Since moving to Queenstown we have “flatted” with three Kiwis and two Brits. We have learned a lot about their cultures–New Zealanders love Pat Benatar; British people have tea upwards of five times a day. And I’m sure they’ve learned a great deal about ours–Americans make snarky comments at the television during reality cooking shows.
But the most interesting thing multi-cultural cohabitation has taught us is that we speak three different kinds of English. Here’s a list of unique New Zealand words and phrases. Just like a middle-school vocabulary list, we’ve included definitions and used each word in a sentence–specifically, a sentence pertaining to our trip.
bach: a cottage
Last weekend, Meg went to a lakeside bach with two of our flatmates. (Our other flatmate and I had to work 😦 )
bbq at the bach
boot: car trunk
The boot of our subaru is filled with tennis racquets and beach towels.
capsicum: sweet peppers (red or green)
Meg and Sarah recently planted capsicums in the communal garden.
car park: parking lot
On our Milford road trip, Cate did calisthenics in the car park.
entree: appetizer
The prawn entree at Fishbone comes with two jumbo shrimp.
flash: sensational or fancy
Our subaru is very flash.
fringe: bangs
Most girls would agree, Zoe Deschanel has enviable fringe. (that sentence doesn’t have anything to do with our trip, it’s just a true statement about fringe)
gutted: emotionally distraught
To say I was gutted when the Patriots lost would be an understatement.
jandals: flip flops or sandals
November through March is jandal season in New Zealand.
lemonade: sprite or 7up
During the brief period I quit drinking soda, I ordered a lemonade at a restaurant and it caused a relapse.
piss: beer
Our flat went to Atlas and we all drank piss.
piss-up: a social gathering involving alcohol
We had a piss-up on Lake Wakatipu and drank out of a watermelon.
rattle your dags: hurry up, get a move on
Rattle your dags, “My Kitchen Rules” is almost on. (MKR is an addictive Australian cooking show; we think they put MSG in it)
scull: to chug a drink (beer)
Meg sculled both of these jugs…just kidding!
serviette: napkin
Cleaning up after guests at the restaurant has made Meg appreciate her mom’s enthusiasm for serviettes.
taking a piss: having too much to drink
Last weekend our flatmate Tom was taking a piss at his favorite pub, 1876, and woke up with this:
Glory lasts forever. So do tattoos.
tomato sauce: ketchup
Fergburger makes their own tomato sauce.
whinge: to complain
During road trips I frequently whinge about the cleanliness of hostel bathrooms.
zed: Z, the last letter of the alphabet
If you pronounce Z like “zee” rather than “zed,” people will laugh at you.
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Don’t worry, there won’t be a vocab test on Monday. But if you ever plan a trip to New Zealand, save yourself some confusion and brush up on this list.
Yooo guys super jealous of your trip! your blog is sweet as haha. You’re probably on top of this already, but there are some TA alumni living in NZ. Have you tried to connect?
Enjoy the rest of your trip! -James
James! Good to hear from you. No we didn’t know there were any other seawolves down under. Who’s here? Maybe I can enlist them to help build a local Suckert Nation chapter. Give my best to John.
I think that many of these words will be useful in my kindergarten class. Enjoy a piss tonight.
Oh, it is so brilliant to hear that the two of you are having a fabulous time. I have often thought of posting a story to my family in regards to Kiwi slang but our letterbox has been torn down in renovations. Despite the ” section” being a mess, the boys are up early this school holiday to get into their togs, grab a pie and an Up and Go then head out for a surf. They are back in at noon to get some sammies and a fizzy drink, slip, slap and wrap ( well maybe not wrap cuz back out in surf) then back in the surf to catch some epic waves. If I try to join them they tell me I am “rugged” but I take that as a compliment because the beat up old van Andrew drives is really rugged too. In the meantime, Andrew and I hopefully have a chilly bin full of steinlager or better yet homebrew , chicken flavoured potato chips and gummy airplanes or milk bottles. If I’m feeling healthy then courgettes might be on the menu with Feijoias and marmite. Anyway, I just can’t believe how bloody ” fine” it has been here in Gisborne. Summer is still here and we will all be gutted when the cold weather comes. I’m shattered from a heavy work/ fun weekend watching footie, attending parties and having to bring a plate to yet another BBQ on the deck where the piss was poured and the pissed had to ring a cab.
Enjoy the rest of your stay!!
sari
Well when you finally get around to posting the story to your family, just use excerpts from this amazing comment you wrote. Your mastery of Kiwi slang is mint! Glad to hear Gisborne’s enjoying summer still. The mercury has plummeted in Queenstown and our flat’s lack of insulation is quite noticeable. It’s cold but nothing that fire and a little piss can’t take care of!
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