Some Australian terminology

a little primer :) 

Ok look, I normally hate these kinds of lists because they're full of things that any halfway intelligent person with a tiny bit of context should be able to figure out (eg, footpath = sidewalk). Or worse, they're full of "Crocodile Dundee" Aussie slang that I've never heard even once in my time there ("crikey", "fair dinkum", etc). Lastly, this is very Sydney-centric and I don't care if anything here doesn't apply in Perth or Coober Pedy.

All that said, here's some Australian terms that threw this seppo for a loop (or at least made me laugh).

When I'm really sad I'm...

• Seppo = American. It's rhyming slang: American > Yank > Tank > Septic Tank > add the "o" to it like Australians LOVE to do and you've got Seppo. Most of the "o" slang is pretty obvious, but the first time I encountered the word for 'devastated' it was in a text and i thought my friend was talking about the 80s New Wave band Devo. See also servo, smoko, garbo, etc. TIP: there's an -o slang for Aboriginals and it's incredibly offensive, do not say it ever.

Yank Tank

• While we're on the topic of Yanks, Yank Tank is the name for a giant SUV
• a taccy is a 'tactical vomit' (ie, force yourself to puke) that one does so they can keep on partying or to help stave off a hangover before bed. 
• Speaking of puke, Munt is to puke or to really fuck something up. "Then she munted all over her shoes!"
• and rhyming with munt, yes they do say the C-word. A lot. Only people who like you enough to insult you will call you this. Usually at the pub. I tried saying it and everyone winced "oof! yeah it sounds really bad when Americans say it, I see why you don't" 
• Yes, they do say mate, but just like buddy in the USA, it's often a pejorative. 
• While we're at the pub, pitchers are called jugs. And Schooners are smaller than pints. There's lots of Sydney-Melbourne drama around smaller sized glass names (pot/middy...) so just order a pint and be done with it. (Also, paying for drinks in rounds like you do in the UK is pretty common). 
• If you hear talk of a meat tray at the pub, there might be a raffle and the winner gets an actual tray of meat. 
• Lemon Lime Bitters. It's like Sprite with a dash of Angostura bitters in it and it's fucking perfect. You can drink it plain if you're not having alcohol or mix it with nearly any booze.
• Lemonade is often a carbonated drink that's a lot like Sprite
• Maryland is a cut of chicken (drumstick and thigh portions of the chicken, with the skin on and bone-in). Speaking of Maryland, Australians love seafood and it's tough to find Old Bay here, so it's a nice little "gift from the States"

a bachelor's handbag

• Bachelor's Handbag is a grocery store rotisserie chicken that comes in that little plastic carry bag. People don't really say this, but it won some Aussie Word of the Year award so it definitely gets a chuckle

• Chicken Salt is Australia's greatest invention and it's on nearly all of the french fries in the country
• Fries can also be called Chips like in the UK, but the crispy things in the little foil bags are ALSO called chips so it can get confusing fast. (Aussies do not call them 'packets of crisps' like the Brits do)

HSP – my favorite booze mop

• a Halal Snack Pack is the preferred post-drinking booze mop and it's basically a bunch of shawarma meat sliced onto a giant box of fries and covered in sauce. 
• Sherbet *is* an ice cream-like dessert but it's also the name of a kind of topping you can get on ice cream. Near as I can tell, they make Sherbet into that dried 'Astronaut ice cream' you got when you were a kid and then they grind it into a powder and then sprinkle it on ice cream (or Sherbet?!). So confusing.
• Spag Bol is spaghetti in red sauce and I love how angry it must make Italians to hear them call it this.
• An Iced Coffee is actually an Iced latte (sometimes it'll even have ice cream in it!) If you don't want milk (or ice cream) in your coffee, order an iced long black or a cold brew. Australians are at their most insufferable when they're mansplaining coffee to you. Just nod and ignore them. 
• Hamper is gift basket
• Yum Cha is what we call Dim Sum
• Sausage dog is a dachshund
• Snag is a sausage, but for some reason dachshunds aren't called snag dogs. 

The BOM is the bomb

• BOM (pronounced like bomb) Bureau of Meteorology. Find the link to their weather radar and bookmark it (or download their app). Apple weather is shit in Aus, so use the BOMb if you want to know if it's going to rain.
• CBD (Central Business District) = Downtown. Often referred to as just "The City". It's also the name for a cannabis extract but it's largely illegal in Australia.
• a super is a 401k, not your apartment supervisor
• if you hear lots of talk about a test and it makes no sense, there's a cricket match that's called the test. It's probably that.
• CBF = Can't Be Fucked (or Can't Be Assed). A lot like "Can't be bothered..."
• Grindr users, YRD or Wired = i'm doing white powdery drugs (and ergo you should probably avoid me)
• to shout is to give something free of charge. "I can shout you a ticket"

Kylie doing a shoey

• a shoey is when a performer at a concert is, uh, "coerced" into drinking a beer (or cocktail) from their own shoe. Taylor Swift did NOT do a shoey during her Australia concerts, Madonna did. 

If you want to have a crack at understanding the local pop culture and humor, check out The Betoota Advocate, a bit like the Australian Onion.