Meet New Zealand - US Forces in New Zealand

Words from 'Meet New Zealand'

Extract from Meet New Zealand, a booklet created by the New Zealand government to introduce US servicemen to New Zealand

..How we talk

NEW Zealanders have been well trained by your movies, so we cotton (catch) on to most of your ordinary slang. But as we don't export films to Hollywood you won't know ours. We share ours with Australia, though we do have a little of our own. Some of our language also is just ordinary English which varies from yours. Here are a few specimens.

ANZAC: Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (in the last war); a member of that corps.

ANZAC DAY: 25 April. The day the Australians and New Zealanders landed at Gallipoli in 1915, now kept as a solemn holiday.

AUSSIE: Australian (noun or adjective).

ARGUE THE TOSS: argue, dispute.

BENZINE: gasoline.

BISCUIT: cookie, cracker.

BLOKE: man.

CHEMIST’S SHOP: drugstore (but you don't get candy or drinks there).

COBBER: friend.

COCKY: farmer, generally on a small farm. COW-COCKY: dairy-farmer.

CORKER: very good.

COVE: man.

COW: may just mean cow, but may also mean an unpleasant man, woman or situation. These things may also be called, progressively, a FAIR cow, and a FAIR ADJECTIVAL COW.

CROOK: ill, bad. To FEEL CROOK, to feel ill. A CROOK BOSS, a bad employer.

CROOK, TO GO: to give vent to anger. Also FLY OFF THE HANDLE, HIT THE ROOF.

DIG, DIGGER: Australian or New Zealand soldier.

DINKUM: true, genuine. THE DINKUM OIL, the real truth.

FAIR TREAT: denotes emphasis-e.g., the boss went crook a fair treat.

FLICKS: movies.

GRAFT, or HARD GRAFT: hard work.

HALF A DOLLAR : two shillings and sixpence. But your dollar is worth 6s 1d N.Z. money now.

JAKE, JAKEALOO: good, okay.

JOKER: man.

KNOCK UP: to get anyone out of bed at a late hour.

LOLLIES: candy.

NARK: an unpleasant person. FAIR NARK: a very unpleasant person. To NARK: to spoil-e.g., now you've gone and narked the whole show!

PETROL: gasoline.

PINCH: steal.

POMMIE: English person.

POSSIE, POZZIE : position.

SCONE: baking-powder biscuit.

SCREW: salary, wage.

SHEEP STATION: big sheep farm, ranch.

SHEILA, SKIRT: girl.

SHOUT: buy something for someone (often a drink).

SKITE: boast, brag (verb), boaster (noun).

SQUATTER: farmer; generally sheep-farmer on a big scale.

STATION (RAILWAY): depot.

STONE: 14 lb. A joker who goes ten stone twelve is a guy who weighs 152lb.

TOO RIGHT: certainly, sure.

TORCH: flashlight.

TRAM: street-car, trolley-car.

UP THE POLE: ruined, made a mess of.

WATERSIDE-WORKER: longshoreman.

WOWSER : spoil-sport, temperance advocate, puritanical person.