Appendix:Australian English terms for clothing - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (2024)

Australians use many unique terms to refer to items of clothing. Some of these terms are regional. Many derive from company or brand names others derive from rhyming slang.

General[edit]

• bluey - heavy wool or felt jacket worn by mining and construction workers. Also has a colloquial meaning for navy blue 'Chesty Bonds' singlet.
• cardie – cardigan
• dacks (daks) – trousers, most likely derived from the London clothier Daks (founded in 1894). Trackie dacks are tracksuit trousers, and underdacks are underpants or knickers. To dak someone is to pull their pants down.
• Underpants (underwear) are also commonly referred to as jocks (a diminutive of 'jockey shorts').
• flannie or flanno – A shirt made from flannelette, most often with a check pattern
• franger - a condom (sometimes as 'franga') also 'dinger'.
• guernsey – a sporting team jumper; by extension also sometimes means a place on a sporting team as in didn't get a guernsey, meaning didn't get a place on the team or a chance to play.
• Jackie Howe, singlet – a blue singlet popularised by famous shearer Jackie Howe and blue collar workers
• jumper - sweater
• singlet – a sleeveless undershirt, known in British English as a vest and in American English as a tank top (or, colloquially, as a "wife beater"). Better known as an A Shirt in American English.
• windcheater - a sweatshirt
• strides - trousers
• sunnies - sunglasses
• trackie daks/dacks – tracksuit trousers
• trackies – a track suit
• wife beater – a blue singlet, a Jackie Howe (may now occasionally refer to a white singlet since, in recent years, it has come to mean such in American usage)
• top – a shirt; used especially in Queensland

Footwear[edit]

• Blunnies - a type of work boot made by Blundstone Footwear (also known as Blundies)
• gumboots/gummies – Wellington boots
• moccies – moccasin-style footwear.
• Thongs - rubber flip-flops. In the Northern Territory thongs are commonly called “double pluggers” or “pluggers”.
• RM's -(pronounced Are-Ems) a type of riding or work boot made by R.M.Williams
• runners or joggers – running shoes. The term Sneakers is increasingly used, but refers mainly to basketball and casual shoes.
• sand shoes - running shoes.
• thong – A backless sandal, usually made of plastic, the top section of which sits between the big and second toes. Known as jandals in New Zealand English. The name thong was also the original name for this footwear in the U.S. but the name flip flop later came to dominate and the term thong in the U.S. now more commonly refers to G-string style underwear. The undergarment is usually called a g-string (or colloquially, bum floss) in Australia, however, due to U.S. influences in Australia the word thong is now also used.
• ugg boots or uggies – a type of boot/slipper hybrid made of sheep skin. This word has been trademarked by Deckers Outdoor Corporation in some countries, however, it has always been regarded as a generic word in Australian English as it has been in the language for many decades and is commonly used. There was a great battle over the ugg boot trade-mark and Deckers lost or withdrew from trademarking the name in Australia.

Underpants[edit]

• banga - a g-string, ("check out her g-banga" or "her g-banga's out again")
• dunders - A pair of old, worn out underpants
• sex pants- UK thong
• fart slicer - a g-string
• flange gasket - underwear, generally brown
• G-string - US thong
• jocks – men's briefs. Probably derived either from Jockstrap, or most likely from the Jockey underwear company and/or their Jockette brand.
• reg grundies, reggies and grundies – rhyming slang for undies from TV Mogul Reg Grundy's name
• shorties, - rhyming slang for undies from TV Mogul Shorts, brand
• skirties, - rhyming slang for undies from TV Mogul Skirts, brand
• underderps and derps - underwear. Term often used by comedian Mick Molloy
• undies
• knickers - womens underwear

Swimwear[edit]

Swimwear is known by different names around Australia. The most some common terms are:

• bathers – the most common term in Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and occasionally in other states. From bathing suit
• boardies – short for board shorts
• cossie or cozzie – female swimwear; from "swimming costume"; usage of this name is generally restricted to New South Wales
• speedos – generic term for men's swimming briefs which originated in Australia, from the brand name (see Speedo). Known colloquially as sluggos, budgie smugglers
• swimmers – used mainly in New South Wales and sometimes used in Queensland, from "swimming costume"
• togs – used mainly in Queensland, but also by some people in Western Australia and Victoria, to describe any type of swimwear
• trunks – now virtually extinct, formerly used by some people in various regions, to describe any type of swimwear

See also[edit]

• Australian English
• Australian English vocabulary

References[edit]

Main source: Australian Word Map

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Categories:

• Australian English appendices
• en:Clothing