Australian slang starting with L

84 Aussie words and phrases beginning with L: from Labor to lyrebird.

• LaborThe Australian Labor Party, or its members and supporters collectively.
• lace monitorA large tree-climbing goanna of eastern Australia, dark with pale lacy bands and spots.
• ladIn Australian youth slang, a young man belonging to a subculture marked by brand-name sportswear, a…
• ladderThe table showing the standings of teams in a sporting competition, especially a football league.
• ladies' loungeA separate room in a pub where women could drink, at a time when they were barred or discouraged from the…
• lagerphoneA bush-band percussion instrument made by nailing beer-bottle tops loosely to a broom handle or pole, which…
• lairA flashy show-off, especially one who dresses loudly. The adjective 'lairy' means flashy or showy.
• lamb downTo encourage a shearer or bush worker in town with a cheque to spend it all on drink; to fleece someone of…
• lamb's fryLamb's liver as food, usually fried with bacon and onions.
• lamingtonA square of sponge cake coated in chocolate icing and rolled in desiccated coconut.
• lamington driveA fundraiser in which volunteers make and sell lamingtons, typically for a school, club or church.
• larrikinA mischievous, irreverent person who disregards convention, now often used affectionately. Formerly, a rowdy…
• laughing jackassAn old name for the kookaburra.
• lay-byA system of buying goods by paying a deposit, with the shop holding the item until it has been paid off in…
• lay-down misèreA certainty; something that cannot fail.
• leadOn the goldfields, a bed of gold-bearing gravel following the course of an ancient stream, often far…
• Leadbeater's possumA small, endangered possum of the mountain ash forests of the Central Highlands of Victoria, the state's…
• leafy seadragonA fish of southern Australian waters related to the seahorse, with leaf-like appendages that camouflage it…
• leagues clubA large licensed club associated with a rugby league team, with bars, bistros, poker machines and…
• leather poisoningIn football, a jocular term for a player who gets a huge amount of the ball, as if poisoned by touching the…
• leatherheadThe noisy friarbird or a related friarbird, a honeyeater with a bare black head.
• leatherjacketAny of numerous Australian marine fish with tough skin that is removed before cooking, and a stout dorsal…
• LeaversIn Western Australia, the celebrations held by Year 12 students after their final exams, usually in a…
• legendA good, generous or admirable person; often said in thanks, as in 'you're a legend'.
• leggieIn cricket, a leg-spin bowler.
• legropeA cord attaching a surfboard to the surfer's ankle.
• lemon, lime and bittersA drink of lemonade with lime cordial and a few dashes of Angostura bitters; the classic pub drink for…
• lemon myrtleA Queensland rainforest tree whose strongly lemon-scented leaves are used as a herb and in teas and oils.
• lemon-scented gumA tall, smooth-barked eucalypt of Queensland with leaves that smell strongly of lemon when crushed.
• lerpA sweet, white, scale-like protective covering secreted by the larvae of certain psyllid insects on…
• leschenaultiaAny of a genus of mostly Western Australian shrubs with brilliantly coloured flowers, especially the blue…
• LibsThe Liberal Party, or its members and supporters.
• life wasn't meant to be easyA stock reply to complaints, meaning that hardship is a normal part of life.
• lifesaverA surf lifesaver; a member of a volunteer surf lifesaving club who patrols the beach.
• light globeA light bulb.
• Light HorseThe Australian mounted infantry regiments that served in the Boer War and the First World War, famous for…
• light onIn short supply; lacking in something.
• lignumA tangled, almost leafless shrub growing densely on flood-prone plains and swamps of inland Australia.
• like a bandicoot on a burnt ridgeLonely, forlorn or miserable.
• like a cocky on a biscuit tinOn the outer; associated with something but not part of it or not included in it.
• like a country dunnyAll alone; isolated.
• like a headless chookIn a frantic, panicky and disorganised way, usually 'running around like a headless chook'.
• like a possum up a gum treeVery quickly or nimbly; also, very pleased or busy.
• like a rat up a drainpipeVery quickly and eagerly.
• like a shag on a rockAlone and exposed; isolated or abandoned.
• like a stunned mulletLooking dazed, bewildered or uncomprehending.
• like a twisted sandshoeExtremely ugly, or extremely tired and worn out; usually 'a face like a twisted sandshoe'.
• lilly pillyAny of several Australian rainforest trees and shrubs of the myrtle family with glossy leaves and edible…
• lippyLipstick.
• liquid laughVomit; an act of vomiting.
• little lunchThe mid-morning break at primary school, or the snack eaten then; recess.
• live on the smell of an oily ragTo live very frugally, on almost nothing.
• load upOf police, to plant incriminating evidence such as drugs or a weapon on a suspect.
• lobTo arrive, often unexpectedly. Usually 'lob in'.
• lobsterA twenty-dollar note.
• logrunnerA small, ground-dwelling bird of eastern Australian rainforests that scratches through leaf litter, propped…
• lollyA sweet or piece of confectionery.
• lolly bagA bag of lollies, especially one handed to each child as they leave a birthday party.
• lolly waterA soft drink, especially a sweet fizzy one; also, a weak or sweet alcoholic drink.
• London to a brickA certainty; used to say something is almost sure to happen.
• long blackA coffee made by pouring a double shot of espresso over hot water.
• long dropAn outdoor toilet over a deep pit.
• long macA long macchiato: a double shot of espresso with a dash of milk or foam. A 'short mac' is made with a single…
• long paddockThe public road or stock route, especially its grassy verges used for grazing stock in times of drought.
• long service leaveAn extended period of paid leave granted to employees after many years of service with the same employer.
• long streak of pelican shit vulgarA tall, thin person.
• longneckA 750 ml glass bottle of beer.
• look at moiA jokey demand for attention or admiration, mocking a self-absorbed show-off.
• loose unitA wild, unpredictable or reckless person.
• lorikeetAny of several small, brightly coloured, nectar-feeding parrots, especially the rainbow lorikeet.
• loungeA couch or sofa.
• loungeroomThe living room of a house.
• lousyMean or stingy with money.
• lowanThe malleefowl, a large ground bird of mallee country that incubates its eggs in a huge mound of sand and…
• lower than a snake's bellyUtterly despicable.
• lucky countryAustralia, regarded as prosperous and fortunate; now often used without the irony originally intended.
• lucky door prizeA prize drawn at a function from the numbers on tickets given to people as they arrive.
• lucky lastThe last item in a series, such as the final race of a meeting or the last prize drawn, seen as a final…
• lumperA wharf labourer who loads and unloads ships.
• lunatic soupAlcohol, especially cheap or strong drink.
• lunch orderAn order for lunch from the school canteen, traditionally written on a paper bag with the money inside and…
• lurkA scheme, dodge or racket, especially a clever way of getting an advantage.
• lurk manA person who lives by schemes and dodges; a smooth operator always on the lookout for an easy advantage.
• lyrebirdEither of two Australian ground birds, the male of which has a long lyre-shaped tail and is a remarkable…