like “thong”.
It’s OK to pick on New Zealanders, by the way, because there aren’t very many of them and they have a funny accent. What’s that I hear you say, Americans? Come over here and say that to our faces. That’s not a knife…
Speedos, also Budgie-smugglers are also an important cultural element to understand, as they are the preferred costume of the man who may well be our next PM when this Election stuff is finally dealt with. Budgie Smugglers are small-scale, tight fitting swimwear for men.
Acceptable:
Unacceptable:
Ugh. Speaking of Ugh, Ugg boots are for INSIDE, people. We see you Californians wearing them to the beach. Are you INSANE? They are to keep your feet WARM. Also, I don’t care who got there first with the trademark, all sheepskin boots are Ugg boots. I have been wearing ‘uggies’ since I was two.
Dodgy: nasty, shady, suspicious.
Dag: An often affectionate term for an uncool person. “Just because you’re some dodgy politician does not give you licence to dress like a dag.”
Ta (that is thanks) for now and till next time … Cheers!
