The Blog
Tips, guides, and stories to help you understand Australians at work.
Suss It Out Meaning: How Australians Say Figure It Out
Suss It Out Meaning: How Australians Say Figure It Out Carlos had been at his new marketing job in Melbourne for three weeks when his manager Paul walked over and said, “We’re getting some weird data from the new analytics platform. Can you suss it out?” Carlos blinked. Suss it out? Was he supposed to […]
She’ll Be Right Meaning: The Most Australian Response to Any Problem
She’ll Be Right Meaning: The Most Australian Response to Any Problem Priya stared at the second-floor balcony railing her colleague Paul’s mate had just “fixed” with some washers, extra glue, and a strip of duct tape. “She’ll be right,” Mike the tradie said with a thumbs up. Paul nodded along. Priya looked at the railing […]
Reckon Meaning: The Aussie Word for Think, Believe, and Guess
Reckon Meaning: The Aussie Word for Think, Believe, and Guess It’s Monday morning and the team is gathered around a whiteboard. Paul, the project lead, outlines two options for the next deployment — Friday afternoon or Monday morning. Then he turns to Priya, the newest member of the team, and asks: “What do you reckon, […]
No Dramas Meaning: Why Australians Never Make a Big Deal
No Dramas Meaning: Why Australians Never Make a Big Deal Priya needs to leave work early. Her landlord needs access to the apartment for emergency repairs, and she’s already rehearsing her apology in her head. She approaches her manager Paul, bracing for a lecture about commitment and notice periods. Instead, Paul barely looks up from […]
Let’s Touch Base Meaning: Decoding Australian Office Speak
Let’s Touch Base Meaning: Decoding Australian Office Speak It’s 10:47 AM on a Tuesday. Priya, a software developer three weeks into her new job in Sydney, glances at her laptop and sees a Slack message from her manager Paul: “Hey Priya, got a sec to touch base this arvo? Nothing major.” Her stomach drops. Touch […]
Keen Meaning: How Australians Show Enthusiasm at Work
Keen Meaning: How Australians Show Enthusiasm at Work Carlos had been at his new marketing job in Sydney for three weeks when a message from Jess popped up in the team chat: “Friday drinks at the pub across the road. You keen?” He read it twice. Am I keen? Keen on what? Was she asking […]
Heaps Meaning: The Aussie Word That Replaces Very, Lots, and Really
Heaps Meaning: The Aussie Word That Replaces Very, Lots, and Really Priya had just nailed her morning presentation — clear slides, confident delivery, solid Q&A. She was feeling pretty good about it when Jess sat down next to her at lunch and said, “I heard it was heaps good!” Priya paused mid-bite. Heaps good? Like… […]
Good On Ya Meaning: Australia’s Favourite Way to Say Well Done
Good On Ya Meaning: Australia’s Favourite Way to Say Well Done Priya stared at her screen, still buzzing from the team meeting. She had spent her entire weekend migrating the company database — no downtime, no errors, everything running perfectly. Her manager Paul had announced it to the team, and then it happened. Jess grinned […]
Give It a Burl Meaning: The Aussie Way of Saying Just Try It
Give It a Burl Meaning: The Aussie Way of Saying Just Try It The office printer was jammed again. Carlos had opened every tray, pulled out every scrap of paper he could see, and pressed every button twice. Nothing. He was about to give up and call IT when Mike from the warehouse wandered over. […]
Flat Out Meaning: Why Everyone in Australia Is Always Busy
Flat Out Meaning: Why Everyone in Australia Is Always Busy Carlos needed five minutes of his manager’s time. Just five minutes. He walked over to Paul’s desk, where Paul was typing furiously, three browser tabs flashing with notifications. “Excuse me, Paul? Do you have a moment?” Paul barely looked up. “Ah, mate, not really. I’m […]