ads: TV commercials, adverts, these days you can boil the jug while the ads are on
afternoon tea: short break (10-15mins) from work in afternoon
a into g: get going, arse into gear, as in 'I've got to get my a into g'
anklebiter: small child
arse over tit: head over heels
Aotearoa: Maori name for New Zealand, it means the land of the long white cloud
arse: ass, rear end, butt, as in 'Get off your arse and do something'
banger: sausage, often in bangers and mash, which is sausages with mashed potato
bach: holiday home, pronounced batch
beaut, beauty: splendid, terrific, as in 'Beaut car, where'd you get it?'
bit of a dag: hard case, comedian
biscuit: cookie, recipes for Afghans and Anzacs
bite your bum: go away, get lost
bloke: man, usually a stranger, as in 'that bloke down the road'
bludge: to sponge off other people or the government, as in 'dole bludger'
bonnet: car hood
boohai: out of the way, remote or non existent place, often in 'up the boohai' to mean lost, or 'up the boohai shooting pukakas' meaning lost, possibly in the head.
boot: car trunk
boy-racer: young man who drives fast in a car with a loud stereo
brassed off: disappointed, annoyed
bugger: similar to 'damn', used in recent 1999 Toyota ad, and now has almost NZ icon status.
bugger all: not much, as in 'I've got bugger all money left'
buggered: tired, exhausted
bugger off: go away, piss off
bum: rear end, butt
bush: a large dense area of small and large native trees and plants, forest
cardy, cardie: woolen jersey that buttons up the front
carked it: died
cheers: goodbye, thanks or good luck
chemist: pharmacy, drugstore
cheerio: goodbye, also a name for a cocktail sausage
chilly bin: polystyrene insulated box for keeping food and drinks cold, cooler, esky
chocka: choc-a-block, full, overflowing
chocolate fish: chocolate covered marshmallow fish, frequently given or offered as a reward.
chips: fried potato slices, but much thicker than a McDonalds french fry
chippie: potato chip
chrissy: Christmas
chrissy pressies: Chrismas presents
chunder: vomit
cocky: farmer, most commonly cow-cocky
college: high school, not university
couldn't see the road to the dunny if it had red flags on it: said of somebody blind drunk or slow witted
cow: unpleasant, mean, ill-tempered person or uncooperative thing, as in 'a cow of a lawnmower'
cracker: very good
crash hot: excellent
crayfish: lobster-like edible saltwater crustacean
creek: small freshwater stream, the sort of place to fish for eels
crib: Southland equivalent of bach
crikey dick: expression of surprise
crook: sick, poorly, also to go crook at, meaning to beangry with, or to put someone crook, meaning to give someone bad advice
cuppa: cuppa tea, cuppa milo
cuz: cousin
dag: humorous person, joker, comedian, hard case
dairy: corner store, the only shop allowed to open 365 days a year, selling milk, bread, newspapers, groceries, etc on a small scale.
dear: expensive, as in 'gosh, thats dear'
dole: unemployment benefit
dodgy: bad, unreliable
doodackie: variant of thingummybob or doodad, for an object that you can't think of a name for
dreaded lurgy: cold or flu
dressing gown: bathrobe
drop in it: get someone in trouble, as in 'you really dropped me in it with the wife'
drop your gear: get undressed
dunny: toilet, bathroom, lavatory
duvet: quilt, doona
dux: academically top student in final year of high school
eh: pronounced 'ay', often used to turn a statement into a question, 'That was a good movie, eh?', often used instead of what? or pardon?
Eketahuna: the archetypal small country city lacking amenities and which no one is expected to know anything about, similar to "timbuktu". This town does exist.
fair go: appeal for fairness or reasonableness
fancy: to like someone, as in 'he fancies her'
fart sack: bed
fitter and turner: a cook who fits food into pots and turns it into shit
fizzy drink: soda pop
flat stick or flat tack: full speed, as fast as possible, as in 'he was going flat stick when I saw him'
fortnight: two consecutive weeks
fuckwit: idiot
full tit: as much power as possible, or very fast, as in 'I gave her full tit and we were still only doing 70'
g'day: universal kiwi greeting, also spelled gidday
get off the grass: disbelief, similar to 'stop pulling my leg'
gimme: give me ..
gizza: give us a ..
going bush: get away from it all, take a break, become reclusive
good on ya, mate!: congratulations, well done
good as gold: good job, well done, not a problem, yes
greasies: fish and chips
ground floor: first floor
gumboots, gummies: rubber boots, wellingtons
guts for garters: in big trouble, as in 'I'll have your guts for garters!'
half pie: half heatedly or poorly performed
hangi: traditional Maori earth oven
hard case: joker, comedian, witty person
hard yakka: hard work
heaps: a lot, as in 'heaps of work to do' or 'give it heaps'
home and hosed: safe, completed successfully
hoodackie: what you call someone when you cant think of their name, similar to doodackie, thingummy etc
hoon: young adult with a fast car and loud stereo
hooray: goodbye
hosing down: raining heavily
hottie: hot water bottle
how much would you charge to haunt a ten room house?: rhetorical question to suggest a person is ugly
how's it going mate?: quintessential kiwi greeting
ice block: Popsicle
if your brains were barbed wire you couldn't fence a dunny: you are stupid
jack up: to organise, as in 'I'll see if I can jack something up'
jandal: thongs, flip-flops
jersey: sweater
jumper: also sweater
kai: food, from the Maori word for eating
Kiwi: New Zealander
kiwi: a flightless native bird, endangered
kiwifruit: Zespri, formerly known as a chinese gooseberry
kick the bucket: die
knackered: stuffed, exhausted
ladies a plate: please bring a dish of food to share
laughing gear: mouth, as in wrap your laughing gear around this said by Barry Crump in a 1987 TV ad
L&P: fizzy soda water, Lemon & Paeroa (L&P); originally lemon flavoured spring water from the town of Paeroa, but this is no longer the case.
long drop: outdoor toilet built over hole in ground
Maori: indigenous people of New Zealand
mate: buddy, can be used even with strangers, as in 'how's it going mate?'
metal road: a road with a gravel surface, usually a country road
morning tea: short break (10-15mins) from work in the morning
mountain oysters: lambs testicles
Mum: Mom, Mam
my arse is a red cabbage: expression of confidence, as in ' if he can do that, my arse is a red cabbage'
nana: grandmother
nappy: diaper
nick away: to leave, usually quickly and surreptitiously, as in "I'm going to nick away before the speeches, ok?"
OE: Overseas Experience, the young Kiwi's mandatory working holiday abroad.
Other Side: Australia, the other side of the water
pack a sad: become morose, ill-humoured, broken or dead, as in 'the washing machine packed a sad'
pakeha: non-Maori person
pav: pavlova, a national dessert topped with kiwifruit. The recipe.
piece-of-piss: easy, as in 'that was a piece of piss'
pikelet: small pancake often served with jam and whipped cream
piker: slacker, a person who gives up when things get difficult
piss: any alcohol
piss around: waste time, procrastinate
piss awful: very unpleasant
piss easy: very easy
piss up large: large scale drinking of alcohol
piss up: party, social gathering
pissed: drunk, inebriated
pissed off: angry, upset
pissing down: raining heavily, pouring down
prang: minor car accident, as in 'he was in a prang yesterday'
puckeroo: something that is buggered or broken
pudding: dessert
quite nice: something you say when you want to be polite but can't really think of anything to say, as in 'his tie is quite nice'
rattle your dags: get a move on, hurry up
rellies: relatives, family
root: to have sex
rough as guts: unpolished
sammy short of a picnic: brick short of a load, a bit thick or crazy
savs and pavs: saveloys and pavlova, traditional kiwi party food
scull: drink beer quickly
she'll be right: common attitude, meaning everything will be OK, it's not a problem
shark and taties: fish and chips
shit a brick: exclamation of surprise or annoyance
shit show: no chance, as in 'he hasn't a shit show of winning'
shitheap: utter mess, as in 'your bedroom is a shitheap'
sickie: to take a day off, apparently sick
smoko: break, rest period
snarky: sarcastic and nasty
sook: silly or a scaredy cat, as in 'just a big sook'
sparkie: electrician
strapped for cash: low on funds
stuffed: tired, exhausted
sunnies: sunglasses
super loo: large automated public toilets
suss: figure out, as in 'I've got it sussed'
ta: thanks
tata: goodbye
take-aways: food purchase to be taken away and eaten, 'take-outs' or 'to go'
take the piss: to ridicule
take a hike: go away
tea: dinner, evening meal
tiki tour: scenic tour, roundabout way
tin-arse, tinbum: lucky person
tinny: lucky
tramping: to walk through bush, hiking
togs: swimsuit, bathing suit
two-thirds of five-eighths of fuck all: very little
up shit creak in leaky gumboots: in trouble, variant of up shit creek without a paddle
ute: utility vehicle, small pickup truck
vegemite: yeast based spread for toast or bread. Seems to be a taste acquired from childhood, but missed by many ex-pats
Waikikamukau: Mythical town that is so remote it makes Eketahuna look like a metropolis. The essence of hickdom. (pronounced "Why kick a moo cow").
were you born in a tent?: sarcastic question asked of somebody who has left a door open and let draughts in
wharfie: stevedore
what's that got to do with the price of fish?: challenging the relevance of some remark
whinge: complain
wobbly: tantrum, as in 'he threw a wobbly when he heard that'
wop-wops: out of the way location, backblocks
wouldn't know shit from clay: naive or stupid person
wouldn't know them from a bar of soap: I do not know this person, similar to I wouldn't know them from Adam.
yonks: a long time, ages, as in 'haven't seen him in yonks'
yack: conversation between friends, natter
you ain't wrong: you're right
you get that: resigned acceptance, as in 'well with her sort, you get that'
you make a better door than a window: said to somebody standing in the way, perhaps in front of the TV
you think you're a flowerpot because you've got a hole in your bum: you love yourself
zambuck: St John Ambulance officer.
zed: Z