Australian slang starting with B

304 Aussie words and phrases beginning with B. Page 1 of 3: from B and S ball to bloodnut.

• B and S ballA Bachelors and Spinsters ball: a big, boozy dance party for young people in country Australia, often held…
• baalNo; not. A word of negation in early colonial Aboriginal pidgin, often recorded in settler writing.
• babbling brookA cook, especially a cook in a shearing shed, camp or the army. Often shortened to 'babbler'.
• back of BourkeA very remote, sparsely settled place; the far outback.
• backblocksRemote, sparsely settled country far from towns or the coast; also, the outer, less developed parts of a…
• backburnA fire deliberately lit ahead of an advancing bushfire to burn out the fuel in its path. Also used as a verb.
• backyard cricketInformal cricket played in a backyard, street or park, with improvised wickets and house rules.
• bad trotA run of bad luck or poor form.
• bagTo criticise or run down someone or something.
• bag of fruitA man's suit.
• baggy greenThe dark green cap worn by Australian Test cricketers; by extension, selection in the Australian Test side.
• bagmanA tramp or swagman, especially one travelling on horseback. Dated.
• bagsTo claim something first, as in 'bags the front seat'; whoever calls it first gets it.
• bail upTo hold up and rob someone, as bushrangers did; 'Bail up!' was their command to stop. To corner or detain…
• bakeA severe dressing-down or telling-off, especially from a football coach; 'cop a bake' is to receive one.
• bald as a bandicootCompletely bald.
• balgaA grass tree of south-western Western Australia (Xanthorrhoea preissii), with a thick blackened trunk topped…
• Bali bellyDiarrhoea or an upset stomach picked up while travelling, especially by Australians holidaying in Bali.
• ball-upIn Australian Rules football, a restart of play in which the umpire throws the ball into the air between two…
• Balmain bugAn edible, flat-bodied slipper lobster (Ibacus peronii) of southern and eastern Australian waters.
• banana benderA Queenslander. Humorous.
• banana kickIn Australian rules football, a kick that curves sideways through the air, often used to score from a tight…
• banana loungeA long, folding outdoor recliner for lying in the sun, often curved like a banana.
• BananalandQueensland. A Queenslander is sometimes called a Bananalander.
• bandicootA small, ground-dwelling Australian marsupial with a long pointed snout. (verb) To steal potatoes from the…
• bandy-bandyA small, venomous but timid burrowing snake of Australia (genus Vermicella), boldly ringed in black and white.
• bang like a dunny door vulgarOf a person (traditionally a woman), to be very sexually eager or active.
• bang-tail musterA muster held to count cattle, in which the hair at the end of each beast's tail is cut short to show it has…
• bangalow palmA tall, feather-leaved palm (Archontophoenix cunninghamiana) native to the rainforests of eastern New South…
• banjoA long-handled shovel.
• banksiaAny of the many Australian shrubs and trees of the genus Banksia, with dense, brush-like flower spikes that…
• Barassi LineAn imaginary line across south-eastern Australia dividing the areas where Australian rules football is the…
• barbecue stopperA political or social issue that ordinary people care about so much it dominates conversation, as at a…
• barbieA barbecue, either the grill itself or the social gathering.
• Barcoo grassA native pasture grass of the inland plains of Queensland, valued as stock feed.
• Barcoo rotPersistent skin sores, a scurvy-like condition suffered in the outback, caused by a diet lacking fresh fruit…
• Barcoo sicknessAn illness of the outback marked by bouts of vomiting, once common among bush workers and blamed on poor…
• bardi grubThe large, edible larva of certain wood-boring beetles, found especially in grass trees and gum trees, eaten…
• bark hutA rough hut with walls and roof of sheets of stringybark or other bark over a timber frame, common in the…
• barraBarramundi, a large fish of northern Australian waters prized for sport fishing and eating.
• barrackTo support or cheer for a team, as in 'barrack for'. In British English it means to jeer, but in Australia…
• barrowIn shearing, of a learner, to shear a sheep or finish one off for a shearer, especially in the last minutes…
• Barry CrockerA shocker; something that goes very badly. Often 'have a Barry Crocker' or just 'have a Barry'.
• bastard vulgarIn Australian use, besides being an insult, often a term of affection or mateship between men ('you old…
• bastardisationBrutal initiation rituals or bullying inflicted on newcomers, especially at military academies, boarding…
• bastardry vulgarNasty, unfair or underhand behaviour.
• bathersA swimming costume. The usual word in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.
• Bathurst burrAn introduced spiny weed, Xanthium spinosum, whose burrs tangle in sheep's wool; a serious pest of pastures…
• battleaxe blockA block of land set behind another, with street access only by a long, narrow driveway.
• battlerAn ordinary, hard-working person who struggles to get by but keeps going; often used admiringly ('a little…
• be alert but not alarmedStay watchful but don't panic; now usually said ironically.
• bearded dragonA stocky Australian lizard (genus Pogona) with spiny scales and a throat pouch that it puffs out and darkens…
• beautExcellent, great. (noun) Something or someone excellent; 'you beauty' (often pronounced 'you bewdy') is an…
• Bedourie showerA dust storm; a jocular name for a 'shower' of dust and sand instead of rain.
• beer-upA drinking session; a party at which a lot of beer is drunk.
• bee's dick vulgarA tiny amount or distance.
• beg yoursPardon? Used when asking someone to repeat what they said.
• behindIn Australian rules football, a score of one point, made when the ball passes between a goalpost and a…
• belahAn inland Australian tree (Casuarina cristata) with drooping, needle-like grey-green branchlets, common on…
• bell sheepIn shearing, the last sheep a shearer catches before the bell ends the run, which he is allowed to finish.
• bellbirdAny of several Australian birds with a ringing, bell-like call, especially the bell miner of eastern…
• benchtopA kitchen or bathroom countertop; also simply 'the bench'.
• berkoBerserk; wild with anger. Usually 'go berko'.
• berleyBait such as chopped fish, bread or pellets scattered in the water to attract fish. Also used as a verb.
• Besser blockA hollow concrete building block.
• better than a poke in the eye with a burnt stickNot great, but better than nothing; said of a small or disappointing gain.
• bettongA small, hopping, rabbit-sized marsupial of the genus Bettongia; a kind of rat-kangaroo.
• between the flagsWithin the stretch of beach patrolled by lifesavers and marked by red and yellow flags; the standard…
• bevanA Queensland term for a bogan: an uncouth, unsophisticated person.
• BexA brand of headache powder. Mainly in the phrase 'have a Bex and a good lie down', a mocking suggestion that…
• bidgee-widgeeA low-growing native plant (Acaena novae-zelandiae) of the rose family, whose hooked, burr-like seed heads…
• biffoFighting or rough physical play, especially an all-in brawl on the football field.
• big askA demanding or difficult request; a lot to expect.
• Big AustralianA nickname for the mining company BHP, long Australia's largest company.
• big end of townBig business; the wealthy corporate and financial establishment.
• big lunchAt school, the main lunch break in the middle of the day, as opposed to 'little lunch' (morning recess).
• big mobA lot; a large number or amount. Common in Aboriginal English and in northern and outback Australia.
• big-noteTo boast or show off, especially about one's money or importance. Usually 'big-note yourself'.
• big smokeThe city, especially a capital city, as seen from the country.
• big spitAn act of vomiting. Usually 'go for the big spit'.
• big sticksIn Australian rules football, the two tall goalposts.
• big stoushA nickname used by Australian soldiers and others for the First World War.
• bikieA member of a motorcycle club or gang.
• bikkieA biscuit. (plural, in 'big bikkies') A lot of money.
• bilbyA small, burrowing desert marsupial with long rabbit-like ears and a long snout; promoted as an Australian…
• billabongA waterhole, especially a pool left behind in a dry river channel or a backwater cut off from a river.
• BilljimAn Australian, especially an Australian soldier of the First World War. Dated.
• billyA metal can with a wire handle and lid, used for boiling water and making tea over a campfire.
• billy buttonAny of several Australian daisies (genus Craspedia) with a single round, button-like yellow flower head on a…
• billy lidsChildren.
• billy teaTea brewed outdoors in a billy over a campfire.
• billycartA homemade go-cart, typically a wooden box on old pram wheels, steered with a rope and raced down hills by…
• BillzacAn Australian soldier of the First World War; a name for the typical digger, soon replaced by 'digger' itself.
• bin chickenThe Australian white ibis, a common sight scavenging in city rubbish bins.
• bindi-eyeA low-growing lawn weed with small sharp burrs that are painful to step on in bare feet; also the burrs…
• bingleA minor car accident; a fender-bender.
• bingyThe stomach or belly. Dated.
• biscuit bomberIn the Second World War, a transport aircraft that dropped food and supplies to Australian troops in New…
• Bishop BarkerA tall glass of beer. Dated.
• bite someone's earTo ask someone for a loan of money; to cadge from them. Dated.
• bitumenA sealed road, as opposed to a dirt or gravel one. Usually 'the bitumen'.
• bitzerA mongrel dog of mixed breed. Anything made up of assorted bits and pieces.
• bizzoBusiness; affairs or activity of a particular kind.
• BjelkemanderThe electoral malapportionment in Queensland under Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen (1968–87), which gave country…
• black banA refusal by a trade union to work on a particular job, site or with particular goods. Also used as a verb.
• black cockatooAny of several large, mainly black Australian cockatoos, such as the yellow-tailed, red-tailed and Carnaby's…
• black snakeAny of several venomous Australian snakes with black upper bodies, especially the red-bellied black snake of…
• black stumpAn imaginary marker of the edge of settled country; 'beyond the black stump' means in the remote outback.
• black swanA large black waterbird with a red bill, native to Australia and the emblem of Western Australia.
• black trackerHistorical term for an Aboriginal person employed by the police to track missing people or fugitives. Dated.
• blackbirdingThe 19th-century practice of kidnapping or tricking Pacific Islanders into labour, especially on Queensland…
• blackbuttAny of several eucalypts with rough, dark bark on the lower trunk, especially Eucalyptus pilularis of New…
• blackwoodAn acacia tree of south-eastern Australia (Acacia melanoxylon), valued for its dark, finely figured timber…
• bladesHand shears for shearing sheep, as used before shearing machines came in; a shearer who still uses them is a…
• blind FreddyAn imaginary person of no perception at all, used in 'even blind Freddy could see that' to mean something is…
• blockA piece of land, such as a house block in a suburb or a farming block. The head, especially in 'do your…
• blockieThe owner of a small farm or block, especially an irrigated fruit or grape block along the Murray.
• blokeA man; a fellow. A very common, neutral word in Australia.
• bloodhouseA rough pub where fights are common.
• bloodnutA red-haired person.