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Quick, Pandas, what are the first few things that pop into your mind when I mention Australia? If we were to go by stereotypes alone, odds are that you might have thought along the lines of poisonous wildlife, koalas, kangaroos, boisterous yet friendly locals, God-tier surfing, delicious barbeques, and all-around having a great time at the beach. However, Australia is far more than just what we learn about it from movies, TV shows, and the news (though those can help us get a better handle on the culture). And a lot of the magic lies in the language.

Sure, we might all be speaking English, but Australians have a whole host of colorful phrases, fun expressions, stunning slang and take some truly magnificent linguistic liberties that are just as impressive as the country’s vast biodiversity. And Bored Panda has traveled all over Twitter to share how non-Australians reacted when they learned about some of these interesting turns of phrase, as well as a sprinkling of some other interesting Aussie facts. Cultural quirks that we love? You bet! Of course, keep in mind that some of these phrases are just the internet having fun and taking the mickey.

Scroll down, upvote your favorite tweets, and let us know which of them made your day the most, dear Pandas. Personally, I think that saying ‘fairy floss’ instead of candy floss and calling astronauts ‘Austronauts’ is truly, deeply ingenious.

I was curious to learn about how differences in the same language develop in different places, how expressions get entrenched in languages, and how we can become more aware of fun linguistic tendencies in our native tongues, so I reached out to Lisa McLendon at the University of Kansas.

"Any living language is always changing, and different regions/groups/subcultures take the language in different directions," she told Bored Panda, adding that geography is also a "significant factor" in language change. Lisa is the William Allen White Professor of Journalism and Mass Communications and the coordinator of the Bremner Editing Center at KU. Scroll down for the full interview.

Lisa from KU shared with Bored Panda how certain expressions, like the fun Australian phrases featured in this article, become part of our everyday life and win out over alternatives.

"Some new words and phrases catch on quickly because they refer to something new: an object, an action, a job. Think about all the terms surrounding social media that didn’t exist 10 or 15 years ago. When a new thing comes along, we have to call it something," Lisa explained that innovation can drive changes in language.

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Caro Caro
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I once had a hilarious conversation with an american: a whole bunch of friends went to a lake in the summer for a swim ... I said "open the boot, I need my thongs". The poor man nearly choked on his coke ! Haaaaahaha.

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Cecily Holland
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We also have Thonging. 2 people wishing to settle a dispute each take a thong and slap each other stupid

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Bacony Cakes
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think they also have that in New Orleans. I'll get back to you on that.

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Gary Davidson
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They were called thongs, zories, sandals, flip flops, and slippahs for ages in America. The term "thong" went into disuse when the women's thong swimsuit came along. If you want something to laugh at, Google the term, "Budgie Smuggler" and then imagine the reason it would be called that. :D

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Tina B
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So do older Americans... basically anyone over 40 should be familiar with it. Plus anyone who reads, pays attention, is educated, etc...

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GoddessOdd
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Floridian here... we called them both flip flops and thongs, also Zoris. As I got older, usage seemed to gravitate more towards flip flop, and by the time thong bikinis were a fixture, I never heard them called anything but flip flops.

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Victor Botha
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

No they definitely are not.. flip flops in SA, Zim, Botswana, Malawi etc. Thongs are very revealing ladies underwear.

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ElenaK
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Maybe this slang started because an underwear thong, looks like a flip-flop?

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Casmera Norwich
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

flip flops were thongs in the 1950s and 60s and 70s..... then the name changed for some reason

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Reinaldo Fuentes
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you're an old enough American (elder Gen-X here), you also call them thongs.

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Anonymous
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Where I am from they can be zoris, thongs, flip flops; I've even heard them called flaps.

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Viv Hart
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In South Africa: flip-flops or slip-slops. These days 'thongs' are something else.

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LMS
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I grew up calling them thongs. We only stoipped when some idiot re-named underwear! lol

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Celtic Pirate Queen
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Until "butt floss" became a thing, we called them thongs in the US as well.

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Grace Robertson
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Where I am, the southwest of the United States, we sometimes call them "CHANCLAS"

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fuggnuggins
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Only 50% of Australians call them thongs. The other 50% call 'em fongs. Same people as call pumpkins punkyins and chimneys chimleys.

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fuggnuggins
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My mate's gf one time tries to say chimney rather than chimley and her struggle was the same as a Scot trying to say "purple burglar alarm". (If you haven't already heard it, you should definitely Youtube "purple burglar alarm". If you have, then we both know you're already heading back to revisit.)

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Kaedy Doyle
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In New Zealand we call them jandals, not sure if anywhere else calls them the same.

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Dorothy Parker
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In Southern California, USA they started as Go Aheads, went to Flip Flops and then to thongs, way before the pantie style existed. There was also a pejorative name that my friends and I never used.

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Bexxxxx
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I remember meeting up with a handful of British guys who wanted to “throw some thongs on and walk along the beach” 😂 took me a minute

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Beth Arriaga
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I grew up in the southeastern part of the USA and we called them thongs too. And slippers are house shoes. The car indicator is a blinker.

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Josurf
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not only Australians.... I guess that changes the way Americans will think when hearing songs like the Thong Song by Sisqo...

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Jason Boyd
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was wearing thongs and accidentally kicked the wheel of the shopping trolley. Blood pours out of my little toes all through my thongs. Tried to get my kiwi girlfriend to check out my bloody thongs and she went a bit green...

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Amy Pattie
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Now imagine you are a young Aussie girl visiting your conservative aunt in the US and you say “shoot I forgot my thongs!”

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Flo
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2 years ago

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Samantha Melnychuk
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Lol, Canada yes to call them things until the underwear became a big thing, then flipflops was the alternate. I wonder if the undie inventor looked at their toes and went 'man that looks like a butt, I'm gonna make something like that for my butt'

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Sue Hazlewood
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What would their reaction be to NZers calling them jandals I wonder?

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lara
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Gives a whole new meaning to "is she wearing a thong?"

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Nicki
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I grew in a majority Hispanic town and I grew up calling them chanclas until I went to college and my friends were like, "what the hell is a chancla??"

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Tee Witt
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I had this explained to me by an Australian that is what the Romans called their sandals.

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Kathy Richardson
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Since I'm an old woman, I still call them thongs just to screw with people.

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MyOpinionHasBeenServed
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Some Canadians call them thongs, too. My dad's wife would. It turned me off of flip flops cos I knew that meant a sandal with an uncomfortably thick, rough material going between my toes.

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AliJanx
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Floridian here, born and raised. Always called them thongs. Not that weird, gotta say.

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Ellie Rosser
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah, very uncomfortable the first time I told someone I was dressed casualy “in just my things”.

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Casey Mineer
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I wonder if the underwear thong, where the material goes between the cheeks was inspired by thongs going between the toes.

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ZAPanda
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah thongs mean something else australia, you are definitely wrong on this one.

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Laura Williford
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I grew up in California & they were always thongs. Until I moved to the Midwest.

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Jill Ferguson
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah, I grew up calling flip flops 'thongs'. You will notice the little piece of floss between the toes...is like the little piece of floss found in another item of clothing called a thong.

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MelO
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The first time I heard this was from an Australian I met traveling in Vietnam. She casually told to my boyfriend and I, "I need to buy some new thongs, mine are all manky.". Our expressions clearly indicated we felt this was an overshare, and she was confused as to why we were weirded out by her announcement. Gotta love cross cultural confusion!

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Bobert Robertson
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you took a picture of your feet in them I'd bet boredpanda would censor your foot for being in a thong.

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Lilith the Demon Panda
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

they are being called "little frogs, froggies" in my language for some reason... but I remember when I was a kid they used to be called "vietnamese"

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DonS
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My brother went to Australia for work and they laugh when they heard the Quebec slang for it: It's "gougoune".

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Patsy Lightfoot
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Hey mate, do you like my thongs? No worries, you can borrow my thongs! Hey check out this thong sale! How do you like these thongs on me?

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Justine Nicole
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Actually they also call thongs (flip flops) pluggers lol. Although it made sense to me for underwear. They just call thongs g strings

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Kerri Russ
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We called them "thongs" my entire childhood. Then suddenly, I became an adult and they were called flip flops. I figured because thongs are an entirely different thing to adults.

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RandomHumanBean
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

aussie husband to non-aussie wife: honEY!!! where are my thongs?!? wife: ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? wut

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Mark Berry
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I found out that Australians call badminton "wobbly pong". I'm making that up, but it sounds plausible.

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Debbie Burns
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeahhhhh we called them thongs here too. I guess this is payback for me laughing at my 24 year old son who got shook up when I showed him that trending TikTok video that starts, people from the older generation, like born in the late 90's....now I have to make a very important decision. Do I show this to my son and apologize or do I keep this to myself so I can continue to send him that video whenever he needs a reminder about how "old" he is

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Popularity via media can be another way how slang spreads. "But then there are slang words and words that shift in meaning. Sometimes those move into the mainstream from a specific region, group, or subculture. How? One way is media: say a popular TV show, movie or song uses a word—lots of people are then hearing the word and it can make the transition from niche to national."

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Though not all expressions can boast about their longevity. Some are simply fads that fade into obscurity far too quickly while others become part of the essence of the language itself. "Sometimes these are a 'flash in the pan'—popular for a short time but quickly pass. Sometimes they stick around and are adopted into the lexicon. Why? It depends on a lot of factors that aren’t entirely predictable, such as whether the term is useful or adds something needed in the language."

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Lisa noted that nobody can force expressions to be adopted, this process needs to be natural. "The move needs to come from the users of the language: Most changes imposed from the 'top down' don’t stick."

What's more, Lisa told Bored Panda how we can become aware of some of the more interesting aspects of our language, such as all the colorful phrases that we use.

"The easiest (and most fun) way is through media from other cultures that speak the same language. For instance, if you’re an American English speaker, you’re in a new world of words when you watch Australian or British shows or movies, or even ones from the US that focus on a region or group different from your own. Language is a rich and beautiful thing, and with all the streaming options available now, it’s easy to find something that doesn’t have the 'same expressions all the time.'"

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Professor Christine Vogt, who heads Arizona State University’s Center for Sustainable Tourism, explained to Bored Panda that we should all take the time to learn about local customs and the language before heading abroad. In this case, it might mean catching up with Australian slang. This article might be a small primer, but you can find a more comprehensive list right here.

"More than likely that is what draws a person to visit a certain place. The more local knowledge a traveler has, the more a traveler can feel like a local and fit in," Christine told Bored Panda during an earlier interview.

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Alex
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

But these are two difference cross breeds. A Sproodle (or more commonly used Spoodle) is a Springer Spaniel cross, a Cockapoo is a Cocker Spaniel cross. Also, I believe that the naming convention was dependent on which breed was the Ma and which one the Pa.

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"Local customs can include how a traveler dresses, eats, uses a cell phone, etc. When a traveler is out in a community such as walking in a downtown area or eating in a restaurant, these local customs can come into play,” the expert said.

“For example, in Buddhist countries, a woman who has not covered her shoulders or legs may not be allowed into temples or even a restaurant. Learn as many local customs as you can and a few key words to enhance your experience," the professor said that we should learn to adapt to the local cultures so we can enjoy them to the fullest. It’s best to participate them instead of looking in, lost, from the outside.

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Bron
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Any time we can shorten a name we will. Unless it’s already short, then we make them longer 😂

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Marky Mark
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Canadian here - around here we call them that too (though it might be a local / regional thing)

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As I wrote in my earlier article about Australia being the ‘Land of Nope,’ there’s a lot of wildlife there that might make visitors to the country pause for a bit and reorganize their life priorities. Around 100 of the 170 snake species living in Australia are poisonous. Meanwhile, 21 of the world’s 25 most venomous snakes also call the Land Down Under their home. However, casualties are few and far between.

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SCREAMING CHILD
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's actually a common shortening/nickname for many things in Australia. Documentarys are doccos, people named Dave can be Davo, service stations are servos, bottle shops are bottle-os.

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What’s more, Australia’s also home to over 2.4k different species of arachnid. Though, keep in mind that fewer than 50 Australian spider species actually pose a threat to people. All the others are fairly friendly. One thing that should definitely help you get over the creepy crawlies is the colorful slang and the friendly locals. Australia’s more than its snakes and spiders. So much more.

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Foxxy (The Original)
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Really? Just because a handful of people call it something doesn't mean it's an Aussie term. Another one I have never heard before.

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Julia Atkinson
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The term derives from Sylvanus Bowser, American inventor of the first self-service fuel pump

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Raven Sheridan
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We also play Goon Roulette! It's like Spin the Bottle, except you hang a goon bag from the clothesline, get a bunch of friends to stand around it in a circle and then spin the clothesline. If the goon bag stops near you, you drink! Then spin again!!

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