NZ English to US English Dictionary
- a into g: to get going (arse into gear)
- adverts: TV commercials
- afo / arvo: Afternoon (Australian)
- afternoon tea: light meal of finger-foods and tea served between lunch and dinner
- after match: social occasion after a rugby match
- american hotdog: hotdog - frankfurter in a bun, (see hotdog)
- anklebiter: toddler, kids
- arse: rear end, butt, ass
- asphalt: (Pronounced ash-felt) tar
- aubergine: eggplant, bringal
- banger: sausage
- bach: small holiday home (see crib)
- barbie: barbeque
- bed sitter: a small flat or studio apartment where the bedroom and sitting room are all in one
- big bickies: lots of money
- biscuit: cookie
- bloody-hell: all-purpose expletive
- bludge: to live off the generosity of others, to sponge
- bog-standard: Normal, average, usual. E.g."It was just a bog-standard Christmas, too much food, too much booze and
not enough sleep."
- bonk: to have sex with
- bonnet: car hood
- boot: car trunk
- bomb: (referring to car) very old car in disrepair
- box: cup (device for protecting male genetalia)
- box of birds: cheerful, happy, very good
- brekkie: breakfast
- bugger all: not much, very little
- bulk: Many, a lot ("there were bulk people there") - early 90's expression
- bum: rear end, butt
A NAME="bum-bag"> - bum-bag: fanny pack
- bun-fight: social gathering with food
- bush: forest
- bust a gut: make an intense effort
- candyfloss: cottoncandy
- capsicum: bell pepper
- car park: parking lot
- caravan: trailer, mobile home
- carked it: died, kicked the bucket
- caustic soda: lye
- cellotape: scotch tape
- chat-up: flirt, try pick-up lines on someone you "fancy"
- cheeky: sassy, impish, insolent or impudent
- cheers: good-bye; thank-you
- chemist: pharmacy
- chilly bin: cooler
- chips: French fries
- choc-a-block-full: very full
- choice: very good
- chook: chicken
- chrissy: Christmas
- chuffed: pleased
- chunder: to vomit
- claytons™: Erzatz, the drink (or whatever) you're having when you're not having a drink (or whatever). From a variety of alcohol free "spirit" like beverage. On all accounts, this beverage tasted even worse than one would expect alcohol free spiritous liquors to taste.
- collywobbles: upset stomach
- cor blimey: exclamation of disbelief, derived from "God blind me"
- corker: very good
- cornflour: cornstarch
- cotton buds: Q-tips
- cracker: very good
- crib: small holiday home
(see bach)- crisps: potato chips
- crook: be sick, ill
- dag: An amusing person or situation (colloq). The perianal section of a sheep's fleece.
- dairy: convenience store
- dairyfood: smooth, creamy, custard-like desert which comes in a pottle. Chocolate, banana, strawberry, caramel etc
- a deal: a problem
- ding: a small car accident (fender-bender)
- dodgy: suspicious; a person with questionable motives
- dole: unemployment benefit; state funded income support
- draughts: checkers
- dreaded lurgy: imaginary disease used as an excuse to get out of doing something
- dressing gown: bathrobe
- dummy: pacifier
- dunny: toilet
- duvet: quilt
- 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.- entree: appetizer or hors d'oeurve
- evils: to give someone the evil eye
- fancy: to find attractive, to have a romantic interest in someone
- fanny: vagina, or girl's first name
- fizzy: soda pop
- flannel: wash cloth
- flash: sensational
- flat: apartment
- football: rugby
- fortnight: fourteen days, two weeks
- French letter: condom
- frenchie: condom
- fringe: bangs
- full on: intense
- get off the grass: exclamation of disbelief; equivalent to "stop pulling my leg" and "no way"
- give way: yield (traffic)
- going bush: to drop out of society or become reclusive
- Good as Gold: Everything's fine
- Good on ya, mate!: congratulations
- guts for garters: in big trouble
- Gumboots: large rubber overshoes ranging from calf to knee height. These are usually black, although little children may wear colourful ones. Together with shorts and a black singlet, gumboots constitute the quintesential kiwi-joker or farmer's outfit.
- Gummies: See Gumboots.
- Hard case: witty person
- heaps: general expression to mean a lot, as in "miss you heaps", or try hard; "give it heaps"
- high dudgeon: feeling of deep disgust or irritability
- hokey pokey: `sea foam' candy covered in chocolate
- holiday: vacation
- home and hosed: safe, completed successfully
- hoon: gang member, a rough person
- hooning: playing about, verb form of hoon
- hooray: goodbye
- hotdog: corndog, (see American Hotdog)
- hottie: hot water bottle
- ice block: popsicle
- jam: jelly
- jandal: thongs, flip-flops, slippers
- Jeeze, Wayne!: exclamation, said to someone regarded as acting or speaking foolishly
- jelly: Jello
- jersey: sweater
- joker: man
- judder bar: speed bump
- Kiwi: New Zealander
- kiwi: an endangered flightless bird native to New Zealand
- kiwifruit: kiwi (formerly known as Chinese gooseberry)
- kia ora: Maori for hello
- knackered: Exhausted (from Knacker, an archaic profession whose practitioners destroyed old horses)
- Knickers:underpants, bloomers, shorts, more generally, pants. "Don't get your knickers in a twist" = Don't get upset (familiar, but not rude. Origin "the Basil Brush Show", a British kidult humour programme from the 1970s. Similarly, "Don't get your tits in a tangle", origin unknown.
- kornies: Kellogs cornflakes
- kumara: sweet potato/yam
- ladies/gentlemen a plate please: bring a
food dish that can be shared with others- lemonade: clear soda (7Up)
- lift: elevator
- lolly: candy
- lolly scramble:: a festive search for candies (lollies)
- loo: bathroom
- lorry: truck
- lounge: living room
- main: primary dish of a meal
- Maori: indigenous people of New Zealand
- mate: buddy, pal
- metal: gravel used on country roads (e.g. a metal road)
- a mission: A difficult undertaking
- mobile: cell phone
- money for jam: easy money
- motorway: freeway
- mudguard: fender
- nappy: diaper
- netball: game somewhat similar to basketball
- no worries: not a problem
- off yer face: completely drunk
- paddled: to be ~: to loose or to suffer ill fate.
- pakeha: non-Maori person
- panel beater: auto body shop
- party pooper: being negative
- pavlova: (also pav) large meringue based dessert traditionally served at Christmas time. Has a soft moist centre, named after the famous ballet dancer and usually served with kiwifruit slices. Originally from NZ although, like many kiwi things, claimed by Australians.
- petrol: gasoline
- pickle: relish
- piece-of-piss: easy
- pike out: to give up when the going gets tough
- pikelet: small pancake often served with jam and whipped cream
- piker:one who gives up easily (see pike-out)
- pissed: drunk, inebriated
- pissed-off: angry
- piss-up: social gathering with alcohol
- PMT (Pre Menstrual Tension): PMS
- pom: English person- slang
- power cut: outage
- postal code: zip code
- pottle: small container
- pram: baby carriage, stroller
- prang: car dent
- pub: bar
- pudding: alternate word for 'dessert' ie breakfast, lunch, dinner, and pudding
- push bike: bicycle
- quencher: ice cream bar
- quite nice: very good, exceptional (pronounced "quoite noice")
- rack off: go away (angry)
- randy: horny, feeling sexual impulses
- ratbag: scally-wag, somewhat annoying person
- rattle your dags: hurry up, from the sound that sheep make when running, caused by the striking together of dried feces stuck to the fur near the tail
- redundant: to be laid off, "workers were made redundant today"
- right as rain: perfect
- ring: phone/call
- rockmelon: cantaloupe
- Rogernomics: (derogatory) radical free enterprise economic policies introduced by Roger Douglas, a Labour Government Minister of Finance
- rooted: to feel tired
- rough as guts: unpolished (referring to a person)
- round the bend: going crazy/busy
- rubber: eraser
- rubbish: trash/garbage
- scone: a small cake of shortened bread raised with baking powder or soda
- scull: drink beer rapidly
- shandy: drink made with lemonade and beer
- Sheila: woman (outdated expression)
- She'll be right: things will be fine
- singlet: undershirts, tank-top
- skiting: bragging
- smoko: break, rest period
- snarky: mixture of sarcastic and nasty
- sneakers: trainers
- sook: a moody person. "Don't worry about him, he's just a big sook".
- spew: to throw up
- spotcha (later): see you later
- spot on: exactly right
- sprog: a child, to give birth
- sticking plaster: band-aid
- stirrer: trouble-maker, agitator
- strewth: honestly, from "God's truth"
- swede: rutabaga
- stroppy: bad tempered
- stubby: small bottle of beer
- suk: alleged variant spelling of sook.
- supper: late evening coffee/desserts
- suss: to figure out
- ta: Thanks
- take away: take out
- take the piss: to ridicule
- tasty cheese: sharp cheddar cheese
- tea: dinner - generic name for evening meal
- tea towel: dish rag
- tiki tour: roundabout way to get somewhere; scenic tour
- tinned goods: canned goods
- trad: rigidly traditional
- tracksuit: sweats
- tramping: hiking
- togs: swimsuit
- tomato sauce: catsup
- Toodle pip: Good-bye (often slightly jocular, and "English")
- torch: flashlight
- trolley: shopping cart
- trundler: shopping cart
- tyre: tire
- unwaged: unemployed
- Waikikamukau Mythical town that is so remote it makes Eketahuna look like a metropolis. The essence of hickdom. (pron "Why kick a moo cow").
- wag: skipping school
- Wally: incompetent person, loser
- Wanker: (derogatory, impolite) jerk, loser
- wardrobe: clothes closet
- wellies: short for 'wellingtons' another name for gumboots; rubber boots for walking in wet/muddy places
- wharfie: longshoreman
- whinge: complain
- Wicked: cool
- wing: fender
- wobbly (throw a wobbly): become angry, have a fit
- WOF (Warrant of Fitness): car inspection
- wonky: crooked
- wop-wops: out of the way location
- a bit of a worry: a troubling event or person.
- wuckas (no wuckas): no worries
- yonks: forever, a long time ago
- your shout: your turn to buy a round!
- zed: z
Facts, Weather, Language, Food, Music, History, Hitchhicker's Guide, Natural History
| Find Accommodation |
 Takaro Peace Resort Te Anau - Resort - Takaro.
The Takaro Peace is a luxury resort, nestled amidst pristine National Forest and combines the best of New Zealand with... |
| All NZ Accommodation |
| Find Tours and Activities |
 Ruakuri Cave Experience (return from Auckland) - Day Tour - Starting from NZ $240.00 per adult - Auckland.
Return tour from Auckland including a guided tour of Ruakuri Cave, a limestone formation laced with Myth and Legend. |
| All NZ Maori Activities |
