Category
Phrases & Expressions
Away laughing Doing well, sorted, cruising. 'Once the engine started we were away la… Box of birds Feeling great, in fine form. 'How are you? Box of birds!'… Brass monkeys Extremely cold. 'It's brass monkeys out there.'… Bring a plate An instruction to bring food to share — NOT an empty plate. Foreigners… Bugger all Very little; almost nothing.… Buggered Exhausted; or broken. You can be buggered and your car can be buggered… Can't be bothered Too lazy or unwilling to do something. Variants: can't be stuffed, can… Chocka block Completely full, jammed. Longer form of 'chocka'.… Chocka with it Fed up, had enough. 'I'm chocka with it.'… Choof off To leave, head away. 'Right, I'm going to choof off.'… Chunder To vomit, usually from drink or seasickness. Vivid and onomatopoeic.… Crack up Extremely funny, or to laugh hard. 'That's crack up' is a complete rev… Crook Sick, unwell. 'Feeling a bit crook' is the standard sickie phone call.… Crook as a dog Very sick. Vivid NZ illness phrase.… Cuppa and a yarn A cup of tea and a good chat - the basic unit of NZ friendship.… Cuppa tea sorted Everything's fine now - because in NZ a cup of tea genuinely fixes mos… Cut a track To leave, head off.… Dags The mucky matted wool on a sheep's backside - and, oddly, a funny pers… Dinky-di Genuine, the real thing. 'Dinky-di Kiwi.'… Dodgy Suspicious, unreliable, or of questionable quality — a person, a kebab… Fair suck of the sav An objection at unfairness - 'give me a fair go'. Sav = saveloy sausag… Flash Fancy, upmarket, impressive-looking. 'Nothing flash' is the standard K… Flat out Extremely busy, or at top speed. 'Flat out like a lizard drinking.'… Flogged Stolen; or thrashed/beaten badly. Two meanings, both painful for someb… Gap it To leave quickly; to run away.… Gassed Exhausted, out of energy - 'totally gassed'. Sports and general.… Get off the grass Expression of disbelief - 'no way', 'you're kidding'. 'Get off the gra… Get stuck in Start with gusto - eat, work, or fight. 'Get stuck in, boys.'… Give her heaps Go all out - 'her' being the car, the job, whatever. 'Give her heaps!'… Give it a nudge Give it a decent go, or push a limit. 'Give the record a nudge.'… Give it a rest Stop it, enough now. Mild exasperation.… Give it a whirl Have a go, try it out.… Give it heaps Go hard, put in maximum effort, or criticise loudly. 'Give it heaps, b… Give it socks Give maximum effort. 'Give it socks, boys!'… Give us a burl Give it a go, have a try. 'Burl' = attempt.… Gizza 'Give us a' — which means give ME a. Gizza look, gizza go, gizza hand.… Good as gold All fine, no worries, everything's sorted. NZ's cheerful all-clear.… Gummon 'C'mon!' with a hard G — protest at a weak excuse or soft effort. Born… Gutted Deeply disappointed, deflated. Also shortened: 'guts to be you'.… Hard yakka Hard work, real graft. From an Aboriginal-derived word, common trans-T… Hard yakka today A day of real graft. Worksite report.… Harden up Toughen up, stop complaining. Traditionally paired with 'take some con… Have a yarn To have a conversation. NZ's default social verb.… Hoon around To drive recklessly or muck about loudly, especially in a car. 'Hoonin… Keen Eager, interested, up for it. 'Keen as' is full enthusiasm; 'keen?' is… Keen as a bean Very enthusiastic - rhyming embellishment of 'keen as'.… Knackered Extremely tired. Warning: sounds like 'naked' to Londoners, with predi… Leg it To run, fast, usually away from something.… Mish A mission — any journey or task requiring effort. 'Keen for a mish?'… Munch Food, or to eat. 'Got any munch?'… Mungas The munchies, or a general craving for food. 'Got the mungas.'… Munt The verb behind munted - to break or wreck something. 'Don't munt it.'… Munted as jandals Comprehensively wrecked - jandals being famously flimsy after a season… Munted as, bro Everyday declaration that something's wrecked - or that you are. Peak … Munted from the mahi Exhausted from work. NZ's tired-but-proud state.… Munted knee The classic Kiwi injury - a wrecked knee, usually from rugby or DIY.… Munted my back Injured my back - 'munted' applied to the body. Common tradie lament.… Munted the landing Failed at the final step; fell over at the finish. Sporty imagery.… Munted the plan Ruined the plan. 'Rain munted the plan.'… Munted the roster Messed up the schedule. Workplace NZ.… Munted the vibe again Repeat offence of ruining the mood - said with a sigh.… Munted the whole shebang Wrecked the entire thing. Emphatic.… Munted the whole thing Broke or ruined it completely. 'Well, I munted that.'… Munted, aye The all-purpose NZ observation that something's broken, with the tag q… Munted, but she'll be right The complete NZ philosophy in five words: broken, yet optimistic.… Nek minnit 'Next minute' — narrating a sudden turn of events. Born from a legenda… No dramas No problem, all fine. 'No dramas, mate.'… Not here to muck around Serious, focused, down to business. Often ironic before doing exactly … Number 8 wire The DIY, fix-anything-with-what's-lying-around mentality. From the fen… O for awesome A legendarily wrong answer from a NZ celebrity spelling segment, now u… On the piss again Back out drinking - said of a mate with a pattern. Half judgment, half… Pack a sad To sulk or throw a tantrum; also used when machinery gives up.… Pash To kiss passionately. A 'pash' at the school disco is a rite of passag… Piece of piss Extremely easy. NZ's answer to 'piece of cake', with less cake.… Pull the pin To quit, cancel, or call it off. 'We pulled the pin on the trip.'… Rark up To tell someone off, or to fire someone up. 'The coach rarked them up.… Rattle your dags Hurry up, get moving. 'Dags' are the mucky wool clumps on a sheep's re… Raxed Stolen, nicked. Also 'rax' — to steal.… She'll be right It'll be fine; no need to worry — the load is secure, probably. The na… She's a hard road Life's tough, or this task is - said with rueful acceptance. 'She's a … Skite To brag or show off. 'Stop skiting.'… Snapped Caught in the act. 'You got snapped.'… Sort yourself out Get it together; pull yourself together. Blunt care.… Spew To vomit, or to be furious ('I was spewing'). Double duty.… Squiz A quick look. 'Have a squiz at this.'… Squizzy A quick look - diminutive of 'squiz'. 'Have a squizzy.'… Stink Bad luck, disappointing, or lame. 'Stink one' offers condolences; 'a s… Suss Two opposite jobs in one word: to sort something out (suss it out), or… Sweet as a nut Perfectly fine, all sorted - an embellished 'sweet as'.… Ta Thanks. Two letters, job done. More common with the older generation.… Take a hike Clear off, go away - blunt dismissal. Also, literally, go tramping.… Taking the piss Mocking someone, joking around, or not taking something seriously. NOT… tunning flirting… Wag To skip school. 'Wagging' is the activity; detention is the sequel.… Wanna hiding? A threat: do you want a beating? Between mates it's banter; from a str… Wet bus ticket Something feeble or ineffectual - 'a telling-off like a wet bus ticket… What a sad guy Commentary on someone doing something uncool or mean-spirited.… Wouldn't feed him after midnight A joke that someone's a gremlin/troublemaker. Gentle dig.… Wound up like an eight-day clock Extremely tense or agitated. Vintage rural simile.… Yarn A chat, a story, or to talk at length. 'Good yarn' or 'spin a yarn'.… Yeah nah yeah Layered NZ ambivalence resolving to yes - the more 'yeahs' at the end,…