australian culture and customs
find out how australians do things, how we see the world and the world sees us
jobs – chippy, sparky, brickie, dunny diver – what are you talking about?!
Why use the correct word when you can have some fun and bamboozle non-native English speakers?
- chippy – a carpenter (they make chips when the cut up wood)
- sparky – an electrician (they make sparks when they make electricity)
- bricky – brick layer
- dunny diver – plumber (they fix toilets, also known as dunnies in colloquial English) (this is less commonly used)
- shiny bum – office worker or executive (because they sit on their bottom all day so it gets shiny)
- desk driver – same as above
- ivory tower – where a shiny bum works and is separated from understanding what the ‘real’ people do
- shrink – psychiatrist
- doc – medical doctor
- garbo or garbologist – a garbage (rubbish) collector. Garbologist is a joke because it makes it sound like a sophisticated job.
- digger – Australian soldier (from when they dug trenches in the 1st World War)
- trady – a trades-person
- milko – milkman ( or woman) who delivers the milk to your doorstep
- checkout chick – cashier (for a female and usually in a supermarket like Coles or Woolies) * Not everyone likes being called a c.c.
- general practitioner (doctor) – quack (particularly a disreputable doctor)
Do you know any more? add them to the comments and I’ll put them in the post.
australian culture and customs 
Awesome list. I would like to add Milko for Milkman (yep they do still exist), checkout chick for cashier & quack for GP.
Thanks ‘seldombites’, how could I have left these out?!
Chalky- teacher, Polly- politician, Wharfy- waterside worker, Posty- postal officer, Cow cockie- cattle farmer, Towny- town dweller
postie (postman); copper (policeman); desk jockey (office worker); truckie (truck driver); journo (journalist); jackaroo (station-hand / stockman); ambo (ambulance driver); dole bludger (unemployed); greenie (environmentalist); Pollie (politician); surfie (surfer)
chalky = teacher. Even though the blackboard jungle is becoming a whiteboard jungle
Photographer?
I can’t think of one for photographers although we do call a photo a ‘snap’ and say ‘point and shoot’ but I don’t think that is exclusively Australian. It can’t be a shotty because that’s a shotgun!
Shutter bug
Yes. Cheers. Helene
Shutter bug.
in Canada called Photogs
What are musicians called?
Musos
Digger comes from the fact that most soldiers came from the goldfields where they were digging for gold, nothing to do with digging trenches.
You’re absolutely bloody right there, Dig.
How have you forgotten about boileys hahaha they make the most money and are one of the main 4 trades.
I didn’t know that one. Cheers
Firery – Fire Man
The Filth (plus many others) – Police
Yes to firery for firefighter, no to The Filth – we call them cops here. I think the Filth is English.
Firey is correct. Firery not so much 🙂
It could be a sign of a dynamic evolving lexicon. Or a typo 😬
“Firery – Fire Man” – and Fire Woman.
Another nickname is Sheety.
A sheet metal worker.
Really?! New to me – thanks for the contribution
Dishy
= dishwasher or ‘dish pig’. That vulgar name reminds me of ‘door bitch’ (obscene) meaning the (usually) female person who takes your ticket at the venue door.
shoppie – retail (shop) worker
bushie – bushman
cockie – farmer
wharfie – dock worker
bookie – bookmaker (takes horse race bets)
shock jock – talk-back radio announcer
Great contribution. Thanks!
Whinger. A person who complains constantly.
Cobbee. Best mate. Rooted. Tired or run down.
Dingos breakfast .means no break fast
Ripper . Means great. Stoked . Meaning excited or elated.
Hit the turps means . Drinking heavy.
Bad spelling cobber.
Very helpful for someone who had chippie wrong
Refrigeration/ Aircon tradies?
I’m not sure. Fridgy?
Bean Counter
Chalky – a teacher
Blowie for aircon / refrig tradies – that is qualified from my mate Rocking Rob who is one. Keep those names coming 🙂
Shrink isn’t strictly Australian, we use it in America too.
How about a Dogs Eye a Pie
I don’t know that one??
Or for extra deliciousness: a dog’s eye and a dead horse (a meat pie with tomato sauce)
lackey – someone who does menial jobs/tasks or errands
There’s no specific term I can think of