= Alcohol
Crook = Ill or Sick
Dob = Tell On
Fair Dinkum = Fair enough or that's true
Dunny = Toilet
Blower = Telephone
Sanger = Sandwich
Yewy = U-turn on the road or Turn about in events
Snag = Sausage
Chunder = Sick
Loose = Mashed / Drunk
Smokes = Cigarettes
Heading Out = Going Out
Cane Juice - Bundaberg Rum
Bloody Oath - Bloody Hell
Those are the most common slang terms you'll find in use throughout Australia. As with any country however, do be prepared for slight difference in dialect depending on the region you visit. Slang changes in our own towns and countries on such a frequent basis that I think most of us are able to adapt to such changes pretty quickly these days. Here in England, when I was younger we referred to people who use others for money as "pikey" but now we say "scrounger" or "skank". In America, exactly the same kind of progression takes place year by year. We're all therefore relatively accustomed to having to change and update our vocabulary on a regular basis; we just don't often stop to consider this.
The most important thing to remember in trying to pick up the local dialect is that you need to listen properly when people are talking to you. You'll soon realise that different people are all using the same slang terms in the same or similar contexts which should be enough help for you to then use them yourself.
Learn more about this author, Eleanor O'Donnell.
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