| ‘sup | What’s up. Especially, “’sup bro.” |
| sandwich short of a picnic | Used to describe someone who is a simple, study, or a bit crazy. “That guy is a few sandwiches short of a picnic.” |
| sarnie | A sandwich. |
| savs and pavs | Saveloys and pavlova. Traditional kiwi party food. |
| scarce as hen’s teeth. | Very rare. Also rare as hen’s teeth. |
| scarfie | A university student. Robert Sarkies co-wrote and directed a movie entitled ‘Scarfies’ centred around five University of Otago students. |
| scroggin | Trail mix. A mixture of dried fruits, seeds, and nuts that provide high energy for trampers (hikers). |
| scull | To consume a drink quickly, usually in one go without pausing. Possibly derived from the Scandinavian word skål. “He sculled two beers in a row!” |
| sealed road | A road covered in tar-seal. |
| serviette | A table napkin made from absorbent paper or fabric. |
| shake hands with the unemployed. | A reference to a man going to urinate, implying he is not having regular sex. “Excuse me, I’m just going to shake hands with the unemployed.” |
| shandy | A drink made with lemonade and beer. |
| shark and taties | Fish and chips. |
| sheila | A woman; a girl; a female. “Is that sheila going to be at the party?” |
| she’ll be right | A common attitude, meaning everything will be fine, nothing is a problem. |
| shippie | A prostitute working the ships docked at international ports. |
| shit a brick | An exclamation of surprise or annoyance. |
| shit show | No chance. “He doesn’t have a shit show of winning” |
| shitheap | An utter mess. |
| shocking | Very bad. |
| shoot through | To leave suddenly. “If my job ends I’m going to shoot through.” |
| shorts | Movie trailers. The clips from up-coming movies. |
| shout | To pay for your friends to do or have something, such as a drink or a meal “Let’s go out for some drinks. It’s my shout.” |
| shufti | To look at something. To take a look. “Take a shufti at this.” |
| sickie | To take time of work, telling your employer that you are sick when you are not. “The weather was so nice that I pulled a sickie and went surfing.” |
| silly as a two bob watch | Someone who is silly, stupid, or acts that way. |
| skint | Broke. Short of money. “I can’t afford to go out. I’m completely skint until next pay day.” |
| skite | To boast. “She was skiting about the new dress that she bought.”
Someone who boasts or shows off. A showoff. “That guy is such a skite. Every time he gets something new we hear about it for the next week.” |
| smoko | A work break or rest period. A coffee or tea break. It does not necessarily related to smoking cigarettes, although that is the origin of the word. |
| snarky | A mixture of sarcastic and nasty. “She was in a real snarky mood this morning.” |
| snarler | A sausage. |
| snotty | Snooty. Ill-humoured. Packing a sad. “When I asked him if he broke my cup he got all snotty about it.” |
| snowed under | Too much work or very busy. “I’m snowed under with all this work.” |
| sook, sookie, sookie baby | Cry baby. Wimp. A big softie. Can be applied to people and animals, such as an aggressive looking. “Don’t be such a sook.” |
| sparkie / sparky | An Electrician. See also chippy for a builder or carpenter. |
| spew | To throw up; vomit. “On Friday I got so pissed that I spewed.”
To be angry or annoyed. “Mum will spew when she sees the mess I’ve made.” |
| spinner | Term used to describe a someone who is a little flakey / stupid. An airhead. “She’s such aspinner!”.
Someone who lies, or tells unbelievable stories. “Don’t be such a spinner. I know that’s not true.” |
| spit the dummy | To throw a tantrum or get mad. “He will spit the dummy when he finds out!” |
| sprog | A child. “We’re with sprog now.” |
| spud | A potato. A spuddy in the nuddy is a peeled potato. |
| squiz | To look at something. To take a look. “Have a squiz at this.” |
| Steinie | A bottle of Steinlager, a brand of lager beer. “I’ll have a Steinie thanks.” |
| sticking plaster | An adhesive bandage. Band-Aid (brand). See also plaster. |
| sticks, sticksville | Remote or rural area. The countryside. “He lives way out in the sticks.” |
| stinge / stingy | Someone who is not generous, especially with money. “He’s so stingy.” |
| stirrer | A trouble-maker. Agitator. “Don’t be such a stirrer.” |
| stoked | Very happy. Very excited. “I’m stoked about finally getting a job!” |
| strapped for cash | Low on cash. No money. Broke. “I’m bringing my own lunches these days as I’m a bit strapped for cash.” |
| strewth | An exclamation of surprise or frustration. |
| strop off | To masturbate. |
| stroppy | To be in a bad mood, To be difficult to deal with. Belligerent. Ornery. “He got in a real stroppy mood.” |
| stubby, stubbie | A small bottle of beer. |
| Stubbies | A brand of shorts that were popular in New Zealand in the 1970′s and early 1980′s. |
| stuffed | Tired. Exhausted. “I’m stuffed. I’ve been working all day.”
Broken. “The motor is completely stuffed.”
An insult. “Get stuffed!” |
| suck the kumura | To die or otherwise cease to exist. To be broken. |
| Sunday driver | Someone who drives very slowly. |
| sunnies | Sunglasses. |
| suss | To figure out. “I’ve got it sussed”
Suspicious. “That guy is pretty sus, eh?” |
| sweet-as | Cool. Awesome. “His new car is sweet-as” |
| swot | To study hard, especially before an exam. “I have to swot. I’ve got an exam tomorrow.” |
Kiwi Slang Dictionary
[list_articles child_of=101]
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.
Chunder- spew or vomit
yeah nah- no
nah yeah- yes