New Zealand Words
the slang “eta” to form “eta bay” and pronounced as one word.
bot – I feel a bit crook. I’ve got the bot – the flu
a box of birds – I am fine, used as a response to the question “how are you?” A common follow-up is all shit and feathers. (See also ‘a box of fluffies’, below).
a box of fluffies a variant of “a box of birds”, shortened from “a box of fluffy ducks”.
bunk/bunking – truancy
chilly bin – An Esky or other portable polystyrene/plastic food and beverage cooler
choice! informal excellent! Great idea! Common in Auckland
chur bro Slang, humorous ‘pronounced as a deep ‘chair’ usually a strong voicing of thanks but also a parting salutation. Shortened from “cheers brother” although can be said to either male or female. Common in Auckland. More recently this can and has often been shortened to “chur bo”, as “bro” loses its ‘r’.
crib another word for bach, more commonly used in the south of the South Island.
cuz as in male or female cousin, plural form “cuzzies”, and sometimes “the cuzzie bros”.
Dag(g) similar to a “hard-case” i.e. a comedian or funny person. Commonly used in the phrase: “What a dag!”. NZ comedian John Clarke’s stage name Fred Dagg was influenced by this.
dairy equivalent to the British term corner shop or American term convenience store.
The Ditch slang the Tasman Sea, the “ditch” separating New Zealand and Australia, almost always used in the phrase: “across the ditch”, meaning, Australia. Occasionally also refers to Cook Strait, which separates the two main islands of the country.
domain as well as its common overseas uses, a public park or reserve, often with sports or camping facilities. Derived from the British legal “land in public domain” or government owned land for public use.
egg – mild insult meaning ‘fool’ or ‘dork’. Enjoyed widespread use in the 1980s, still used today. Used to be used occasionally with the partner (and now all but obsolete) “spoon”.
eh! Slang used for emphasis at the end of a sentence, eh!. Can be used as meaning “isn’t it”. (A similar but not identical usage is found in Canadian English). See Eh. Probably derived from the Maori word ‘nei?’ which means ‘isn’t that right?'[citation needed] More recently spelt “ay” or “aye”, which is a closer phonetic spelling in the NZ accent.
eoh; eoa; aoh; ehore (no agreed spelling, conversational only) derived from the Maori “e hoa” (friend). Used as a friendly term meaning “mate” in the NZEng equivalent, or bro; also used as “hey” or “yo” in place of subject’s name if at the beginning of a phrase. Non-gender specific, and pronounced like a very short, clipped “our” perhaps without the final ‘r’, or like out without the ‘t’. Was common in Auckland but was popularised by the television show ‘bro’Town’, where it is both pronounced and written as ‘ow’. “Eoh, you coming or not?”; “Where you been eoh?”.
Et/Eta/Eta Harry – pronounced “Etta”. Common in Gisborne, exclamation similar to “whatever” also used as an expression of surprise and mild consternation much like ‘oh no!’ Often used to express the sentiment “that is not true”. Probably derived from the Maori ‘e Ta!’ (=’oh Sir!’) or ‘e tama!’ (=’oh child!’ which is a mild scolding).
freezing works a meat-packing plant, an abattoir.
fulla slang guy, from ‘fellow’.
green fingered bro slang for someone who regularly smokes cannabis; usually referring to a person from Kaitaia.
Godzone – informal New Zealand: corruption from ‘God’s Own Country’. Can also refer to Australia.
halfpai – slang meaning half-arsed eg “doing a halfpai job at doing the dishes”; actual meaning: half-good from the Maori word pai = good.
hamu (pron. ha-moo) – verb or noun meaning scab (as above) or scrounge. Bay of Plenty origins, uncommon elsewhere.
hard case slang a person who has a very good sense of humour, a comedian.
hau – expression: ‘wow’; often pronounced with a long drawn-out tail “hauuuuuu”; Maori origins, sometimes transmuted into hau-ly (holy), to punctuate the expression.
Hua – expression: pronounced whoo-a; however not drawn-out. Maori origins, used in conversation in a tongue in cheek manner. Used to replace the English term ‘bastard’, such as ‘You dirty hua’; ‘you little hua’.
hoon- Young delinquent
Hori – slang used for something that is unattractive or shoddy. Rarely used racistly towards Mori.
Ins – slang meaning you had sexual intercourse. “Yeah bro, he got his ins with Stacey!”
JAFA – a derogatory acronym used to describe Aucklanders. This stands for Just Another Fucking Aucklander. Aucklanders refer to it as Just Another Fantastic Aucklander. This acronym has particular sentimental significance to NZers, being the name of an iconic