Vocabulary

When Kim from my lab said to me the other day:
"You know Sal, honestly...I understand about 75% of what you say" she sadly wasn't referring to the profound nature of my typical topics of discussion. No, what I have learnt since arriving in the US is that the gals in India weren't joking when they labelled me "Queen of Aussie Slang".
What I find disturbing, however, are the number of phrases I thought were completely normal which everyday Americans do not seem to understand. Some simple examples, contrasted with the phrases I could have used to really freak them out:

"Going for a wander" (cf: "gone walkabout", "pottering", "just puddling around")

Actually, that's the only example I can remember right now. But I'll add as more come to light.

Anyway, for the benefit of Aussies back home, here are the few local phrases I've learned here.

1. "Weak sauce" - exactly what it sounds like
2. "No dice" - not a chance, no luck, not going to happen
3. "the po-po" - not, as I thought, a chamberpot, but rather the police
4. "sketchy" - dodgy, risky, dubious

Yep, that's about it... although I have started to pick up a local habit of starting every sentence with so, followed by a pause; and have also found myself (distressingly), starting to say: "I feel that..." when what I really mean is: "I think that..."