I wrote this to help children who see their older brother and sisters use this strange new language and the children are wondering what it is all about, and for the youngsters becoming teenagers and hanging around older teens wondering what they are on about. A point to remember is that the meaning of slang/words can change often for teenagers from decade to decade, so do be wary of that change.

I have seen a lot of web sites and people’s pages with so-called Kiwi/Aussie slang and yet I, a New Zealander/Kiwi have never used whats on that page in my life. The words I put here are what I have known in my life. Slang is informal speech, and different towns, cities, countries and cultures can have their own slang terms.

Avast – a sailor’s phrase for stop, shut up, go away.

Bach – Slang for Batch and sounds like Batch. Normally a small dwelling, big enough for 1 or two people. Sometimes found at lakes, beaches etc.

Bad Egg, a scoundrel or rascal.

Bamboozle – to delude, cheat, or make a fool of any one.

“Beauty”, or “Beaut Mate” – Thats good, great, excellent, a good thing.
Two guys looking at a car/hot rod/classic vehicle, one guy to another, “She’s a beaut mate!”

”Been there…” – “Yes, I have been there too.” I have been through the same or similar situation and I know what it feels like, you have my sympathy (if it was sad/bad/etc).

Blown Away – His girl walks out and he see’s her and says that he is blown away by how stunning she is. Or a teenager wins a race and feels blown away by his success and possibly by how easy it was to win.

Boss – Like Cool, “this song is real boss man” The in-thing. Later on came the popular saying, “Like a boss!”

“Bro!” – Basically said to anyone male and is often used as a greeting or even just passing someone in the street.

Buck – A dollar. “Give me 2 bucks and its yours!”

Buzz – Exciting, thrilled, “buzzed out”, amazed. After a thrilling race, or something really cool happening someone would say, “What a buzz!”

“Chocka Block” – If you are putting boxes into the truck of a car or van, building, and there is no more room for anything else to fit in, you could say that it is “Chocka block, nothing else can fit into there!”

Chur – A greeting. “Chur, how ya doing?” Thanks. “Thanks bro!.”

Cool – Like Hip, cool is about the in-person, or the in-thing, or the latest craze, fad, interest, what is considered exciting by those who are the in-crowd. “Thats a real cool watch you got there Tom!” “Cool shoes bro!”
The word “Cool” goes back to the 1800’s at least, Charles Dickens uses the word in a novel he wrote called Great Expectations, 1860.

Cuzzie – A word for cousin, or even just a friend. Like, “Hey, thanks Cuz!”

Chicken – A coward. “All talk, no action, a chicken for sure.”

Chill and Chill-Out – Being calm from one’s previous or current mood. “Dude, chill out, don’t be so tense.” People go to a place to “chill”, relax, take it easy.

Cram – To study just about non-stop before an exam to catch up and hopefully pass. “Is Pete coming out tonight?” “No, he is cramming for the exam tomorrow.”

Crash – Go to sleep. “Guys I’m going to crash, I’m exhausted.”

Cur – A mean or dishonest person.

Ditch – Not go. Miss out. “I’m going to ditch the party and go home straight to bed, too tired, got school tomorrow.” Skip the event.

Dough – Money.

Dude – A male.

Epic – Grand. Probably came from the movies of old called “Epics”, meaning big, amazing. “Wow, that was an epic movie.” “We had an epic time.”

Flash – Meaning that someone looks expensive, well cared for, cost a lot, like a car or house that is far more expensive or nice looking than the rest of the neighbourhood. Or a woman dressed up and the guys say, “Wow, she looks flash!”

Flop – An event that felt like a non-event. Something that was a downer, a disappointment, didn’t turn out to be what was expected by those who attended the event. “Man, that birthday party was a real flop!”

Guts – Courage. “He’s got no guts.” “Hasn’t got the guts (courage) to talk to him face to face.” “He won’t back you up, he is gutless, all talk.”

Hang Around – A person is going to go and spend time with you at your home. “Some of the mates/bro’s are going to hang around at the corner shop this afternoon, you want to come and hang out with us too?”

Hip – Means that it is real cool, something that is seen as very good. Also the in-thing, the latest. “He is a real hip dude.” “Thats a real hip chick for sure.” The latest fashion – fashionable.

“Hungus“ – Hungry as for a feed. “Man am I hungus, bro, when do we eat?”

Jade – A disreputable woman. “What a jade she is.” A flirtatious girl. “That jaded woman.” A broken-down, vicious, or worthless horse.

Keen As – Meaning I want to do that. “I am keen as bro, lets go!”

Knackered – exhausted from working hard, tired from using up lots of energy, or just stayed up too late and are just feeling too knackered.

Mammy – or Mamma. A mother, formerly sometimes used for grandmother

Mug – Someone’s face.

Mug Shot – A photo of someone’s face.

Munted – Something broken can be called munted, “Its munted mate!” or you are tired, “I feel munted.”

My Bad – My mistake. “Ooops, sorry bro, my bad!”

Pal – A friend. A partner, or relation.

Screw up – Make a mistake. “Oh no, I really screwed up this time.”

“Shadow Warrior” – A term used to explain nasty people who work in the shadows like cowards saying bad things about someone but never having the courage to say it to their face. Chuck Norris used it in a book he wrote.

Sharp – meaning that someone is very clever, on to it, smart in thinking, clued up, figures things out reasonably easily.

Shot – Tired, “I’m shot bro!” and can be thanks, he says, “Shot mate!” after being given something he wanted.

Slack – Real Slack – Lazy, not very much into making an effort. Someone who can’t be relied on to do something. “Slack movie man” – not a great movie, boring, humdrum and so on.

Smoko – A break from work that also includes workers going to a Smoko Room/Hut to have some lunch and a coffee or two.

Stoked – Really pleased about something. “I am so stoked about how it went!”

Sucks – A downer. Something not so cool. Bad event. “Oh man, that sucks, I wish it had gone better for you bro!”

“Sup” – Whats up or similar. Seems like it could have come from. “Whats up?” but is sometimes used as a greeting, even on video’s, “Hey, sup people!”

“Sweet As“ – Good. When handed something, “Sweet as bro!” Also means Awesome, Great etc.

“Tiki Tour” – Sometimes when people get lost we say, “Hey, they must be going on a Tiki Tour”. Also can mean going on a trip, drive etc. “Off on a tiki tour, call you when we get back!”

“To the max”– Take it as far as it goes. Go as far as you can. Take it to the limit.

Ton – In the past where speed was measured in Mph (Miles per hour) in New Zealand people would say, “I got to a ton.” meaning they reached 100 Mph in speed. “He did a ton.”

Totalled – Wrecked. If a car has crashed and is thought to be beyond repair it can be called “Totalled”.

“Wop wops“ – “They went way out in the wop wops!” Far away, middle of nowhere, in the bush. Away from civilization.