This week we are offering discounted slang words. Ever been ripped off? Ever shoveled out ten bucks for a slice of gluten free bread about the size of a credit card? If so you have felt the rough end of the pineapple. Unfortunately, this incredible piece of slang means that you got a raw deal; the worst part of a bargain. Not a nice feeling, right? If you have felt the rough end of the pineapple you need to learn to drive a hard bargain.   We searched our database and discovered some delicious pineapple related slang. Did you know that pineapple is a slang word for the fifty dollar note? It's also the name for an opal cluster. So we could say that finding a pineapple could earn you a lot of pineapples, if you catch my drift.  On an edgier note, pineapple is also military slang for a bomb or hand grenade, especially those of a fragmentation type that resemble a pineapple in appearence. Pineapples have even been in the news lately. Who thought we would ever see the words freedom pineapple. Word of the Year contender, anyone? Oh, and for those of us still embroiled in the pineapple on pizza debate, the world has moved on! Now we are faced with the swineapple, which, believe it or not is a pineapple which has been skinned and hollowed out, stuffed with ham and wrapped in bacon, and then grilled or roasted slowly. Wow. Each week, we have a look at a slang word from Australian English. You can see other Aussie Word of the Week posts from the Macquarie Dictionary here. 

Slip on your thongs and grab a stubbie because this week we going ocker. Referring to the archetypal uncultivated Australian working man, ocker also known as occa and okker, is generally used in a negative way to depict a chauvinistic, misogynistic, sports-loving, beer-gutted, esky-carrying, rubber-thong-wearing yob who is totally lacking in sensitivity, compassion, gentleness and insight. It's not all bad, the exact same ocker bloke can be seen in a positive way as an honest, laid-back, fair dinkum, fun-loving larrikin. An ocker bloke is an Australian cult figure, popularly satirised in the 1970s by the likes of Paul Hogan, and the Barry Humphries creation Bazza McKenzie.  In origin, the term derives from the typically Aussie way of colloquialising the name Oscar. From as early as 1916 blokes named Oscar were called Ocker. In the late 1960s a TV comedy called The Mavis Bramston Show had a character named Ocker, played by Barry Creyton, who was your typical uncultivated Australian male, and it is probably from this show that the word was first disseminated throughout the country. In some ways the ocker is a predecessor of the bogan, who you can read about elsewhere on our blog.  Each week, we have a look at a slang word from Australian English. You can see other Aussie Word of the Week posts from the Macquarie Dictionary here.

At the Macquarie Dictionary head office, we are fond of road trips. One of our favourite parts of cruising through the outback is when you notice your fuel drop down to two bars with a hundred kilometres to go before the next servo. Oh, the thrill of not knowing whether you'll make it. Ah, the argument over why you didn't buy a jerry can. Short for service station, servos don't just sell petrol, they sell an experience.  As your car splutters in to the next servo, you get the chance to stretch your legs, to buy an ice cream and stock up on desperately needed bottles of water. And you finally, finally get to use the loo.  If you love a road trip, be sure to check out our blog on grey nomads. Each week, we have a look at a slang word from Australian English. You can see other Aussie Word of the Week posts from the Macquarie Dictionary here.

The pub test is the notional measure of public opinion on a proposal or candidate arrived at by asking the average drinker in a hotel what they think. With the possibility of a Federal election in 2021, you're likely to hear and see this phrase a lot more.  At this point in the blog we need to make a crucial decision: we can talk about politics or pubs. If you're a politics junkie, be sure to check out our democracy sausage blog. Otherwise, stick around for some pub related slang.  Do you visit the top pub or the bottom pub? This pair of hotels sit at opposite ends of town and lie opposed to each other. Maybe you live in a one-pub town and don't even have the luxury of choosing between two watering holes for your session. If so, be sure to check out our blog on one-pub towns.  Perhaps you live in a town with so many pubs you spend your Saturdays playing pub golf, a type of pub crawl in which nine pubs are visited, each of which have a certain 'par' of how many beers are to be drunk. I think anyone would be lying in the rough after a round of pub golf.  Each week, we have a look at a slang word from Australian English. You can see other Aussie Word of the Week posts from the Macquarie Dictionary here.

This week we are looking at provocative slang words. Do you have a mate who likes to stir the possum? That is, creates a disturbance or uproar? Stir the possum has been Aussie slang since the 1900s, so named because a sleeping possum does not take well to being stirred up. Stir the possum can also mean to instigate a debate on a controversial topic, especially in the public arena.  Similar phrases include stir up, stir the hornet's nest and a personal favourite shit-stir. Sounds gross, right? The latter more specifically means to make trouble; to provoke or tease – especially just for amusement or simply for the sake of it.  Similarly, a troll is someone who, protected by online anonymity, posts messages in a discussion forum, chat room, etc., which are designed to disrupt the normal flow of communication by being inflammatory or puzzling You might say that the whole world is now made up of trolls trying to stir the possum, but that's the cynical view.   Each week, we have a look at a slang word from Australian English. You can see other Aussie Word of the Week posts from the Macquarie Dictionary here.

Phew. Busy, busy, busy. I am flat out like a lizard drinking at the Macquarie office this week. This scaly phrase is a way of saying that we are working as hard or as fast as possible.  Australian English has some great ways of saying you are working hard. Graft simply means hard work. Aussie slang since the 1890s, graft is also a verb: we'd been grafting all day long. Hence, grafter, a hard worker. Hard graft sits one level up from graft. Australians have been rolling up their sleeves and getting down to the hard graft since the 1870s.  Yakka or hard yakka is an iconic Aussie phrase. Meaning hard work, especially manual labour, yakka has been part of Aussie slang since at least the 1880s. Yakka comes from the Aboriginal language Yagara, from the Brisbane region. Yakka is commonly heard in the phrase all yack and no yakka, used to describe someone who's always talking about what they're going to do instead of doing it. In contrast to all these hard working words, to bash the spine is to sleep. This great Aussie layabout slang has helped the lazy among us make sleep sound like hard work since the 1940s.  Each week, we have a look at a slang word from Australian English. You can see other Aussie Word of the Week posts from the Macquarie Dictionary here.

This week we are paying homage to a national icon. The bin chicken graces towns and cities across the land. When rubbish is strewn across the footpath who is there to clean up the mess? The bin chicken, of course.   If you're unfamiliar with the name, the bin chicken is none other than the Australian white ibis, so named from its habit of rummaging in garbage bins for food. A habit which also earned them the less common nicknames dump chook and tip turkey. The ibis has a white body, black secondary feathers and a bald black head and bill. They are found throughout Australia, New Guinea, the Maluku and nearby islands. Once rare in urban areas, they have been migrating to urban areas along the east coast of Australia since the 1970s.  The bin chicken has pecked and scavenged its way into Australian culture. You'll find them celebrated in graffiti murals and emblazoned in hats and other merchandise. Dare we say it the bin chicken is competing with the kangaroo for the position of most iconic Australian animal.  To read more about our beloved Aussie fauna, check out our fawning over Aussie fauna blog. Each week, we have a look at a slang word from Australian English. You can see other Aussie Word of the Week posts from the Macquarie Dictionary here.

In this week's blog we are looking at architecture, to be precise, the architecture of Queensland. Queenslander isn't just a loud chant you hear at the football, it's also a highset weatherboard house of the type commonly found in, you guessed it, Queensland. It's hot up north. What better design for your house than to set it on stilts to let the air flow through your property while simultaneously staying above potential floodwater in a state known for cyclones and epic storms? That's right, there isn't one but there are variations on the theme. An Ashgrovian is a multi-gabled, bungalow-style variation of the Queenslander house, that was popular in the period between the two World Wars. Still in Queensland, a Queen Street bushie is a derogatory name for someone who owns a country property, often, formerly, for tax loss purposes, but who lives and works in Brisbane. The other states have variations on this theme. The Victorian equivalent is a Collins Street cocky, while in New South Wales the name is Pitt Street farmer. Over in Western Australia they are called St Georges Terrace Cockies.  Each week, we have a look at a slang word from Australian English. You can see other Aussie Word of the Week posts from the Macquarie Dictionary here.

Hop in. This week we are chucking a lap down the main street of Macquarie Town. To chuck a lap is to drive around the block as a form of entertainment. The hoons spent Saturday night chucking laps. Since this is nearly always done off the main street it is also called chucking a mainy. In Whyalla, a hoon around the beach is chucking a beachie. On the way, they might even incorporate a doughnut. Australians like to chuck things. A hoon that gets pulled over by the cops while chucking a lap might chuck a micky. That is, throw a tantrum. There is a veritable plethora of putdowns on this same theme meant to belittle the person who has lost their temper. These include: chuck a mental, chuck a nana, chuck a wobbly and many more.  Perhaps the most famous instance of all in Australian English is chuck a U-ey. While everyone says it, no-one is really sure how to spell this great Aussie word. Other efforts have been u-ie, uee, and even youee. Whatever way you spell it, just be sure to follow the road rules.  Each week, we have a look at a slang word from Australian English. You can see other Aussie Word of the Week posts from the Macquarie Dictionary here.

In this week's Word of the Week, I am ordering Australia's favourite pub meal. The schnitty, the slang name for the legendary chicken schnitzel, comes with a generous side of chips and a forest of salad. Just thinking of that butterflied chicken breast makes me want to step away for an early lunch.  Aussies regularly order from a menu of slang foods. The BLT, a bacon lettuce and tomato sandwich, is a lunchtime favourite. You might throw in some avo, or avocado, with that for an extra treat. After a sandwich there is nothing like sitting down with a cuppa and a choccy biccy. I think those are self-explanatory. Of course, I couldn't go on without mentioning the souped up cousin of the schnitty: the famous chicken parmigiana, known affectionately as the parmi. If you're feeling extra hungry, check out our blog, Parma, parmi or parmo. Which one is correct? When it comes to drinks we've got you covered too. By the time Friday rolls around you might be ready for some bubbles, or a stubby, or a tinnie or maybe even a slab. Those are sparkling wine, a small bottle of beer, a tin of beer and 24 cans of beer respectively.  So, what'll it be? Each week, we have a look at a slang word from Australian English. You can see other Aussie Word of the Week posts from the Macquarie Dictionary here.

This week we are investigating a rort, that is, a trick, lurk, or underhanded scheme: a confidence trick. We have looked at this before through the eyes of then Editor, Sue Butler. As a verb, rort means to swindle or dupe. Part of Aussie slang since at least the 1910s, rort is a backformation from rorter. It is now commonly used in reference to election rigging, embezzlement, and other dodgy practices indulged in by the nation's movers and shakers. In this sense, the word is hardly slang any more but carries serious implications for anyone who finds their face plastered on the front page of a newspaper with rort written above their heads.  A rort is all about manipulating the system to gain a wrongful advantage. Hence a racehorse whose form has been kept secret is known as a rort horse, or a smokie.  Rort can also be used to describe a job that's a bit of a bludge, as in nice rort you're on here. We also discovered an outdated definition of rort from across the Tasman Sea. Yes, this is the Aussie Word of the Week but indulge us for a moment. In NZ, rort has formerly referred to sexual intercourse. We can't help but laugh that while the Kiwis are having a fantastic time rorting, Aussies are having less fun getting rorted. Each week, we have a look at a slang word from Australian English. You can see other Aussie Word of the Week posts from the Macquarie Dictionary here.

2020, am I right? Well, we aren't going to sit around and wait for another year to clobber us, and we aren't going to get sucked in to a doomscrolling vortex either, no way. Together we will shirtfront 2021! Shirtfronting is an act of intimidation, whether confronting someone aggressively and indignantly with a complaint or grievance, or literally grabbing them by the lapels. Made famous by former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, shirtfronting is usually confined to the sports field, rather than Parliament house. In Australian Rules football, shirtfronting is when you shoulder charge an opponent with the intention of knocking them to the ground.  In cricket, a shirtfront refers to an extremely smooth pitch that favours batters over bowlers. Yes, that means I could get shirtfronted and land on the shirtfront.  Each week, we have a look at a slang word from Australian English. You can see other Aussie Word of the Week posts from the Macquarie Dictionary here.