Oh my, how creative these Kiwis are with the English language! I have had so much fun learning new words and phrases. Here are a few of my favorites that I'll be sure to use in the future:
Rattle your dags=hurry up, get a move on. From the mucky sheep's "dags" which describe the dried poop hanging from the sheep's butt wool. Gross. Try using "Oi, get your dags rattling, we're going to be late!"
Mooch Around=explore, investigate. As in "We had a mooch around the beach yesterday"
Knickers=underwear. I just love the word. Say it out loud.
Colly Wobbles=a feeling of nausea usually associated with nervousness. "Before my job interview I had the colly wobbles"
Flash=sensational, really cool, super. "That's a flash new car"
Throw a Wobbly=to become angry, get snotty, throw a fit. As in "geez, don't throw a wobbly over that, it's no big deal"
Crikey Dick=Gosh! Wow! Crazy!
Sprog=a child. "That woman has 4 wee sprogs!"
Dodgy=bad, unreliable, spoiled. "That fish looks a bit dodgy, I wouldn't buy it"
Knackered=extremely tired, worn out, finished, stuffed. "We were knackered after our 10 hour hike in the rain and wind"
Sweet As=a term people say instead of "cool" or "awesome"
Sparrow Fart=very early in the morning, the crack of dawn. As in "My boyfriend wakes me up at the sparrow's fart for Farmer's Market on Saturdays"
This made me laugh so hard! Something about a bird farting....crikey
ReplyDeleteThat's funny, I totally know some of these phrases. They say some of these in England and Ireland.
ReplyDeleteLove ya,
Patty
Sparrow fart! Classic! Never heard that one before! Btw, "classic" is another good Kiwi expression.
ReplyDeleteDid you know that "knackered", as you've described it, is probably the most modern usage of the concept? The "knacker's yard" is an old euphemism for "the freezing works" - which means "the slaughter house" to North Americans. And the word "knackers" means "bollocks" or "testicles". So my (unverified) interpretation of the modern "I feel knackered" (meaning tired/exhausted) is that it refers to castration - or the assumed effect thereof on a male's general keen-ness and energy level (-:
Another Kiwi word that all foreigners should be aware of is to "root" or [something is] "rooted", simply because you just don't want to use that word in the wrong context!
This is fun! Keep up the good work!
M.