Australian slang starting with D

172 Aussie words and phrases beginning with D. Page 1 of 2: from D and M to double dissolution.

• D and MA deep and meaningful conversation; a heart-to-heart.
• Dad and DaveA shave.
• dagA lump of matted wool and dung hanging from a sheep's rear. An unfashionable, awkward or uncool person…
• daggyUnfashionable, uncool or scruffy, often in an endearing way.
• dagwood dogA frankfurt dipped in batter, deep-fried and served on a stick, usually smothered in tomato sauce; a fixture…
• daksTrousers or underpants. To 'dack' someone is to pull their pants down as a prank.
• damA pond or small reservoir on a farm, made by digging out earth or building a bank, used to store water for…
• damperA simple bread made from flour, water and sometimes salt, traditionally baked in the ashes of a campfire.
• dampieraAny of a genus of small native shrubs and herbs, Dampiera, mostly with blue or purple flowers, common in…
• darlDarling; an affectionate term of address, often used by shop and café staff to customers.
• Darling peaA native plant of the genus Swainsona, poisonous to livestock that graze on it.
• Darling showerA dust storm, especially in western New South Wales. Ironic and dated.
• DarloDarlinghurst, the inner-city suburb of Sydney.
• dartWhat you most like or want; your fancy. A scheme, especially a shady one; a racket.
• Darwin stubbyAn oversized bottle of beer, originally 80 fluid ounces (about 2.25 litres), now sold mostly as a novelty in…
• date vulgarThe anus, as in 'up your date!'. A silly or foolish person, usually in 'you silly date'.
• Davidson's plumA rainforest tree of the genus Davidsonia, native to northern New South Wales and Queensland, or its dark…
• dawn serviceA commemorative service held at dawn on Anzac Day, recalling the time of the Gallipoli landing.
• DazzaA familiar form of the name Darren (sometimes Daryl).
• dead finishThe limit; the very end or the last straw, as in 'that's the dead finish'. Dated.
• dead heartThe dry, sparsely settled interior of Australia.
• dead horseTomato sauce.
• dead marineAn empty beer bottle. Dated.
• dead setTruly, genuinely or absolutely. Also used as an adjective meaning complete or utter, and as an exclamation…
• deadlyExcellent; really good. Originally and especially used in Aboriginal English, now widely heard among young…
• deadshit vulgarA contemptible, useless or obnoxious person.
• deanerA shilling. Dated, from before decimal currency.
• death adderAny of several highly venomous Australian snakes of the genus Acanthophis, with a short, thick body, which…
• deckieA deckhand on a boat, such as a fishing trawler or a ferry.
• deeA detective.
• Deep NorthQueensland, or northern Australia generally, regarded as politically conservative or backward. Usually…
• deep sinkerA tall glass of beer, or a large drink. Dated.
• deep thinkerIn WWI, a soldier who enlisted late in the war, mockingly supposed to have thought long and hard before…
• deliA corner shop selling groceries, newspapers, drinks and takeaway food; the local equivalent of a milk bar.
• democracy sausageA sausage in a slice of bread bought from a fundraising barbecue at a polling place on election day.
• demonA detective or plain-clothes police officer. Dated.
• demountableA portable prefabricated building, especially one used as an extra classroom at a school.
• dero derogatoryA derelict or homeless person, typically a down-and-out drinker. Mildly derogatory.
• derryA grudge or prejudice against someone, usually in the phrase 'have a derry on someone'.
• desert limeA thorny native citrus, Citrus glauca, of semi-arid eastern Australia, or its small, tangy green fruit, used…
• desert oakA tall casuarina, Allocasuarina decaisneana, of the sandy deserts of central Australia.
• desoA designated driver; the person who stays sober to drive everyone home.
• dettoDetention at school.
• devoDevastated; bitterly disappointed. (noun, dated) A sexual pervert or deviant.
• devonA mild processed luncheon sausage, sliced and eaten cold, especially in sandwiches. Called 'fritz' in South…
• dhufishA large, prized eating fish, Glaucosoma hebraicum, found only off the coast of Western Australia.
• diamond doveA small grey dove, Geopelia cuneata, of inland Australia, with white spots on its wings and a red ring…
• diamond firetailA finch, Stagonopleura guttata, of south-eastern Australia, with a bright red rump, black breast band and…
• diamond pythonA non-venomous python, Morelia spilota spilota, of south-eastern Australia, dark with cream or yellow…
• dibblerA small, speckled carnivorous marsupial, Parantechinus apicalis, of south-western Western Australia, now…
• dick stickers vulgarClose-fitting men's swimming briefs.
• dickenAn exclamation of disgust or disbelief. Dated.
• didgeridooA long wooden wind instrument of northern Aboriginal Australia, typically made from a termite-hollowed…
• didn't come down in the last showerI'm not naive or easily fooled.
• diggerAn Australian soldier, especially one who served in World War I. A miner on the goldfields. A friendly form…
• dillA fool or idiot.
• dilly bagA small bag of woven grass or fibre traditionally made and carried by Aboriginal people; by extension, any…
• dim simA large Australian-style dumpling of minced meat and cabbage in a thick wrapper, steamed or deep-fried and…
• dingbatA silly or eccentric person. 'The dingbats': delirium tremens, or a bad case of nerves; 'dingbats' as an…
• dingoThe wild dog of Australia, Canis dingo, typically sandy-yellow in colour. A cowardly or treacherous person…
• dingo's breakfastNo breakfast at all; jocularly described as 'a yawn, a leak and a good look around'.
• dinkTo carry a passenger on a bicycle, on the handlebars, crossbar or seat; also a ride given this way.
• dinkumGenuine, honest, true or real. Also used as an adverb meaning truly.
• dinkum oilThe truth; reliable, inside information. Dated.
• dinky-diGenuine, authentic or truly Australian.
• dip outTo miss out on something, or to drop out of it.
• dip your lidTo raise your hat in greeting or respect; to show admiration for someone.
• diprotodonA huge extinct herbivorous marsupial of the genus Diprotodon, the largest marsupial known, which lived in…
• dirty bigVery big; 'dirty' is used as an intensifier.
• dirty onAnnoyed or angry with someone; holding a grudge against them.
• dishlickerA greyhound.
• divvy vanA police van used to carry people who have been arrested.
• do a BradburyTo win or succeed unexpectedly, especially because everyone ahead of you falls over or fails.
• do a getTo make a hasty retreat; to run off.
• do a guyTo make off; to disappear or abscond.
• do a Harold HoltTo bolt; to leave suddenly or disappear.
• do a perishTo suffer badly from lack of food or water, or more loosely to go without something.
• do the BlockTo stroll along the fashionable stretch of Collins Street, Melbourne, to see and be seen. Dated.
• do your blockTo lose your temper; to become furious.
• do your doughTo lose all your money, especially by gambling.
• do your lollyTo lose your temper.
• do your nanaTo lose your temper.
• dobTo inform on someone or tell tales, usually 'dob in'. 'Dob in' can also mean to volunteer someone for a task…
• docketA receipt or proof-of-purchase slip, or a delivery slip.
• docoA documentary.
• doctorThe cook at a bush camp, on a station or with a droving team. Dated.
• dodgerBread, or a slice or chunk of bread.
• Dodgy BrothersAn imaginary firm standing for any shonky or unreliable business operator, especially in building or car…
• dogAn informer, especially a police informer; someone who betrays their mates. To 'dog on' someone is to inform…
• dog actA low, contemptible or treacherous act.
• dog boxA compartment in an old-style railway carriage with no connecting corridor. 'In the dog box': in disgrace…
• dog fenceA dingo-proof fence, especially the very long barrier running across south-eastern Australia to keep dingoes…
• dog-leg fenceA rough bush fence of poles or logs laid on crossed stakes rather than set into post holes.
• Dog on the TuckerboxA statue of a dog sitting on a tuckerbox near Gundagai, New South Wales, commemorating the bullock drivers…
• dog tied upAn unpaid debt, especially an outstanding bill at a hotel or shop. Dated.
• doggerA person who hunts and traps dingoes, traditionally for the bounty paid on their scalps.
• dogmanA licensed worker who slings loads and directs a crane operator by hand signals or radio, traditionally…
• dog's diseaseInfluenza, or a heavy cold. Dated.
• dog's eyeA meat pie.
• doing it toughGoing through hard times, especially financially.
• doley derogatoryA person receiving unemployment benefits. Often derogatory.
• dollarbirdA stocky, blue-green bird, Eurystomus orientalis, that migrates to northern and eastern Australia in spring…
• dollarydoosA humorous name for Australian dollars.
• donahIn larrikin slang, a girlfriend or sweetheart. Dated.
• done like a dinnerThoroughly beaten or outdone.
• dongTo hit or punch someone.
• dongaA demountable hut or transportable cabin used as temporary accommodation, especially on mine and…
• donger vulgarThe penis.
• donkAn engine, especially in a car or boat.
• donkey orchidAny of several Australian ground orchids of the genus Diuris, with two upright petals that resemble a…
• donkey voteA vote in which the voter simply numbers the candidates in the order they appear on the ballot paper, from…
• doofElectronic dance music with a heavy, thumping beat (also 'doof doof'). An outdoor dance party with such…
• doonaA quilt filled with down or synthetic fibre; a duvet.
• doona dayA day off work spent at home relaxing in your pyjamas, a kind of sanctioned sickie or mental-health day.
• doorstopA brief, informal press conference given by a politician to reporters waiting outside a building or event.
• dooverA thingummy or whatsit; anything whose name you can't remember or don't know.
• Dorothy DixerA question asked in parliament by a government member, arranged in advance so a minister can deliver a…
• double-barred finchA small finch, Taeniopygia bichenovii, of northern and eastern Australia, with a white face and two thin…
• double demeritsA period, typically over long weekends and holidays, when traffic offenders lose twice the usual number of…
• double dissolutionThe dissolution of both houses of the federal parliament at once, leading to an election for every seat…