| bach | Pronounced “batch”. A small holiday home. (Also called a “[[crib]]” in the South Island). |
| back blocks | A rural or remote place, especially farming areas. “Ted has a farm out in the somewhere out in the back blocks.” |
| banger | A sausage. “We’re having bangers and mash for dinner tonight” (sausages and mashed potato) |
| barbie | Barbecue (often written as BBQ) – food cooked outside over a charcoal or gas fire “Hey, let’s have a barbie tonight for dinner.” – “Throw some more sausages on the Barbie.” |
| beaut / beauty | Great, excellent, very good. Also “You beauty”, meaning “good on you!” |
| big smoke | A city, particularly a large city. A reference to big factories producing smoke. “John is moving to the big smoke.” |
| biscuit | A cookie. |
| bit of a dag | A person with character. Also hard case, comedian, or joker. Literally, a dag is a piece of matted or dung-coated wool found around a sheep’s tale. “Kev is a bit of a dang, isn’t he?” |
| bite your bum | Telling someone to go away, bum meaning bottom. See also [[piss off]]. “You’re being annoying! Why do you go and bite your bum!” |
| bitser | A dog of mixed breed, i.e. a mongrel. “My dog is a bitser” |
| bloke | A general term for a man, especially when his name isn’t mentioned. “There is a bloke down the road selling puppies.” Can also refer to a man’s man, such as “he’s a real bloke.” (A man who likes stereotypical male things, such as fishing, hunting, sports, etc) |
| blow me down | An expression of surprise. “Well blow me down! I didn’t know that.” |
| bludge | To evade work and scrounge from other people. A common term was “dole bludger” – someone who didn’t want to work and would rather just live on a government unemployment benefit. Also used in conversation to ask for something for free, such as a cigarette, e.g. “can I bludge a cigarette from you?” |
| Bob’s your uncle | Similar to the saying “hey presto”, meaning something is done or happens. “Just connect the cables and Bob’s your uncle, all ready to go.” Sometimes said as “Bob’s your uncle and Fanny’s your aunt” or someone may reply to the “Bob’s your uncle” with “And Fanny’s your aunt.” |
| bogan | A stereotype loosely comparable to the North American term redneck. A bogan (male) stereotypically listens to heavy metal or hard rock music, dresses in black clothing, and enjoys drinking beer and driving predominantly Ford or Holden cars. Sometimes comparable to a Westie. “He’s a bit of a bogan.” – “I hate that town, it’s full of bogans.” For detailed information see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogan |
| bonk | Another term for having sex with someone or something. “He’d bonk almost anything that moves!” |
| bonnet | The part of a car that covers the engine, called the “hood” in North America. |
| boohai | A non-existant place that is in the middle of nowhere. Generally used in a sentence such as “up the boohai”, which is comparable to the phrase “up the creek without a paddle”, meaning things have gone wrong. |
| boonies | From the word “boondocks”, referring to a remote or rural place. See also [[backblocks]] and [[sticks]]. “He lives way out in the boonies.” |
| boot | The luggage compartment of a car, called the “trunk” in North America. |
| booze | Alcohol of any type. A “booze up” is a party where there will generally be a large amount of alcohol consumed. See also [[piss up]]. “I’m off to the pub to buy some booze.” |
| box of budgies | Used to describe a cheerful, happy state. Same meaning as a “box of fluffies.”. “Everything’s a box of budgies.” |
| Boxing Day | The day after Christmas Day, and an official public holiday in New Zealand. The word comes from the custom of giving boxes (gifts) to services workers In the United Kingdom. While the custom generally doesn’t remain, the name of the day does. |
| boy racer | Generally a young male car enthusiast, often stereotyped as driving a modified or customized car (especially turbo-charged models such as Subaru WRX) and listening to loud music. Girl racer is |
| braces | An alternative name for suspenders that are used to hold trousers up as an alternative to a belt. |
| brassed off | Annoyed or disappointed. See also [[pissed off]]. “After the argument with him I was really brassed off.” |
| brekkie | Short for “breakfast”. |
| brickie | A term used for someone whose occupation is bricklayer. |
| bright as a button | Alert, wide awake. |
| bright spark | Someone who is intelligent. “She’s a real bright spark.” – “The person who invented this gadget must have been a bright spark.” |
| brilliant | Great, excellent, very good. “If you could bring some food for the barbie it would be brilliant.” |
| bring a plate | Bring a plate of food to share. Often used in relation to a potluck lunch or dinner. There are plenty of stories of immigrants thinking it means to bring only a plate without food. |
| bro | Short for brother. Term of address for a male friend or relative. “Hey, wassup bro?” |
| brown eye | To flash your naked bottom at someone. Literally referring to the anus as a “brown eye”. “He was doing brown eyes to cars as they drove past.” |
| bugger | Usage similar to “damn”. Made famous (or infamous) in the 1999 Toyota ads. The original meaning is seldom used in New Zealand, but “bugger” originally meant “sodomize”. The term can also be used to refer to a person, e.g. “he’s a cheeky little bugger.” |
| bugger all | Not much; very little. “I’ve got bugger all money left after the weekend.” |
| bugger off | Go away. Same as [[piss off]]. |
| buggered | Exhausted; tired. “I’m buggered.” Broken. “It’s completely buggered.” An expression of surprise or amazement. “Well I’ll be bugger.” |
| bullet | A package of marijuana in tinfoil. See also [[tinny]] |
| bum | Rear end; butt; bottom. |
| bumper | The part of a car that is intended to take minor impacts and protect the front or rear of the car. The North American term is “fender”. |
| bun in the oven | Pregnant. |
| bungee / bungy | Elastic strapping or cord with a cloth cover. Spelt bungy in New Zealand after the elastic cords used in bungy jumping, popularised by A.J. Hackett. The word actually originates from the West Country dialect from South West England, where is originally meant something “thick and squat.” |
| burn out | Deliberately accelerating in a manner that causes a cars tyres to spin and produce smoke. If done persistently there is a good chance the tyres will burst (blow out). “The boys are down by the wharf doing burn outs.” |
| bush | A large area of native trees and plants. A forest; Also, as the verbal phrase “going bush”, the process of going camping or hiding out in the bush. “Large areas of New Zealand are still covered in bush.” “I think that guy who escaped from prison will be going bush.” |
| bushed | Exhausted, very tired. |
| bust a gut | Used to describe the possible result of performing a strenuous activity, such as causing a hernia. “If you keep that up you’re likely to bust a gut.” |
| B.Y.O. | An acronym standing for bring your own. Many restaurants show a sign stating B.Y.O. to indicate customers are allowed to bring their own wine to drink with a meal. Sometimes uses for shorthand on notices and invites to show that people are expect to bring their own food or utensils. “Barbeque this weekend. BYO meat. Salads provided.” |
Kiwi Slang Dictionary
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If you hear or read a New Zealand colloquial or slang word or phrase and would like an explanation of what it means then feel welcome to ask a question in the form below.
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