Australian slang starting with T

133 Aussie words and phrases beginning with T. Page 1 of 2: from TAB to tuckshop.

• TABAn off-course betting agency for horse, harness and greyhound racing and other sports; a betting shop.
• tackerA small child.
• TAFEA government-run vocational college offering trade, technical and other courses; also the system of such…
• tag dagA person who has the label of a garment sticking out without realising, often called out jokingly.
• taggerIn Australian Rules football, a player whose job is to shadow a dangerous opponent closely and stop them…
• tailTo herd or mind sheep or cattle, especially by following them on foot or horseback while they graze.
• tailorA predatory sea fish of southern and eastern Australian coasts, prized by beach and rock anglers; known…
• tailor-madeA factory-made cigarette, as opposed to one you roll yourself.
• taipanA large, highly venomous Australian snake. The coastal taipan of the north and east and the inland taipan of…
• take downTo cheat or swindle someone.
• take the knockTo suffer a heavy financial loss, especially on a bet. Of a bookmaker or punter, to be unable to pay what…
• talk the leg off an iron potTo talk incessantly.
• tall poppyA person who is conspicuously successful. 'Tall poppy syndrome' is the tendency to criticise or cut down…
• tallieA 750 mL bottle of beer; a longneck.
• tallowwoodA tall eucalypt (Eucalyptus microcorys) of coastal New South Wales and Queensland, with durable…
• tallyThe number of sheep shorn by a shearer in a given run, day or season.
• tammar wallabyA small wallaby of south-western Western Australia and South Australian islands such as Kangaroo Island.
• tankAn excavated dam or reservoir for holding water on a farm or station.
• tar boyIn a shearing shed, a boy whose job was to dab tar on cuts made on sheep during shearing.
• tartA girl, young woman or sweetheart, used admiringly and without any insult. This affectionate sense is long…
• Tasmanian devilA small, stocky carnivorous marsupial with black fur and a fierce screech, found in the wild only in Tasmania.
• Tasmanian tigerThe thylacine, a dog-like carnivorous marsupial with dark stripes across its back, believed extinct since…
• TassieTasmania. Also used for a Tasmanian person.
• Tassie tuxedoA puffer jacket, especially a black one, regarded jokingly as Tasmania's all-occasion formal wear.
• TaswegianA Tasmanian.
• TattsThe lottery run by Tattersall's; 'to win Tatts' is to win the lottery or have a stroke of great luck.
• tawny frogmouthA grey, owl-like nocturnal bird found throughout Australia, Podargus strigoides, with a wide, frog-like…
• tax file numberA personal reference number issued by the Australian Taxation Office for tax and superannuation purposes; a…
• teaThe evening meal; dinner.
• Tea and Sugar trainA weekly supply train that ran along the Trans-Australian Railway across the Nullarbor, bringing provisions…
• tea treeAny of various Australian shrubs and small trees of the genera Leptospermum and Melaleuca, often growing in…
• tealOne of the community-backed independent candidates or MPs, typically female, campaigning on climate action…
• technicolour yawnAn act of vomiting.
• tell him he's dreamingA dismissive reply to a demand or offer that is ridiculous or unrealistic.
• ten-pound PomA British migrant who came to Australia under the post-war assisted passage scheme, paying a fare of ten…
• ten, ten, two and a quarterThe standard weekly ration once issued to station hands and swagmen: ten pounds of flour, ten pounds of…
• TerritorianA person from the Northern Territory.
• Territory rigThe accepted formal dress for men in the tropical north: long trousers and an open-necked shirt, without…
• textaA felt-tip pen or marker.
• that'd be rightAn expression of weary, ironic resignation when something goes wrong just as you expected it would.
• that's not a knifeA jokey way of one-upping someone by producing a bigger or better version of what they have, usually…
• that's the shotThat's the right idea; exactly what's needed. An expression of approval.
• the DismissalThe removal of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam from office by Governor-General Sir John Kerr on 11 November 1975.
• the GhanThe long-distance passenger train between Adelaide and Darwin, by way of Alice Springs.
• the Hungry MileThe stretch of wharves along Sussex Street on Sydney's Darling Harbour, where waterside workers walked from…
• the LodgeThe official Canberra residence of the Prime Minister of Australia; hence, the prime ministership.
• the strength of itThe truth or real meaning of a matter; what's really going on.
• the TerritoryThe Northern Territory.
• the top end of townBig business and the very wealthy, especially as discussed in politics.
• the tyranny of distanceAustralia's isolation from the rest of the world and the great distances within it, and the effect these…
• thickshakeA thick milkshake blended with plenty of ice cream, as distinct from a thinner plain milkshake.
• thingoA thing or person whose name you can't remember or can't be bothered saying; a whatsit.
• things are crook in TallarookThings are bad; used of any bad situation.
• thongsRubber sandals held on by a strap between the toes; flip-flops.
• thornbillAny of various small, active, grey-brown or yellowish Australian songbirds with fine, pointed bills.
• throw a sevenTo die; also, to collapse or faint.
• thrummerA threepenny coin.
• thunderboxA toilet, especially an outdoor or makeshift one; a dunny.
• ticket-of-leaveIn the convict era, a document allowing a well-behaved convict to work for wages and live independently…
• tickets on yourselfTo have 'tickets on yourself' is to be conceited or have too high an opinion of yourself.
• tickle the peterTo steal money from the till or cash register, especially your employer's.
• tigerSomeone with a great appetite or capacity for something, as in 'a tiger for work' or 'a tiger for punishment'.
• tiger quollThe largest Australian quoll, a spotted, cat-sized carnivorous marsupial of eastern Australia and Tasmania…
• tiger snakeA highly venomous snake of southern Australia and Tasmania, often marked with darker bands across the body.
• tiggyThe children's chasing game also called tag, tig or chasey. 'Tiggy touchwood' is a version where players are…
• tight as a bull's arse in fly time vulgarExtremely stingy with money. Very tight or close-fitting.
• tilt trayA tow truck with a flat tray that tilts down to the road so a vehicle can be winched on board.
• Tim Tam slamBiting off opposite corners of a Tim Tam biscuit, sucking a hot drink through it like a straw, then eating…
• timber-getterA person who cuts and hauls timber from the bush.
• tin-arseA very lucky person.
• tin lidA child.
• tineaAthlete's foot, or a similar fungal skin infection.
• tingleAny of several tall eucalypts of the far south-west of Western Australia, especially the red tingle, with…
• tinned dogTinned meat, especially as eaten in the bush or on the track.
• tinnyA can of beer. A small aluminium boat.
• tip turkeyThe Australian white ibis, so called for its habit of scavenging at rubbish tips and bins.
• tippy-goA backyard or schoolyard cricket rule (or game) in which the batter must run whenever the ball is hit…
• toeSpeed or pace, especially of a footballer or other sportsperson.
• toecutterA criminal who tortures other criminals to make them hand over the proceeds of their crimes.
• toeyNervous, edgy or restless. Sexually eager; randy.
• togsA swimming costume. Used especially in Queensland.
• tomahawkOf a shearer, to shear roughly and carelessly, leaving cuts on the sheep; a shearer who does this is a…
• tombowlerA large marble, bigger than the standard size used in a game of marbles.
• tommy ruffA small sea fish of southern Australian waters, popular with jetty anglers; also called Australian herring.
• too easyNo problem; happy to help; consider it done.
• too rightCertainly; absolutely; I agree completely.
• toolieAn older person, usually a young man, who hangs around Schoolies Week celebrations to prey on school-leavers.
• Toorak tractorA large four-wheel drive that is driven around the city rather than off-road.
• Top EndThe northern part of the Northern Territory, including Darwin; a person from there is a Top Ender.
• top-offAn informer, especially one who tells the police; as a verb ('top off'), to inform on someone.
• torpA torpedo punt in Australian rules football; a kick that spirals end over end through the air for distance.
• toss in the alleyTo give up; also, to die. Dated.
• t'othersiderOn the Western Australian goldfields, a person from the eastern colonies. Dated.
• touch footyTouch football, a non-tackling version of rugby league played socially and competitively all over Australia.
• towel upTo beat someone up; to give someone a thrashing (a 'towelling').
• towieA tow-truck driver.
• trackiesTracksuit pants.
• tradieA tradesperson, such as a plumber, electrician or carpenter.
• trammieA tram driver or conductor.
• trapA police officer, originally a mounted trooper on the goldfields.
• travellerA drink, especially a can of beer, bought or taken to drink on the way somewhere. Formerly, a swagman or…
• treat with ignoreTo deliberately ignore someone or something.
• tree changeA move from the city to a country town or rural area for a quieter life.
• tree kangarooA kangaroo adapted to living in trees, found in the rainforests of far north Queensland and New Guinea.
• treyA threepenny coin.
• triantelopeA huntsman spider.
• trigger plantAny of various small Australian plants (genus Stylidium) whose flowers have a sensitive column that snaps…
• trimmerAn excellent or remarkable person or thing.
• triple zeroAustralia's emergency telephone number, 000.
• troppoMentally affected or eccentric, originally from living too long in the tropics; crazy.
• trotsHarness racing; a harness-racing meeting, usually 'the trots'.
• trough lollyA deodorising cake placed in a urinal.
• truckieA truck driver.
• true believerA loyal, lifelong supporter of the Labor Party.
• true blueGenuine, loyal and authentically Australian.
• tuartA large eucalypt (Eucalyptus gomphocephala) of the coastal limestone country of south-western Western…
• tubeA can of beer.
• tuckerFood.
• tuckerboxA box for carrying and storing food, as used by bush travellers and bullock drivers. Famous from 'the dog on…
• tuckshopA school canteen.