British Dialects

Cartoon: David Pope

Bludger

A person who does not do a fair share of work and who exploits the work of others.

The word comes from the British slang word bludger, shortened from bludgeoner, a prostitute's pimp, so named because he carried a bludgeon, presumably to ensure payment.

In Australia, bludger came to be applied to anyone who did not pull his or her weight.

Hear the word bludger in use (MP3 61kb)

Cartoon: David Pope

Dag

A person who is unkempt, unfashionable or lacking in social skills.

The word dag also means a lump of matted wool and dung hanging from a sheep's rear. This sense probably led to the meaning 'unkempt', and then to the broader meanings 'unfashionable' and 'socially unacceptable'. It was first recorded in 1891.

Hear the word dag in use (MP3 32b)

Cartoon: David Pope

Dob

To inform on someone — 'dobbing on your mates' — or to volunteer someone for an unwelcome task — 'I was dobbed in to organise the fete'.

The ethic of standing by your mates means that many Australians take a dim view of dobbing.

Dob may come from British dialect dob 'to put down abruptly', or 'to throw something at a target'. It was first recorded n 1956.

Hear the word dob in use (MP3 40kb)

Cartoon: David Pope

Give it a burl

Give it a try, make an attempt.

'Burl' is one of almost 200 words that Australian English borrowed from British dialects.

It is a Scots word for a 'spin' or 'whirl', and in Australia we have varied the standard English 'give it a whirl' by replacing the last word with the Scots 'burl': 'The mower should start now Mum — give it a burl!'

Hear the phrase give it a burl in use (MP3 58kb)

Cartoon: David Pope

Rattle your dags

Hurry up, get a move on.

Dags are clumps of matted wool and dung which hang around a sheep's rear end. When a 'daggy' sheep runs, the dried dags knock together to make a rattling sound. The word 'dag' (originally 'daglock') was a British dialect word that came into mainstream Australian English in the late nineteenth century.

Hear the phrase rattle your dags in use (MP3 43kb)

Cartoon: David Pope

Wowser

A puritanical killjoy, a person who tries to force his or her narrow morality on society.

Some argue that the word comes from the initial letters of the slogan We only want social evils righted. Its real origin is probably the British dialect word wow 'to whine, grumble, complain'. It was first recorded in 1899.

Hear the word wowser in use (MP3 54kb)