Undies, Thongs, Pants and Flip Flops

Last week I celebrated seven years as an Australian resident.  Seven years hasn’t quite turned me into a true blue Aussie and you won’t catch me coming out with phrases such as “G’Day Mate” or “Fair Dinkum” but I am now known to be caught saying “Bloody Oath” and there has been significant change to my vocabulary. 

Obviously on moving to Brisbane I had to tone down my Scottish tongue and cut out most Scottish slang words from my every day speech because let’s face it, if I didn’t there wouldn’t be too many people who understood a dam word I said.  I guess my accent has changed a little too, I don’t really notice it but my brother has commented before that he notices a change.  There has been a big change in the everyday words that I use and they now roll of my tongue without me even giving it a second thought.  Here are some examples of these words:

There was a time when I called this a vest.

Now I know it better as a singlet.

This was once a duvet.

Now it's a doona.

A thong was once one of these.  Although clearly I have never looked this good in one.

Now thongs are actually these, which I once knew as flip flops.

And so it goes on.

Pants used to underwear, now underwear are undies and pants are trousers or shorts.  Off licences used to be the place to go to buy my beer, now I buy my amber fluid from the bottlo.  I get my petrol from the servo instead of the garage or petrol station.  I collect Jacob from school in the arvo not the afternoon.

Now if you excuse me, I’m off to throw some snags on the barbie and when I am as full as a goog I think I will crack myself a tinnie.