Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (S.Afr.) an old(er) woman of pronounced and vocal moral values; in derog. use, a narrow-minded, puritan, small-town woman.

1960		C. Hooper Brief Authority 87: We did not actually witness the reaction of a certain Zeerust tannie to the spectacle.
1961		D. Bee Children of Yesterday 157: The old ooms and tannies of Katerina – my neighbours – tell me I need a wife.
1989		B. Simon ‘Score Me the Ages’ Born in the RSA (1997) 156: lennie: Who’s the tannie? yvette: The tannie’s my ma. And you’d be dead if she heard that.
1996		CyberBraai Lex. at www.matriots.com 🌐 TANNIE: From the Afrikaans word ‘tante’ (auntie), a tannie is far more than just a female relative. A tannie is a lady with whom you do not cross swords, an individual not to be taken lightly, a person who is going to win the argument long before it even starts. If you say: ‘Wow! She’s a real tannie!’, it implies respect and a degree of fear.
2008		Cape Argus (S. Afr.) 28 Jan. 8: The tannies love it, because they don’t know where the story-line is going.
2012		Constitutionally Speaking (S. Afr.) 26 Oct. 🌐 A ‘tannie’ wanted to know if [etc.].

2. a term of respect and/or affection.

1975		S. Roberts ‘For No Reason’ Outside Life’s Feast 61: Ag Tannie, don’t cry.
1985		B. Simon ‘Outers’ Born in the RSA (1997) 58: I got out of the army, I went home . . . my old tannie tunes me – Barbara’s married.
1987		L. Beake Strollers 41: ‘Dankie, Tannie,’ they said dutifully. [...] ‘Dankie, Madam’ she corrected them mildly.
2005		A. Lovejoy Acid Alex 104: Tannie Mop turned out to be a friendly bustling Afrikaans matron.