![[SA]](/static/img/flags/sa.png "South Africa")
CyberBraai Lex. at www.matriots.com 🌐 Hang of: This the same as the American ‘heck of’, as in: ‘I have a hang of a headache’ or ‘I had a hang of a good time at the braai.’.at hang of a, phr.
CyberBraai Lex. at www.matriots.com 🌐 Hang of: This the same as the American ‘heck of’, as in: ‘I have a hang of a headache’ or ‘I had a hang of a good time at the braai.’. CyberBraai Lex. at www.matriots.com 🌐 Ag: This is one of the most useful South African words. Pronounced like the ‘ach’ in the German ‘achtung’, it can be used to start a reply when you are asked a tricky question, as in: ‘Ag, I don’t know.’ Or a sense of resignation: ‘Ag, I’ll have some more pap then.’ It can stand alone too as a signal of irritation or of pleasure.at ag!, excl.
CyberBraai Lex. at www.matriots.com 🌐 THISARVIE: The short form of ‘this afternoon’, it is heard all over South Africa: ‘See you thisarvie’ or ‘The job will be finished by thisarvie.’.at arvie, n.
CyberBraai Lex. at www.matriots.com 🌐 BABBELAS: It sounds like something Biblical but is, in fact, the word which describes that awful period – the morning after the night of unwise indulgence.at babalaas, n.
CyberBraai Lex. at www.matriots.com 🌐 For emphasis, ‘blooming’ can be replaced by ‘bladdy’, which, in turn, is a corruption of the Austrian ‘bloody’. [Ibid.] It’s no bladdy good moaning afterwards that you didn’t catch anyone’s drift.at bladdy, adj.
CyberBraai Lex. at www.matriots.com 🌐 BOET: This an Afrikaans word meaning ‘brother’ which is shared by all language groups. Pronounced ‘boot’ as in ‘foot’, it can be applied to a non-brother. For instance a father can call his son ‘boet’ and friends can apply the term to each other too.at boet, n.
CyberBraai Lex. at www.matriots.com 🌐 BOYKIE: Literally (little boy), this is what legions of South African parents call their male kids. With ‘Basie’ (little big man), it is a nickname that has stuck to many South Africans into adulthood.at boykie, n.
CyberBraai Lex. at www.matriots.com 🌐 BREEKER: You probably won’t find a breeker taking afternoon tea at the venerable Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town. He is more likely to be found in one of those pubs where the smell of brandy overpowers even the flies who stagger out in a dazed state through the swing doors. A ‘breeker’ is a tough – someone you don’t want to mess with because his reasoning powers are unusually limited.at breker, n.
CyberBraai Lex. at www.matriots.com 🌐 They have also learned that ‘Zola Budd’ is township slang for a police armored personnel carrier, that ‘Mary Decker’ is a faster model of the Zola Budd.at Zola Budd, n.
CyberBraai Lex. at www.matriots.com 🌐 BUT ONLY: A very useful phrase now going out of fashion, it falls into the same category as the American ‘as if . . .’ It is used to give support to a statement by your companion.at but only!, excl.
CyberBraai Lex. at www.matriots.com 🌐 CHERRIE: Girlfriend, sweetie, significant other. It is not used in polite circles. For instance, you do not want to phone your girlfriend’s home and say to her parents: ‘Hi – is my cherrie home yet?’ That is not regarded as nice.at cherry, n.1
CyberBraai Lex. at www.matriots.com 🌐 If you use your new neighbor’s words, it won’t be long before you are chommies.at chommie, n.
CyberBraai Lex. at www.matriots.com 🌐 They have also learned that ‘Zola Budd’ is township slang for a police armored personnel carrier, that ‘Mary Decker’ is a faster model of the Zola Budd.at Mary Decker, n.
CyberBraai Lex. at www.matriots.com 🌐 VAN DER MERWE: Just as Paddy is the central figure of Irish jokes and Cohen turns up in Jewish humor, Van der Merwe (pronounced ‘Merver’ is the butt of South African jokes. Sometimes this mythical figure is referred to simply as ‘Van.’.at Van der Merwe, n.
CyberBraai Lex. at www.matriots.com 🌐 DINGES: Pronounced ‘ding-iss’, this is a thingy, a whatchama- callit, a wotzit.at dinges, n.
CyberBraai Lex. at www.matriots.com 🌐 Doll: A term of affection between males and females, it is used mostly in the Johannesburg area. A corrupted form of ‘darling’, it will be heard thus: ‘Your turn to take out the dirtbin, Doll.’ ‘But I took it out it last time, Doll.’ ‘Well take the bladdy thing out again, Doll.’.at doll, n.1
CyberBraai Lex. at www.matriots.com 🌐 Donner: A rude word, it comes from the Afrikaans ‘donder’ (thunder). Pronounced ‘dorner’, it means ‘beat up.’ Your rugby team can get donnered in a game, or your boss can donner you if you do a lousy job.at donner, v.
CyberBraai Lex. at www.matriots.com 🌐 A dop is a drink, a cocktail, a sundowner, a noggin. If you are invited over for a dop, be careful. It could be one or two sedate drinks or a blast, depending on the company you have fallen in with.at dop, n.1
CyberBraai Lex. at www.matriots.com 🌐 To dop is to fail. If you dopped Standard Two (Grade 4) more than once, you probably won’t be reading this.at dop, v.1
CyberBraai Lex. at www.matriots.com 🌐 DUMPY: You may drink your dop out of a dumpy or dumpie, which is a perfectly-named small, fat beer bottle.at dumpie, n.
CyberBraai Lex. at www.matriots.com 🌐 DURBS: A nickname for the great city of Durban. Johannesburg is called ‘Joburg’, sometimes ‘Joeys’ and sometimes ‘Egoli’.at Durbs, n.
CyberBraai Lex. at www.matriots.com 🌐 DWAAL: This useful word, pronounced ‘dwarl’, describes the state you may be in after a few too many dops or doppe. If choosing the left shoe for the left foot and the right shoe for the right foot takes a lot of concentration, then you are certainly in a dwaal. If you are lost while taking a spin in your car, you can turn to your companion and say: ‘We are in a bit of dwaal here.’.at dwaal, n.
CyberBraai Lex. at www.matriots.com 🌐 Fixed up. This means ‘good’. An example is this exchange: ‘You don’t have to take the dirtbin out, Doll; I took it already.’ ‘Fixed up, Doll.’.at fixed up!, excl.
CyberBraai Lex. at www.matriots.com 🌐 GE: The meaning of this word is roughly the same as ‘china’. A ‘ge’ – pronounced ‘ghay’ – is a pal, a chum, a mate, a crony, a china.at ge, n.
CyberBraai Lex. at www.matriots.com 🌐 To graze means to eat. If you are invited to a bioscope show, you may be told: ‘We’ll graze first – and then hit the flicks.’.at graze, v.
CyberBraai Lex. at www.matriots.com 🌐 In South Africa a guava is also a backside, a butt, a bum. If someone is behaving in an annoying manner, you can threaten to ‘skop (kick) him up his guava’.at guava, n.1
CyberBraai Lex. at www.matriots.com 🌐 Hap. Pronounced ‘ghup’, this means ‘bite’ and is used in the following fashion: ‘Give me a hap of your apple. Ag, please’.at hap, n.2
CyberBraai Lex. at www.matriots.com 🌐 When foreign friends call Main Street South Africa, they routinely start conversations with ‘So, howzit?’, to which we routinely reply: ‘Fixed up.’.at howzit?, phr.
CyberBraai Lex. at www.matriots.com 🌐 Isit? This is a great word in conversations. Derived from the two words ‘is’ and ‘it’, it can be used when you have nothing to contribute if someone tells you at the braai: ‘The Russians will succeed in their bid for capitalism once they adopt a work ethic and respect for private ownership’. It is appropriate to respond by saying: ‘Isit?’.at is it?, phr.
CyberBraai Lex. at www.matriots.com 🌐 Jawelnofine. This is another conversation fall-back word. Derived from the four words ‘yes’, ‘well’, ‘no’ and ‘fine’, it means roughly ‘how about that’. If your bank manager tells you your account is overdrawn, you can say with confidence: ‘jawelnofine’.at jawelnofine, phr.
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