Macquarie Dictionary

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Have another nana

If you cast your minds back, you may remember calling the humble banana a nana as a child. Originally an Australian toddler’s word, dating back to the 1890s, this is now a very common term. So common in fact, that Australian Bananas uses it as well.

Another reason this may be so easy to recognise is the jingle from the Australian Bananas advertisements such as this one from 2015. Of course, this slightly older ad might be the song you hear when you think about bananas making those bodies sing.

Any way you swing it, a nana (or a na-na) is delicious, nutritious, fun to sing about and an Aussie classic.

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.

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