| 'C' |
Cabbage tree |
A low-crowned, broad-brimmed hat made of fan-palm leaves, popular
last century |
| Cackyhander |
Name
for any left handed person |
| Cacto |
The
insect cactoblastis, introduced into Australia to kill prickly pear |
| Cactus
-it's- |
It's
dead |
| Cake |
A gold
nugget; a harlot |
| Call
it a day -to- |
To
finish ones work for the day |
| Camp
oven |
A cast iron cooking pot with lid, which is set into a hole in the ground,
and then covered with red hot coals and soil. |
| Can
it |
Be
quiet |
| Can
-the- |
The
toilet |
| Canary
stain |
A
light yellow stain in wool that cannot be scoured white |
| Captain
Cook -to have a- |
To
go and have a look at something |
| Cark
it -to- |
To
die |
| Carpet |
A £ 1
note |
| Carpeted
-to be- |
To
be ask to explain; to be reprimanded |
| Carrion |
Cattle |
| Carry
matilda |
To
hump a swag |
| Carry
the knot |
To
hump a swag |
| Carry
the mail |
To
stand drinks |
| Cat
-whip the- |
To cry
over spilt milk |
Catching pen |
A pen in a woolshed from which a
Shearer takes sheep to be shorn |
| Cattle
duffer |
A
cattle thief |
| Centralia |
The central areas of Australia around Alice Springs |
| Centre
-the- |
The central areas of Australia around Alice Springs |
| Chalkie
-a- |
A
teacher |
Channel country |
Regions in the north-east corner of South Australia and in the
south-west corner of Queensland. In wet periods, the many river courses fill and overflow,
forming countless channels through the sand |
| Cheek
-to give- |
To
be rude; to be teasing someone |
| Cheer
chaser |
One
who curries favour; one who seeks popular plaudits |
| Cheerio |
Goodbye |
| Cheerio
-a- |
A
cocktail sausage |
| Cherry
nose |
A type
of cicada |
| Chew
someone's ear |
To
borrow money from a person |
| Chew
the fat -to- |
To
have a talk |
| China
-a- |
An
old friend |
| Chink |
A
Chinese |
| Chinnwag
-to have a- |
To
have a good long talk with someone |
| Chip
in -to- |
To
pay ones share of something |
| Chippie
-a- |
A
carpenter |
| Chips |
Split
wood used as kindling for a fire |
| Chloe
-drunk as- |
Exceedingly
drunk |
| Chock
a block -it's- |
It's
full eg "The stadium is chock a block" |
| Chocolate
soldier |
A type
of cicada |
| Choof
off -to- |
To
go; to leave |
| Chook |
A
chicken |
| Chop |
A
wood-chopping contest for axemen |
| Chop
up |
A
division of spoils |
| Chow |
A
Chinese |
| Chrissie |
Christmas |
| Chromo |
A
prostitute |
| Chronic |
Over-persistent;
excessive; extremely disagreeable |
| Chuck |
To
throw something |
| Chuck
a charley |
To
throw a fit |
| Chuck
in -to- |
A
voluntary contribution made by a number of persons, sometimes for the benefit of another,
but more often to defray the costs of a celebration |
| Chuck
off at |
To
sneer at; to chaff |
| Chuck
out -to- |
To
throw something away |
| Chuck
up -to- |
To
vomit |
| Chunder |
Vomit |
| Chutty |
Chewing
gum |
| Chyack |
To
tease; jeer at |
| City
of churches |
Adelaide |
| Claypan |
An
area of clay which has little or no vegetation |
| Cleanskin |
Unbranded
cattle |
| Clear
out |
To
leave |
| Clever |
In
good health; in good order; proficient. But used mainly in negative sense,
eg "not
too clever", which often means extremely bad |
| Cliner
or Clinah |
A
sweetheart; a girl-friend |
| Clobber
-to- |
To
hit someone |
| Clod
hoppers |
Feet |
| Clout
-to- |
To
steal something |
| Clued
up |
Very
knowledgeable |
| Coachers |
Tame
cattle used to decoy wild animals |
| Coat
hanger |
The
Sydney Harbour Bridge |
|
Cob 'n' Co. -to- |
To bodgie something up
instead of fixing it properly |
| Cobber |
A
friend; a companion; a workmate |
| Cobber
dobber |
One
who betrays a friend |
| Cobbler |
The
last sheep in a shearing pen |
| Cock
-hot- |
Nonsense;
humbug |
| Cock
up -it's a- |
It
has all gone wrong |
Cockatoo |
A small farmer; a lookout man, one who keeps guard while illegal
activity is afoot; a native bird |
| Cockeye
bob |
A
fierce thunderstorm or coastal cyclone |
Cocky |
A farmer or outback settler; a sheep which has lost some of its
wool; |
| Cods |
Testicles |
| Codswallop |
Nonsense;
a lie |
| Coldie
-a- |
A
beer |
| Colonial
duck |
Boned
shoulder of mutton, stuffed with sage and onions |
| Colonial
goose |
Boned
leg of mutton stuffed with sage and onions |
| Combo |
A
white man who lives with an aboriginal female |
| Come
on -the- |
A
trickster's inducement to his victim |
| Comeback |
The
progeny of a merino ram and a crossbred ewe |
| Commo |
A
Communist |
| Compo |
Workers
compensation insurance |
Concertina |
A side of mutton or lamb; a sheep that is hard to shear because
of the wrinkles in its skin |
| Congo |
A
Congregationalist |
| Conk
-to- |
To
hit someone |
Cooo-eee |
A penetrating
shriek, used in bush country to attract attention |
Coolamon |
An aboriginal wooden vessel for carrying food etc |
| Coolgardie
safe |
A
rough wood and sacking food bin, which serves as a crude refrigerator in the outback |
| Coot
-a- |
A
person of inferior qualities |
| Coppertail |
A
member of the proletariat |
| Corella |
A
sheep with patches of wool hanging loose |
| Corner |
A
share; a share of plunder |
| Corner
-the- |
The
junction of the north-eastern point of the South Australia boundary and Queensland |
| Cornstalk |
An
Australian |
| Corriedale |
A
breed of sheep |
| Corroboree |
An
aboriginal ceremonial dance; a social gathering; a public meeting; a disturbance |
| Corroboree
water |
Cheap
wine |
| Cossie |
A
swimming costume |
| Coupla |
Several
drinks, but not necessarily two; two coins which fall "heads" when tossed |
| Cow |
An
unpleasant person or event |
| Cowyard
cake |
A cake
or bun containing a few sultanas |
| Cowyard
confetti |
Nonsense;
empty chatter |
| Crack
down on |
To
seize; to make off with; take a person to task |
| Crack
hardy |
To put
on a courageous front in response to misfortune |
| Crack
it |
To
record success in an amorous exploit |
| Crack
onto |
To
make a pass at someone |
| Cracker |
A £ 1
note |
| Crap
-it's- |
It's
nonsense; it's a lie |
| Crapper
-the- |
The
toilet |
| Cray |
A
crayfish |
| Creamy |
A
quarter-caste aboriginal girl |
| Crimp |
The
"wave" in wool fibre, a visible indication of its character and quality. The
smaller and more even the crimp usually the liner the wool |
| Croak
-to- |
To
die |
| Crockery |
Teeth |
| Cronk |
Dishonest;
worthless; out-of-order |
| Crook |
Out-of-sorts;
ill; angry; annoyed; spurious; worthless |
| Crooked
on |
Ill
disposed
towards |
| Crow
eater |
Anyone
who lives in the state of South Australia |
| Cruel |
To
spoil or ruin something, eg a person's chances of success |
| Crumb
act -put on the- |
To
impose on another person |
| Crumpet
-not worth a- |
It's
worthless |
| Crust
-to make a- |
To
earn a living |
| Crutch
-stiff as a- |
Broke;
penniless; extremely unfortunate |
| Cundy |
A
small stone |
| Cunnamulla
cartwheel |
A big,
broad-brimmed hat |
| Cunning
up on yourself |
Being
so smart that one creates pitfalls for oneself |
| Cup
-the- |
The
Melbourne Cup horse race |
| Cuppa
-having a- |
Having
a cup of tea or coffee |
| Curl
the mo -to- |
To
succeed; to win outstandingly |
| Curly |
Nickname
for any bald person |
Currency |
An old term used to describe a person born in Australia |
| Curry
-to give- |
To
abuse someone; to express anger at a person |
| Curse |
A
tramp's swag or bluey |
| Cushie
-to have it- |
To
have it easy |
| Custards |
Pimples |
| Cut |
A job
as a Shearer, eg "get a cut at a station" |
| Cut
lunch |
Sandwiches |
| Cut
out |
To
separate cattle or other stock from a herd; to complete shearing at a shed; to complete
any task |
