Australia in 100 Words
Bonzer. Arvo. Tucker. Sickie. Pash. Illywhacker.
There are plenty of words to choose from to tell the story of Australia – from iconic Australianisms like mateship, fair dinkum, and bogan to drop bears, budgie smugglers, and bin chickens.
And while you aren’t likely to hear crikey, cobber, or wowser walking down the street, you will hear no worries, mate, and yeah nah. Words underpin myths and stereotypes of Australian identity; they have also obscured harsh realities and inequalities. Together, these words shine a spotlight on our culture, past and present.
Historian and Director of the Australian National Dictionary Centre Amanda Laugesen brings us an innovative linguistic history of Australia.
‘From drop bears to bin chickens, raw prawns to faceless men, Laugesen has wrangled every telling word in the Australian menagerie. Far more than 100 words, this gathering of Australian language is an eavesdropping of our ongoing conversation.’ – David Astle
‘A culture and a history unpacked through 100 words and phrases. What a brilliantly conceived and thoroughly engaging book from one of the country’s most creative social and cultural historians – who also happens to be its leading scholar of Australian English.’ – Frank Bongiorno
‘Amanda Laugesen has unlocked Australia’s culturally rich wordhoard to track the life-story of 100 unique expressions, and, as a skilled historian and lexicographer, she is just the right person to do this. Words themselves have special storytelling powers, and her selection has many fascinating tales to tell. From the democracy sausage to the halal snack pack, from marngrook to Mabo – Australia in 100 Words is a treasure box for anyone passionate about the history of the language, and a must-read for those interested in the interplay between language, culture and society.’ – Kate Burridge
‘Language is culture. If you want to understand Australia, you can’t afford to miss Amanda Laugesen’s ‘100 Words’ – linguistic sly grog for Antipodean etymologists everywhere.’ – Chris Wallace
Amanda Laugesen is a historian, lexicographer, and author. She is director of the Australian National Dictionary Centre at ANU and chief editor of the Australian National Dictionary: Australian words and their origins. She has published extensively on US and Australian history. Her most recent book is Rooted: An Australian history of bad language (2020).
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