How Tony Abbott contributed to the Aussie vocabulary

SLANG terms such as bogan and battered savs have earned a spot in the Australian National Dictionary. And we have the former PM to thank for bringing back some classics.

BOGANS, battered savs and captain’s picks are among the more than 6,000 Australian words and phrases that have now been officially recognised in the second edition of the Australian National Dictionary.

While some of the new additions, including words from 100 indigenous languages, have been used in our lingo for a while this is the first comprehensive update to the dictionary since 1988.

And we have former prime minister Tony Abbott to thank for some of the phrases.

“Ex-PM Tony Abbott was really quite fantastic in his use of language,” Managing director of Oxford University Press Peter van Noorden said as reported by the ABC.

“He’s credited with realigning some of our Australianisms, such as shirt-front.

“He’s also the poster boy for the term budgie smuggler, which is another term that we have in there.”

A chicko roll, a typical Australian takeaway food. Picture: Supplied.

The former director of the Australian National Dictionary Centre, Bruce Moore, said the latest additions reflected Australian values and beliefs.

“One of the important things that the dictionary does, I think, is give you a sense of the way these words tell the history of Australia,” Moore said as reported by the ABC.

It took 28 long years to update the collection due to the amount of research that went in to each entry said Dr Moore.

“This is a very different kind of dictionary from a dictionary you would use at home, it’s a dictionary that’s based on historical principles,” he said.

Some of the new additions

Food and drink words:

Goon of Fortune — a drinking game based on Wheel of Fortune involving cask wine and a Hills Hoist.

Neenish tart — a sweet Australian bakery staple distinguished by its half-and-half pink and brown icing.

Babyccino — a children’s drink made of hot milk that is frothed.

Chateau cardboard — cheap cask wine.

Battered sav — a battered and deep fried hot dog.

Boston bun — a large spiced bun with a thick layer of coconut icing.

Fairy bread — buttered white bread covered in sprinkles, is a popular children’s birthday food. Picture: Supplied.

Chiko roll — a savoury snack invented inspired by the Chinese spring roll consisting of vegetables and meat.

Chocolate crackle — a sweet dessert which is a mixture of rice bubbles, sugar and cocoa.

Copha — a form of vegetable fat shortening made from hydrogenated coconut oil. It is 100% fat, at least 98% of which is saturated.

Dagwood dog — a sausage in a stick fried in batter, common at shows

Devonshire tea — an afternoon tea served with scones with jam and cream.

Fairy bread — sliced bread spread with butter and covered with sprinkles, typically cut into four triangles.

Kransky — a smoked Australian sausage.

Long black — a black coffee

Terms for people:

Pube — a public servant.

Rurosexual — a metrosexual male who lives in country Australia.

Ranga — a person with red hair.

Bogan — an uncouth or unsophisticated person, regarded as being of low social status.

Bronzed Aussie — an Australian person with a natural tan.

A grey nomad, meaning an older traveller, has made the list. Picture: Supplied.

Bush baptist — a fictitious religious affiliation, invoked by a person who does not claim or admit affiliation with a particular church.

Chardonnay socialist — a person in middle class Australia, they are comfortable rather than rich.

Checkout chick — a person who works on the cash register in a supermarket.

Firie — a firefighter.

Grey nomad — an older traveller.

Mrs Kafoops — an anonymous or unnamed person.

Skip — a term used to describe an Anglo-Saxon Australian.

Tradie — a worker that specialises in a particular trade or craft requiring skill.

Political references

Hawkespeak — references Bob Hawke’s long sentences.

Howard’s battlers — working-class Labor supporters that voted for Liberal prime minister John Howard.

Keep the bastards honest — Democrats’ slogan coined by leader Don Chipp in the 1980s.

Indigenous words

Akudjura — a bush tomato.

Bilma — a clapstick.

Bunji — a mate.

Kumanjayi — a substitute name for a person who has died.

Originally published as How Tony Abbott contributed to the Aussie vocabulary