Fair suck of the sav is good. My Dad always used to talk about savvy soup, as in being a bit sad and cheap and old I guess.

michael says here’s a good one: “a fair suck of the sav.” i like that one. have never used it, though.

ok, we’re running hours late but we’re really really going now. hopefully traffic will be ok.

i agree, those words that i listed are perhaps not good examples, but i just picked out words that i actually do use, but have never heard anywhere else. except of course australia. i could’ve chosen others that are perhaps more pertinent, but i don’t tend to use. “She’ll be right” for instance.

Bach – now there is a good kiwi word, that i *do* use! because we’re going to drive to ours in about 8 hours’ time!

Cow spanking – i’ve never heard that. bit of a dag, that one ;) (dag – that’s actually australian, isn’t it?)

most of the language is specific to the Commonwealth. Some of those words have originated in New Zealand, chilly bin for example. Australia uses a different word for that related to a brand name, cooli/y I believe. But the point is that to those not from New Zealand or Australia a lot of our slang is incomprehensible.

A lot of the crossing over happened during the world wars, where troops were posted together etcetera. (It may sound out of date but as a result of overseas television a lot of our slang now comes from sources that understand its use; the really weird slang is old.) As a result the New Zealand vernacular has many words that come from Yiddish, German and other languages, these words have been adapted over time. Since the ANZAC (Australian New Zealand Army Corps) troops worked together, a lot of basic New Zealand slang is non-specifically Kiwi but also common to Australia; proximity and a certain love/hate relationship also explains this.

Although the dictionary that you cited is reasonable it doesn’t trace the history of the words. There are many better resources, none of them are online, unless you want to buy them which I suspect not.

However I think that although Deb’s choices may not be the most pertinent examples for your purposes, or the most extreme they are definitely valid. I get queried on a regular basis, by Britains, Canadians and Australians, not just those from America and/or other countries. So maybe everyone is not as familar, or finds it as easy to look up an online dictionary.

If you are interested the Dictionary of New Zealand English, published by Oxford University Press is a good resource, or Curious Kiwi Words by Max Cryer gives a slighty more interesting view.

Yet even more interestingly, I think that you illustrated Deb’s point: ‘no wonder people have difficulty figuring out where I’m from.’

Here though, for your interest are some that have originated in New Zealand:

Murder House: School Dental Clinic (or the training schools of the 50s and 60s)
Cow Spanking: Milking cows.
Nappy Valley: Suburb full of families.
Chateau Cardboard: Cheap wine.

I can’t guarantee exclusive use, but I can guarantee origin.

Apologies for the mammoth comment, us Kiwis are known for our need to defend ourselves and our rather loquacious natures. :)

i certainly never used or heard any of those words when i lived in the UK, though!

except for the maori expressions, I don’t think you list many that are really unique to NZ — cardie for cardigan is used in Great Britain, Canada, and Australia too!

http://www.nz.com/NZ/Culture/NZDic.html

and suss is definitely not american. I have no idea what that means, even.