During our travels we have heard some pretty strange backpacker slang sayings and phrases. It is always interesting to see different people from other cultures communicate with each other. More often than not there will be one person that is met with a unusual face when a phrase or term is said. Inevitably the person will explain what it means and for the most part the other person is both amused and bewildered at how that could mean such a thing.
I have attempted to remember all the terms and sayings I have heard over our time on the road. I welcome you to add any that you have heard or use to the comments below.
Shart – When you attempt to fart but follow through.
Top o’ de mornin’ to ya – Good Morning
Happiness is the journey man.
After Army – This refers to the an Israeli traveller that travels after being in the army for 3 years.
Beggin’ – They are begging to have items stolen from them, as they are being carefree with their belongings.
The Bible – A guide book.
Pommie – British traveller.
Skippy – Aussie traveller
Dredd Heads – Hippies or people with dreadlocked hair.
Eurotrash – European Travellers or european item.
Lagerhead – British backpacker that is a big drinker.
On the leash – A man that won’t go out because of an over protective girlfirend.
Tree Huggers – Environmentalist.
Virgin – Just entered a new country.
Bludger – Aussies slang for lazy person.
Gringo/Gringa - Foreigner.
Bangers – Nickname or Bangkok.
I.N.D.I.A. – I will, Never, Do, It Again.
Lower your standards and open your mind – Don’t expect much from the place you’re travelling to.
Gotta be careful when you fart in Asia, you never know what might happen!
Delhi Belly – When you get diarrhea in India
Brah – Slang for saying bro or brother.
Frothing – extremely excited about something.
The Dogs Bollocks – The best thing ever.
That Ace Bro – That is really good.
Sweet As – Happy about something, everything is ok.
I’m getting Aggro – I am getting aggravated with the situation
Arse over tit – When you fall over or fall down.
Wacky Tobaccy – Marijuana
Barmy – Being crazy or mad for not doing something.
Best thing since sliced bread – The best thing ever.
Did you Blow Off? – Did you fart?
Bob’s your Uncle – And thats how you do it.
Botch Job – To do a bad job of fixing something.
Chuffed – Really pleased with something.
Gagging for it – Very desperate to get something, sometimes refers to wanting sex.
Gutted – Really upset about something.
On the piss – To go out and get drunk.
Piece of cake – Really easy to do.
Plastered – To get drunk.
You’re a pussy – You are scared of something.
I have been racking my brain to think of more backpacker slang sayings and I would love to hear any that you have heard on the road. Leave your slang backpacker saying in the comments below.
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Hahaha is this a play on the recent Youtube videos “shit that girls say?” Love it, Bob’s your Uncle
Glad you liked it. Bobs your Uncle & Fanny is your Aunt
Great post, it did make me chuckle. Most of these appear to me as very British sayings. Have to admit I use chuffed quite a lot…
Think most are British as we rarely bumped into American backpackers on the road. We have been writing these down for 2 years now.
I was just going to say nearly all these sound like British sayings. You must meet a lot of British whilst travelling!
Thats right. We did! If you have any to add. pleas do
Haha, wacky tobaccy made me laugh out loud! I haven’t heard that one before.
Hope you don’t go and smoke to much of the wacky tabaccy
Brilliant work guys, absolutely brilliant. Shart was the best choice to start off.
I think when we were in India we got close to sharting a few times. Lucky it never happened to us
Brilliant post! I remember trying to explain the phrase ‘Dog’s Bollocks’ to a non-native speaker once. They were very confused
Many of these phrases seem to be British and primarily about getting drunk. I have a few friends who say that they are ‘rough as a badger’s ass’ when hungover. And I still hear the word ‘minging’ (disgusting/ugly) used every now and then.
Yeah, we have also heard minging a lot as well. Most of these sayings are from British backpackers as we mainly ran into them on the road. We love the saying “dogs bollocks” too.
Gagging for it – Very desperate to get something, sometimes refers to wanting sex
How many people do you know who gag for a headache or a burger?
It’s only about sex!
. . . apparently!
YES! That is one I forgot. Cheers mate. Are you gagging for it
I don’t consider myself a backpacker but I’ve heard a lot of those. You hear a lot from Canadians, Brits and Aussies. A dog’s dinner is another one, it means “Dressed or displayed in an ostentatiously smart manner”.
Think that I have heard Gordon Ramsay use “dogs dinner” a couple of times before. I just love hearing all the different sayings from around the world.
I only recently found out that gringo is just for north americans, not all foreigners.
Really? We were getting called a gringo during our time in Central and South America.
From my experience, any caucasian person in Central/South America gets called gringo, although it is supposed to be used only for North Americans.
I think it now just means any white person in Central/South America. And when not said by another “white” person it’s definitely supposed to be derogatory…
Yeah, I think Gringo is a spanish word used in Latin America and mostly Mexico to mean an American
Gringo actually comes from the “Spanish/American War.” The Spanish didn’t know English and wanted them gone. The Americans wore green military attire. The Spanish would say “Green. Go.” as in go home, get out of here. It then got lost in translation to Gringo.
Haha frothing…. guilty!!
Hilarious! We heard that all the time when we were travelling
Gringo actually comes from the “Spanish/American War.” The Spanish didn’t know English and wanted them gone. The Americans wore green military attire. The Spanish would say “Green. Go.” as in go home, get out of here. It then got lost in translation to Gringo.
Misralies – Travellers from Israel, because it’s hard to get a smile out of them