New Zealand Slang

I realise that there are hundreds, nay thousands, of Dictionaries of New Zealand terms and slang. Does mine have a difference? Probably not. But hey, I'm just going to do it anyway.


So.


First and foremost, the title of our blog.


JANDALS: the kiwi word for flip flops. Don’t know where the hell it came from. I mean, I get that it's a portmanteau of something and sandals, but the J? What the hell, man? Is it like jeggings? I have no idea. Nor do I care. Ridiculous name, they're flip flops.


YEAH NAH: well, it's not really a phrase so much as a filler, like um, or er, or NOTHING. Not something that's worthy of being on a t shirt, that's for sure.


DAIRY: Their word for a newsagent/convenience store. Doesn't sell booze. Assume was the only place that sold milk on a Sunday, or something, for its terminology. Just makes me want an ice cream every time I go in one.


KIA ORA: Not slang, it's actual Maori, but it makes me want the carton drink every I see it. Oh, and Maori people are the indigenous people of NZ. IT MEANS HELLO.


HOKEY POKEY: It means honeycomb. It's apparently a thing in NZ. Like a big thing, but I'm not sure why.


CHOCOLATE FISH: My favourite thing so far, in terms of sweet things. It's basically a fish-shaped marshmallow, covered in chocolate. Well. You know, the simple things.


KIWI DIP (or as my friend Kirby tells me, kuhee-wee dip or something: French onion soup mixed with reduced cream and served with chips (crisps, not to be confused with hot chips, which are in fact actual chips).


BRO: yes,it may have been a thing in the ‘90s’, but the kiwis have appropriated this phrase as their own as a thing.


TRAMPING: Hiking. Not being homeless, or skanky, as you may think. It's a pretty big thing here.


BUSH BASHING: Another phrase for Tramping, just ruder.


EH: Not ‘what?’, but like the Canadian, an exclamation at the end of a sentence.


FUSH’n’CHUPS: Basically, fish and chips, that's pretty much it – only in that intonation. It's a pretty big thing here – I mean, we invented it really, but don't try and tell them that (shh).


SHE’LL BE RIGHT: It's ok.


PIN, DID, TIMP: Not strictly slang, but I giggle ALL OF THE TIME at these pronunciations of pen, dead and temp. Ok, so the dead thing is from Flight of the Concords. I don't really hear the word ‘dead’ that often in daily life.


RANGA: Ginger. Obviously.


CAPSICUM: A pepper. Duh. Same goes for zucchini and eggplant. They're not exclusively Kiwi terms but they're here a lot and they still throw me, occasionally.


Well, that's all for now folks. Guide to Auckland and first impressions of Queenstown to come - we've only been here a mere four months so obviously I have had absolutely NO time to write any of these things. Here is a picture of where we have been living so you can be insanely jealous.