Russell Crowe schools Americans in common Aussie slang

From “budgie smugglers” to “jandals”, Russell Crowe has given Americans a lesson in our “sweet as” slang Down Under.

Aussie-Kiwi actor and Hollywood heavyweight Russell Crowe has given Americans a lesson in our “sweet as” slang Down Under.

In a video for Vanity Fair, the New Zealand-born, Australia-raised star explains terms and phrases – from “carked it” to “cab sav” – that are often met with a raised eyebrow when uttered overseas.

“It’s Russell Crowe, talking to you about slang from two cultures that I’m very, very familiar with,” the 55-year-old begins.

“The New Zealand culture, which in this terminology is ‘Kiwi’, and the Australian culture, and this terminology is ‘Aussie’.”

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Russell Crowe has schooled Americans in Australian and New Zealand slang in a new video. Picture: Vanity Fair

The star explained the meaning behind terms and phrases Americans might not be familiar with – including ‘bring a plate’ and ‘cab sav’. Picture: Vanity Fair

From what he considers the “height of Australian culture” to what a “jandal” is, here are some of the actor’s explanations even you might not be familiar with.

• “Carked it”: “Oh my Lord, ‘carked it’. Not very nice. ‘Carked it’ means you’re dead, hm.”

• “Chilly bins”: “Odd phrase, even really, you know, for someone born in New Zealand,” Crowe says. “But a chilly bin, of course, is an Esky. That’s Australian slang. Both of those names, chilly bin and Esky, mean ice chest. A portable box that keeps, mainly, your beer cold.”

• “Bach”: While you might think “Bach” is the name of a composer, in New Zealand it actually means a cottage, “potentially by the sea”, the actor explains. “And usually, a kind of sh*tty place, not necessarily very special, it’s a roof, and maybe running water, maybe power, maybe not, but it’s a cool place to go and sleep in the summer months, and if you are near water, an extra benefit.”

• “Bring a plate”: “This is very, very old fashioned. This is old school Kiwi, but it’s a small gathering, coming together, and instead of one person cooking for everybody, everybody brings a plate. So you never know what’s going to arrive, and whether those things actually bear any relationship to each other from a cuisine perspective.”

• “Jandals”: A jandal in Australia is a thong, Crowe explains, though it’s “not the American thong. It’s footwear. So a jandal, and a thong, is the same as flip flops. There’s been many a story about Americans misunderstanding what somebody from Australia means when they say ‘thong’.”

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• “The Wops”: Means somewhere “far away from civilisation”, Crowe says.

• “Budgie Smugglers”: “Now these are possibly known in your culture as Speedos, and it’s just, somebody’s observation. Some time long in the distant past of Australian culture, that a Speedo fits your average man the same way as it would be if he had a small budgie stuffed down the front of his pants. They tend to have swollen chests, and round heads, that potentially push out against such a sheer material.”

• “Cab sav”: “This is the height of Australian culture,” Crowe says, “and of course refers to the wine, cabernet sauvignon.”

• “Devo”: “When something bad goes wrong, and you’re devastated.”

• “P*ss Up”: “It’s Friday here, probably around about 5 o’clock, I’ll be doing that, which means have a drink.”

• “Up yourself”: “That’s what I am, confident.”