From barbies to banh mi: Aussie food slang explained

SBS Australia

5 hours ago

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Watch Weird and Wonderful Aussie English on SBS On Demand Howie: Have you ever been invited to an Aussie party and been told to 'bring a plate'? If that sounds strange, you're not alone.
Aussie English can be weird — but there's always a reason behind it. So why do Aussies talk about eating the way they do?
And how did all these unique food phrases become part of everyday life? Food is a beautiful, shared experience.
Australia's diverse population has brought meals and food traditions from many cultures. Because of this, you'll hear lots of eating-related words that have evolved from different places. Sharing food is a big part of Aussie culture and mateship. Since the early 20th century, Australians have used the phrase 'bring a plate' —
not because they're out of crockery, but because they're asking you to bring food to share. It doesn't have to be a literal plate.
It could be a bowl of dessert, a salad, drinks — anything, really.
The phrase goes back to community fundraisers and club events in the early 1900s. Instead of buying a ticket, guests were asked to bring a plate of food — often cake. By the 1920s, that became simply: 'bring a plate.' So if you're invited to a barbie, make sure to put some tucker on your plate.
Barbie = barbecue
Tucker = food (any kind) The snag (sausage) is the hero of many Aussie barbecues.
It's also the centrepiece of election fundraisers — where it becomes a 'democracy sausage.' Australians love word shortenings.
Research shows that around 4% of Australian English words are shortened forms. Why? Because shortening words feels informal and friendly — and that's how Aussies like to talk.
It may come from 'flagon' (a big bottle of wine), or from 'goom,' another word for alcohol.
Either way, it now refers to boxed wine — which Aussies also call:
Boxie
Box monster
Cardy chardy
Goon bag
Goon sack We get creative with food, and even more creative with names for it.
Food has always been tied to identity, class, and culture. Australia's earliest settlers and convicts were curious about Indigenous food — later called bush tucker. In 1864, Edward Abbott published the first Australian cookbook,
featuring recipes for emu, kangaroo, and other native ingredients. Over time, traditional foods gave way to British and American dishes —
even within many Indigenous communities. But after World War II, Australians began to embrace multicultural food more openly. Even when Aussies were hesitant to use other languages,
they still used original names for many dishes: Nasi goreng, chop suey, goulash, and more.
Australia's most iconic animal — the kangaroo — gets its name from the Guugu Yimidhirr language. But not all Indigenous words survived colonisation. The macadamia nut, for instance, was named after chemist John Macadam,
even though Indigenous names like 'gumburra' and 'kindal kindal' were already in use. Today, we're embracing more migrant and Indigenous words than ever.
Aussies often shorten borrowed food terms too:
Spaghetti bolognese becomes spag bol
Chicken parmigiana becomes… parma or parmi — depending on where you are Warning: Saying the 'wrong' version could spark a pub debate! Food can be fun — but it can also be political.
Australians feel strongly about what we eat and what we call it.
Terms like 'kebab' and 'halal snack pack' (HSP) have become part of the Aussie food experience. In fact, in 2016, halal snack pack won the People's Choice Award in the Macquarie Dictionary's Word of the Year. This love of food reflects how we welcome new people, cultures, and ideas — by sharing meals and language. We say 'bring a plate' not just to make parties easier to host —
but to try everyone's favourite dish.
From bush tucker to democracy sausages,
and from goon bags to goulash,
Aussie English is full of flavour. It's shaped by what we eat, how we live, and who we welcome to the table. And like every good meal — it's meant to be shared.
Weird and Wonderful Aussie English Video production company: New Mac Video Agency
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