Just Not Mine (35 page)

mate
: friend. And yes, fathers call their sons “mate.”

metal road
: gravel road

Milo
: cocoa substitute; hot drink mix

mince: ground beef

mind: take care of, babysit

moa
: (extinct) Any of several species of huge flightless NZ birds. All eaten by the Maori before Europeans arrived.

moko
: Maori tattoo

mokopuna: grandchildren

motorway: freeway

mozzie: mosquito; OR a Maori Australian (Maori + Aussie = Mozzie)

muesli: like granola, but unbaked

munted
: broken

naff
: stupid, unsuitable. “Did you get any naff Chrissy pressies this year?”

nappy
: diaper

narked, narky: annoyed

netball: Down-Under version of basketball for women. Played like basketball, but the hoop is a bit narrower, the players wear skirts, and they don’t dribble and can’t contact each other. It can look fairly tame to an American eye. There are professional netball teams, and it’s televised and taken quite seriously.

new caps
: new All Blacks—those named to the side for the first time

New World
: One of the two major NZ supermarket chains

nibbles
: snacks

nick
, in good nick: doing well

niggle, niggly
: small injury, ache or soreness

no worries
: no problem. The Kiwi mantra.

No. 8
: rugby position. A forward

not very flash
: not feeling well

Nurofen: brand of ibuprofen

nutted out: worked out

OE
: Overseas Experience—young people taking a year or two overseas, before or after University.

offload
: pass (rugby)

oldies: older people. (or for the elderly, “wrinklies!”)

on the front foot: Having the advantage. Vs. on the back foot—at a disadvantage. From rugby.

Op Shop
: charity shop, secondhand shop

out on the razzle
: out drinking too much, getting crazy

paddock
: field (often used for rugby—“out on the paddock”)

Pakeha
: European-ancestry people (as opposed to Polynesians)

Panadol
: over-the-counter painkiller

partner
: romantic partner, married or not

patu: Maori club

paua, paua shell: NZ abalone

pavlova (pav): Classic Kiwi Christmas (summer) dessert. Meringue, fresh fruit (often kiwifruit and strawberries) and whipped cream.

pavement
: sidewalk (generally on wider city streets)

pear-shaped, going pear-shaped:
messed up, when it all goes to Hell

penny dropped
: light dawned (figured it out)

people mover
: minivan

perve
: stare sexually

phone's engaged
: phone's busy

piece of piss
: easy

pike out
: give up, wimp out

piss awful
: very bad

piss up
: drinking (noun) a piss-up

pissed
: drunk

pissed as a fart:
very drunk. And yes, this is an actual expression.

play up
: act up

playing out of his skin
: playing very well

plunger: French Press coffeemaker

PMT: PMS

pohutukawa: native tree; called the “New Zealand Christmas Tree” for its beautiful red blossoms at Christmastime (high summer)

poi: balls of flax on strings that are swung around the head, often to the accompaniment of singing and/or dancing by women. They make rhythmic patterns in the air, and it’s very beautiful.

Pom, Pommie
: English person

pop
: pop over, pop back, pop into the oven, pop out, pop in

possie
: position (rugby)

postie
: mail carrier

pot plants: potted plants (
not what you thought, huh?)

poumanu
: greenstone (jade)

prang: accident (with the car)

pressie: present

puckaroo
: broken (from Maori)

pudding
: dessert

pull your head in
: calm down, quit being rowdy

Pumas
: Argentina's national rugby team

pushchair: baby stroller

put your hand up: volunteer

put your head down
: work hard

rapt
: thrilled

rattle your dags
: hurry up. From the sound that dried excrement on a sheep's backside makes, when the sheep is running!

red card:
penalty for highly dangerous play. The player is sent off for the rest of the game, and the team plays with 14 men.

rellies
: relatives

riding the pine
: sitting on the bench (as a substitute in a match)

rimu: a New Zealand tree. The wood used to be used for building and flooring, but like all native NZ trees, it was over-logged. Older houses, though, often have rimu floors, and they’re beautiful.

Rippa: junior rugby

root
: have sex (you DON'T root for a team!)

ropeable
: very angry

ropey
: off, damaged (“a bit ropey”)

rort
: ripoff

rough as guts
: uncouth

rubbish bin
: garbage can

rugby boots
: rugby shoes with spikes (sprigs)

Rugby Championship
: Contest played each year in the Southern Hemisphere by the national teams of NZ, Australia, South Africa, and Argentina

Rugby World Cup, RWC
: World championship, played every four years amongst the top 20 teams in the world

rugged up
: dressed warmly

ruru
: native owl

Safa
: South Africa. Abbreviation only used in NZ.

sammie
: sandwich

scoff, scoffing: eating, like “snarfing”

second-five, second five-eighth: rugby back (No. 9). With the first-five, directs the game. Also feeds the scrum and generally collects the ball from the ball carrier at the breakdown and distributes it.

selectors
: team of 3 (the head coach is one) who choose players for the All Blacks squad, for every series

serviette
: napkin

shag: have sex with. A little rude, but not too bad.

shattered: exhausted

sheds
: locker room (rugby)

she'll be right
: See “no worries.” Everything will work out. The other Kiwi mantra.

shift house
: move (house)

shonky
: shady (person). “a bit shonky”

shout
, your shout, my shout, shout somebody a coffee: buy a round, treat somebody

sickie
, throw a sickie: call in sick

sin bin
: players sitting out 10-minute penalty in rugby (or, in the case of a red card, the rest of the game)

sink the boot in
: kick you when you're down

skint
: broke (poor)

skipper
: (team) captain. Also called “the Skip.”

slag off: speak disparagingly of; disrespect

smack: spank. Smacking kids is illegal in NZ.

smoko
: coffee break

snog: kiss; make out with

sorted: taken care of

spa, spa pool
: hot tub

sparrow fart:
the crack of dawn

speedo
: Not the swimsuit! Speedometer. (the swimsuit is called a budgie smuggler—a budgie is a parakeet, LOL.)

spew
: vomit

spit the dummy
: have a tantrum. (A dummy is a pacifier)

sportsman
: athlete

sporty
: liking sports

spot on
: absolutely correct. “That’s spot on. You’re spot on.”

Springboks, Boks
: South African national rugby team

squiz
: look. “I was just having a squiz round.” “Giz a squiz”: Give me a look at that.

stickybeak
: nosy person, busybody

stonkered
: drunk—a bit stonkered—or exhausted

stoush
: bar fight, fight

straight
away: right away

strength of it
: the truth, the facts. “What's the strength of that?” = “What's the true story on that?”

stroppy
: prickly, taking offense easily

stuffed up
: messed up

Super 15
: Top rugby competition: five teams each from NZ, Australia, South Africa. The New Zealand Super 15 teams are, from north to south: Blues (Auckland), Chiefs (Waikato/Hamilton), Hurricanes (Wellington), Crusaders (Canterbury/Christchurch), Highlanders (Otago/Dunedin).

supporter
: fan (Do NOT say “root for.” “To root” is to have (rude) sex!)

suss out
: figure out

sweet
: dessert

sweet as
: great. (also: choice as, angry as, lame as … Meaning “very” whatever. “Mum was angry as that we ate up all the pudding before tea with Nana.”)

takahe
: ground-dwelling native bird. Like a giant parrot.

takeaway
: takeout (food)

tall poppy
: arrogant person who puts himself forward or sets himself above others. It is every Kiwi's duty to cut down tall poppies, a job they undertake enthusiastically.

Tangata Whenua
: Maori (people of the land)

tapu
: sacred (Maori)

Te Papa
: the National Museum, in Wellington

tea
: dinner (casual meal at home)

tea towel
: dishtowel

test match
: international rugby match (e.g., an All Blacks game)

throw a wobbly
: have a tantrum

tick off
: cross off (tick off a list)

ticker
: heart. “The boys showed a lot of ticker out there today.”

togs
: swimsuit (male or female)

torch
: flashlight

touch wood
: knock on wood (for luck)

track
: trail

trainers
: athletic shoes

tramping
: hiking

transtasman
: Australia/New Zealand (the Bledisloe Cup is a transtasman rivalry)

trolley
: shopping cart

tucker
: food

tui
: Native bird

turn to custard
: go south, deteriorate

turps
, go on the turps: get drunk

Uni
: University—or school uniform

up the duff: pregnant. A bit vulgar (like “knocked up”)

ute: pickup or SUV

vet
: check out

waiata
: Maori song

wairua:
spirit, soul (Maori). Very important concept.

waka
: canoe (Maori)

Wallabies
: Australian national rugby team

Warrant of Fitness
: certificate of a car's fitness to drive

wedding tackle: the family jewels; a man’s genitals

Weet-Bix: ubiquitous breakfast cereal

whaddarya?
: I am dubious about your masculinity (meaning “Whaddarya … pussy?”)

whakapapa
: genealogy (Maori). A critical concept.

whanau
: family (Maori). Big whanau: extended family. Small whanau: nuclear family.