While in the wonderful country of New Zealand, we Americans were able to pick up on quite a few words and phrases that are common amongst Kiwis. These are a few of my personal favorites…
Heaps (noun, plural): a large quantity of a particular thing, i.e., “I’ve got heaps of mosquito bites on my legs.”
Jandals (noun, plural): sandals, flip-flops, i.e., “I love my new jandals heaps!”
Fizzy (noun): soda pop, i.e., “I’m really craving a cold can of fizzy right about now.”
Lollies (noun, plural): candy, i.e., “If you’re not good, you won’t get any lollies today.”
College (noun): high school, i.e., “I graduated college in 2004.”
Tim Tam (noun): a delectable rectangular chocolate cookie, i.e., “White chocolate Tim Tams make life worth living.”
Tim Tam Slam (noun/verb): involves biting the ends off of a Tim Tam, dunking it in hot chocolate, and then sucking out the filling, i.e., “We’re doing a Tim Tam Slam tonight. Be there or be square!”
Toggs (noun): a swimsuit, i.e., “Don’t forget to bring your toggs and your jandals to the pool this afternoon.”
Biscuit (noun): cookie, i.e., “Would you like to try a chocolate biscuit?”
Supper (noun): an evening snack consisting of “tea” (usually juice, but still called “tea”) and biscuits, i.e., “Supper starts at 7:30 this evening.”
L & P (noun): a popular soda standing for “lemon & paorua” (paorua is spring water, not sure if that’s actually how you spell it), i.e., “L & P is my favorite fizzy.”
Marmite (noun): a popular yeast spread similar to Vegemite, i.e., “You should eat some Marmite if you want to keep the mosquitos away.”
Good on ya: another way of saying “Good job” or “Way to go.”
Sweet as: a popular expression meaning “Cool” or “Awesome.”
Holiday (noun): another word for “vacation”
Tattoo (pronounced as “tadoo”): Of course, we all know what a tattoo is. I just found the Kiwi pronunciation humorous.
