21 Iconic Phrases That Prove Australians Really Do Have Culture, Sweetie

    Raise your hand if the mean girl at your high school told you to "calm your tits."

    Isha Bassi
    by Isha Bassi

    Entertainment Producer

    As we all already know, Australian culture is incredibly unique. From our food to our slang, the rest of the world have nothing on us. So, in honour of that, here are our favourite Australian expressions — as shared by members of our Facebook group.

    Animal Planet

    1. "Carry on like a pork chop."

    BBQ pork chops on the grill
    Lauripatterson / Getty Images

    What it means: Used when someone is behaving in a silly or stupid way — or when they're making a fuss over something. Alludes to the spluttering noise of a pork chop that is being cooked.

    2. "Stop fart arsing around / stop piss farting around."

    Peter Dazeley / Getty Images

    What it means: To stop wasting time and get on with something.

    3. "Bitta shush, please."

    Close up of a young girl with her finger on her lips saying "ssh"
    Jamie Grill / Getty Images

    What it means: Australian for "Can I have a bit of quiet, please?"

    4. "Rack off, ya fucken dog."

    Dog standing in front of some newspaper it bit into while alone at home bite some newspaper while alone at home
    Carol Yepes / Getty Images

    What it means: An insult used when someone is being annoying — aka "Fuck off, you fucking dog."

    5. "You've got a face like a dropped pie."

    Food in a mess on the floor
    Image Source / Getty Images/Image Source

    What it means: An insult used to call someone ugly — aka dropped pie on the ground = hot mess.

    6. "Your face is like a bucket of smashed crabs."

    A wooden bucket filled with live crabs
    Ariel Skelley / Getty Images

    What it means: Basically the same as the dropped pie one — used to refer to someone who is not particularly good looking.

    7. "They're built like a prawn — good body, shit head."

    Onne Van Der Wal / Getty Images

    What it means: This one is mostly self-explanatory, but like a prawn where you usually chuck away the head and eat the body, this refers to someone that has a fit body, but an ugly face.

    8. "It's not bush week."

    Posnov / Getty Images

    What it means: The original "bush week" phrase was used to imply that people from the country are easily fooled by city slickers when they came to sell produce. Now a days, it's a response to someone who is trying to take you for a fool.

    9. "I'm not here to fuck spiders."

    Close up of a jumping spider on a leaf
    Alongkot Sumritjearapol / Getty Images

    What it means: Basically, I'm not here to fuck around.

    10. "Get stuffed, you goose."

    A close up of a white goose with its bill wide open, honking.
    Kimberly Hosey / Getty Images

    What it means: Geese are usually loud and annoying animals. So when you tell someone this, you're saying "get fucked, you annoying person!"

    11. "Rack off."

    Two men with full bears fighting in an abandoned area
    Westend61 / Getty Images/Westend61

    What it means: Fuck off/piss off — that's it, that's the meaning.

    12. "Mad as a cut snake."

    The venomous Australian rough scaled snake with its forked tongue out.
    Byronsdad / Getty Images

    What it means: Someone who is very angry or out of control.

    13. "A few roos loose in the top paddock."

    Pair of kangaroos in the wild
    Lea Scaddan / Getty Images

    What it means: To describe someone's ideas as strange or say that they're out of their mind by comparing them to a bunch of loose kangaroos in a paddock.

    14. "She'll be right."

    Cropped shot of a group of unrecognisable people giving thumbs up in an office
    Peopleimages / Getty Images

    What it means: Basically means "don't worry about it, everything will be fine." Can be used in situations or when referring to a person.

    15. "Dry as a dead dingo's donger."

    Dingo in the Australian outback
    Martin Harvey / Getty Images

    What it means: Very dry or when someone is very thirsty — like a dead dingo's schlong.

    16. "Built like a brick shithouse."

    An outdoor toilet with no door at an outback campsite in Australia
    Jason Jones Travel Photography / Getty Images

    What it means: Generally used to describe someone that has a large and powerful physique — but can refer to cars, boats and buildings.

    17. "Flat out like a lizard drinking."

    Close up of a leopard gecko sticking out its tongue
    Mattiaath / Getty Images/iStockphoto

    What it means: Going or working as fast as possible. Alludes to the rapid tongue movement of a lizard when it's drinking.

    18. "Keep your shirt on."

    Close up of colourful t-Shirts hanging on a rack in-store
    Chakrapong Worathat / Getty Images/EyeEm

    What it means: To calm down and not lose one's temper.

    19. "Get a dog up ya."

    Wesley Martinez Da Costa / Getty Images/EyeEm

    What it means: To have an alcoholic drink. Derived from the saying "hair of the dog", which means to drink more alcohol to cure a hangover.

    20. "Going off like a frog in a sock."

    A white lipped tree frog perched in the bow of a piece of wood
    Marianne Purdie / Getty Images

    What it means: To be very excited or to have a lot of energy.

    21. And finally, "Calm your tits."

    A bra hanging on a coat hanger against a white wall
    Poh Kim Yeoh / Getty Images / EyeEm

    What it means: Calm down.

    Favourite Aussie saying not on the list? Then drop it below in the comments!