Aussie Medical Dictionary

Australia and New Zealand have their own vernacular. Through correspondence with various illustrious colleagues it has become apparent that some of the terminology used in this, and other Aussie blogs is occasionally confusing.

To rectify this matter I will be joining with Aussie health professionals to create a simple medical vernacular translator to assist OTD (overseas trained doctors) to better understand Aussie argot nuances. The formative gatherings will be placed as posts for comment and then included in the vernacular section of this blog.

Strictly speaking, not all ‘Aussie colloquialisms’ are home grown and many of the terms and phrases will have international usage. However, most of the phrases featuring Aussie flora and fauna are definitively 100% ‘true blue‘, ‘dinki di‘ Aussie.

The reader will notice an enthusiastic abundance of ‘word-shortening’ and abbreviations – a characteristic of Aussie patois. Probably the commonest way to abbreviate long and complicated words is to remove the superfluous syllables and replace with the letter ‘-o’. An example of diminution:

Hey Davo, I’m goin’ to the servo for arvo smoko.

I say David, I’m going to the service station to purchase some food for our afternoon break

Reference resources to date include

• Robbo bites the dust
• Captain Atopic
• Australian National Dictionary Centre
• OzWords
• AmazingAustralia.com.au
• Dagree.net
• The Urban Dictionary

If you feel confident – why not try the Australian Citizenship Test?