I have now been living in Sydney for four weeks. Already I am being told that I have lost the sharp edge off my kiwi accent, but that still does not stop at least one daily occurrence where I either can’t understand something simple someone is telling me or vice-versa.

To aide my fellow kiwi’s when they grow wings and come over here too I have been collecting a list of my most interesting and funny situations where kiwi slang/words have been greeted with blank confused stares.

• Blobbing / To Blob Out – This one even has its own entry in Wikitionary, To relax idly and mindlessly.
• Dairy – In Australia known as a Convenience Store.
• Flat (or Student Flat) – In Australia Flat refers to a type of house in particular a granny flat.
• Flatting – This word does not exist in Australia. The closest word with the same meaning would be shared housing. Somehow that doesn’t have the same ring to it as it’s kiwi counterpart. (Also I get the feeling that the whole right of passage going flatting coming of age type situation is different here.)
• Hori – I had a very hard time explain this one. Wikipedia explains it as used for something that is unattractive or shoddy
• I speak good England! – Not really kiwi slang as such, but more when someone says something with either terrible spelling or grammar.
• P – Pure Methamphetamine. In Australia known as just crystal meth.
• Paper – University term for the equivalent of a school subject, in Australia known as a course. Where paper in Australia refers to a research paper.
• Refill pad – This is a British English word, but here is known as a lecture pad or loose lead ruled pad.
• Sweet As – no worries.
• Toying / To Toy With – Messing with, teasing, playing games with.
• Tramping – Hiking or Bush Walking

I have also noticed some interesting differences in styles and behaviour. The three key areas would be:

• Clothing – Take note, black tshirts and jeans are not everyday wear. Shorts are very much in – mostly because it is too hot to get away with jeans all year round.
• Hug/Hugging – It is common to greet and say goodbye to friends in a social setting with a quick hug in New Zealand. I did this to a friend over here and they took three steps back not sure how to react. Looking into the background of this more it seems that this cultural difference stems from a combination of New Zealand’s large Pacific population and Eastern Europeans who both commonly greet with a hug and a kiss to the cheek (although the kissing has never been NZ culture to my knowledge).
• Sunglasses – Almost everyone in New Zealand will wear them whenever they are outside, not as common here.

There are also two good Wikipedia posts on New Zealand English and New Zealand Words.