# Pardon my ignorance from South Africa



## Stoffeltoo (Oct 4, 2010)

I have seen some strange words in the forums and as a paleface African I have some trouble picturing and understanding some terms like:
Esky
Yabbie

Can someone please explain?


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

Since I am in your shoes, needing a translator for English to English now and then, I'll share a little of what I've learned.

A yabbie is a crawdad/crawfish/freshwater lobster like arthropod with pincers. OR it's a ghost shrimp. 
Pumping yabbies is the process of walking mud flats with a hand pump to suck the ghost shrimp out of their holes for collection.

I think an Esky is a surfski brand nickname.

Take that with a grain of salt. My translator might be broken.


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## skorgard (Oct 6, 2007)

"Esky" = abbreviation of eskimo = brand of portable cool bin. Traditional use is to keep the beers cold but good as fish holder.

We have some big freshwater crayfish here. The yabby is a small beast up to 200 gm, but delicious as well as good bait. Some larger species called marron grow up to 3 kg but all protected in the wild. Farmed around 200-400 gm and also delicious.


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

LOL
Told you. Grain...of...salt.


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## CanuckChubbs (May 2, 2010)

Stoffeltoo said:


> I have seen some strange words in the forums and as a paleface African I have some trouble picturing and understanding some terms like:
> Esky
> Yabbie
> 
> Can someone please explain?


You are not alone. I'm from Canada and sometimes I got no clue what some Aussies are saying to me. It's a language barrier as they like to short form and leave unfinished sentences.
For example,

"Yeah mate, sweet as." Sweet as what? :lol: :lol:


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## Junglefisher (Jun 2, 2008)

CanuckChubbs said:


> Stoffeltoo said:
> 
> 
> > I have seen some strange words in the forums and as a paleface African I have some trouble picturing and understanding some terms like:
> ...


No worries.


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## john316 (Jan 15, 2009)

Junglefisher said:


> ... It's a language barrier as they like to short form and leave unfinished sentences.
> For example,
> 
> "Yeah mate, sweet as." Sweet as what? :lol: :lol:


No worries.[/quote]

you can even leave off the "as" and lengthen the "EE" sound....

"swee-eet :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

and if portable cool bin doesn't work for you, an esky is a form of ice chest...

cheers

John


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## Barrabundy (Sep 29, 2008)

At least we've worked out that bacon donuts and jello don't all belong on the same plate for breakie.

....you can also cut the end off a word and add "ie" as in u-ie for u-turn, pressie for present...you get the idea.


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## GrahamB (Jan 19, 2010)

Here's a few pics of a fresh water yabbie (aka lobby), a salt water yabbie, a yabbie pump and an esky.
Esky is a brand name for a portable ice box that has become the generic name used by us Aussies for all ice box / cooler box / chilly bin products.
Cheers
Graham


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## scater (Nov 24, 2007)

Haha I love this stuff. It's amazing how invisible it becomes to native speakers. Reminds me of the first time I came across the term "you da man". Which man? I find it fascinating the strategies that people put in place to try to understand what's going on. By reading around the term and trying to judge what the theme or overall topic of the sentence, paragraph etc is, we can often make incredibly accurate guesses as to what is being described. And sometimes we're way off. I'd love to know what sent Zed down the track of thinking that Esky was a brand of ski. My guess is that someone said something along the lines of "you might as well be riding an esky lid". :lol: 
Incidentally, the use of such strategies is a sign of a confident and strong reader and is something we as English teachers are taught to nurture.


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## michjfro (Nov 24, 2007)

Apparently the esky was invented in Australia. They have a different name for it in New Zealand but as that is a subset of Australian there is no need learning it... ;-)


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## yaker (Aug 29, 2005)

.


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

Barrabundy said:


> At least we've worked out that bacon donuts and jello don't all belong on the same plate for breakie.
> 
> ....you can also cut the end off a word and add "ie" as in u-ie for u-turn, pressie for present...you get the idea.


Interesting. We use "Hang a Louie" for u-ie.

scater, my Spanish vocabulary has some flaws too, so missing Esky by a country mile is no surprise.
Esky lid...HA!


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## labrat (Jul 25, 2008)

scater said:


> ...we can often make incredibly accurate guesses as to what is being described....


When my son commented that he needed to get some new "wife beaters" it only took about a second to work out what he was referring to despite never having heard the term used this way before. It seems like a particularly Australian thing to say although I don't really know where it originated.


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

^SE USA!
Woot! I'm so proud.


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## keza (Mar 6, 2007)

Esky, Chilly bin, Cool box, Ice chest .......
Invented in New Zealand obviously like the Pavlova and Sam Neil :lol:


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## eagle4031 (Jan 29, 2010)

[/quote]

You are not alone. I'm from Canada and sometimes I got no clue what some Aussies are saying to me. It's a language barrier as they like to short form and leave unfinished sentences.
For example,

"Yeah mate, sweet as." Sweet as what? :lol: :lol:[/quote]

definitely evidenc that we aussies may be a higher form of intelligence - being able to complete each others sentences takes great insight :lol:


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

I just let it go as a complement between Aussies:
"Sweet Ass."

I don't judge.


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## eagle4031 (Jan 29, 2010)

good comeback Zed


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## michjfro (Nov 24, 2007)

Even in this forum I am still uncomfortable with the term 'yak'. I always thought this was the term for a spew...


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## Stoffeltoo (Oct 4, 2010)

Thanks guys and I am still gonna butt in from time to time for explenations, Zed u the man... Man.
Those yabbies look delicious.


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## Stoffeltoo (Oct 4, 2010)

Thanks Patwah

This explains a lot and will make the reading and understanding much easier. When I told the missus I wanted an Esky she offered me an enema which reminds me to print the list for my safety.


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

Yeah, thanks patwah (NOT Patois!). But that takes all the fun out of figuring it out. Just think if I came to AUS and wanted to rent (hire?) an Esky for a paddle.


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## clarkey (Jan 13, 2009)

http://www.harryc.com/australian-slang.htm


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## Stoffeltoo (Oct 4, 2010)

Some SA understanding of Ausie slang - No wonder I am battling to get to grips with some terms

Barbie = Hangover from the word "Babelaas"
Bender = Someone who bats for the other side
Bickie = Small amount from "Bietjie"
Long Neck = As used in I am going to milk a long neck when going for a wee
Jiffy = Female Condom
Rollie = Handgun, 5/6 shooter abreviation for rewolwer(Afr)
Screamer= wild women


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## Stoffeltoo (Oct 4, 2010)

EISH! Pronounced like the first half of Esky but with a slurr
EISH (Africanised word meaning dumbfounded, stunned, clueless) One of the most common expressed words in white, colored and indigenous languages (We have eleven excluding the european languages commonly spoken by immigrants)

'Haskies (Pronounced like husky) meaning sorry to those offended or hurt


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## suehobieadventure (Feb 17, 2009)

Yabbies going off in the Murray at the moment. We are almost sick of eating them  Nice to see they are still there after many years of no floods and therefore very few yabbies. Largest caught almost 30cm but most are 10-14cm long, good feed.


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## Yak4ever (Nov 19, 2010)

Bickie = Small amount from "Bietjie"

Tim tam yum

Tim Tam is a biscuit only found in Auz so the South Africans will still not understand Bickie to mean a Biscuit

A Barbie = Braai

Servo = Service station

It took me quiet awhile to learn Auzzie when I arrived here from Africa.


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## Brc226 (Jul 31, 2009)

Hi Stoffeltoo

My family migrated to Australia in the late 1970's and when we first arrived we had to learn the local slang as well as get used to the Aussie twang. Words like the ones already raised and "G'day", "ha ya garn" and Austraya took a little bit of getting used to.

Having said that though, you boys from SA have a slang all of your own and I defy anyone heading over there for the first time not to scratch their heads and utter "what the?" :shock:


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## Stoffeltoo (Oct 4, 2010)

Thanks for the replies guys and gals. At least it is good to see that old habits die hard, fishing is an almost universal pass time and once bitten, never shy.


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## keza (Mar 6, 2007)

kraley said:


> > The portable ice chest was invented by Richard C. Laramy of Joliet, Illinois. On February 24, 1951, Laramy filed an application with the United States Patent Office for a portable ice chest (Serial No. 212,573). The patent (#2,663,157) was issued December 22, 1953.
> 
> 
> You aussies should tell the wiki that you impnvented it. ;-)


If you check his passport you will note that he Richard visited Australia in 1949


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

I'll acquiesce and give the Esky brand the nod to AUS.

We've got Igloo.


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## billpatt (Apr 12, 2010)

Us QLDers seem to have the most slang words.

My wife is from Melbourne and was moved to QLD in grade 8, the teacher told her to put her "Port in the Port racks" and she stood there going what are you talking about.
What sort of a weirdo doesn't know what a Port is, it's your bag.

Then when she went swimming she didn't know what togs were, who doesn't know what togs are, they're what you go swimming in.

Another reason why QLDers rule, and everyone else aren't quite at our standard. :lol:


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## blueyak (Jan 20, 2009)

billpatt said:


> Us QLDers seem to have the most slang words.
> 
> My wife is from Melbourne and was moved to QLD in grade 8, the teacher told her to put her "Port in the Port racks" and she stood there going what are you talking about.
> What sort of a weirdo doesn't know what a Port is, it's your bag.


I've never heard that.

I still get confused when Victorians call Lizards( being flathead) frogs and when the South Australians call jewfish Mullys i always thinks they are talking about mullet or something.

The one that tricks me everytime is when the canberra boys do a trip report titled "LBG" and i get excited thinking it will be about Land Based Game fishing


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## michjfro (Nov 24, 2007)

Hang on, there's fish in LBG? Is that the first confirmed sighting of life in the ACT?
:-|


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