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Kara Isaac | How to Speak Like A "Kiwi"
April 29, 2016
The first time I ever traveled to America, I thought, “They speak English, I
speak English, this will be easy, right?” Not so, as I discovered the first time
I ordered an entrée expecting a small starter and found myself staring down an
ENORMOUS plate of food! As my debut romantic comedy, CLOSE TO YOU, is set in my
native New Zealand, I thought I’d take the opportunity to enlighten you on some
“Kiwi” phrases that have my American friends confused, bemused, or just
downright amused! - “Bit of a dag”: A person who is quite funny or a bit of a
prankster e.g. “My Uncle Phil is a bit of a dag.”
- “Box of budgies”: happy, very cheerful e.g. “I saw Gran today. She
was a box of budgies.”
- “Bludge/bludger”: Someone who is constantly sponging off others and
never picks up their share of the tab, buys their round, does their part etc.
e.g. “Don’t expect Sophie to pay you back. She’s a total bludger.”
- “Chocka”: Something that is full to overflowing e.g. “Mate, I can’t
fit anymore drinks in the fridge, she’s chocka.”
- “Hard yakka”: hard work, usually associated with some kind of manual
labour e.g. “Finally built that fence today. Flip, it was hard yakka.”
- “Knackered”: to be tired/exhausted e.g. “The kids were up half the
night and I am completely knackered.”
- “Manky”: Something that is a little bit gross/dirty e.g. “I can’t do
anything with my hair today. It’s really manky” or “Are you sure you want to
wear those trackpants in public? They’re a bit manky.”
- “Pack a sad”: To become morose or ill-humored e.g. “Luke’s team lost
the game and so he packed a sad and went home.”
- “Spat the dummy”: Having a temper tantrum/meltdown e.g. “I was in
Starbucks this morning and the barista didn’t make this woman’s coffee right and
she totally spat the dummy.”
- “Wop-wops”: a location in the middle of nowhere e.g. “My mum was born
in the wop-wops.”
So there you have it. Try adding one of those into your next dull
conversation to liven it up! I’m off to deal with a four-year-old who is
completely knackered and has packed a sad about having to go to bed :-) Giveaway
Comment below with a sentence using one of Kara's New Zealand or your own
favorite New Zealand sayings. One commenter will win a copy of CLOSE TO YOU & a Starbucks
card!
 Kara Isaac lives in Wellington, New Zealand. Her debut
romantic comedy, Close To You, is about a disillusioned
academic-turned-tour-guide and an entrepreneur who knows nothing about Tolkien
who fall in love on a Tolkien themed tour of New Zealand. It will release next
week (argh!) from Howard Books. When she's not working her day job as a public
servant, chasing around a ninja preschooler and his feisty toddler sister, she
spends her time writing horribly bad first drafts and wishing you could get
Double Stuf Oreos in New Zealand. You can sign up for her newsletter at
karaisaac.com or connect with her on Facebook at Kara Isaac -
Writer
A disgraced scholar running from her past and an entrepreneur chasing his
future find themselves thrown together—and fall in love—on a Tolkien tour of New
Zealand.
Allison Shire (yes, like where the Hobbits live) is a disgraced academic who
is done with love. Her belief in “happily ever after” ended the day she
discovered her husband was still married to a wife she knew nothing about. She
finally finds a use for her English degree by guiding tours through the famous
sites featured in the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies. By living life on
the road and traveling New Zealand as a luxury tour guide, Allison manages to
outrun the pain of her past she can’t face.
Jackson Gregory was on the cusp of making it big. Then suddenly his
girlfriend left him—for his biggest business competitor—and took his most
guarded commercial secrets with her. To make matters worse, the Iowa farm that
has been in his family for generations is facing foreclosure. Determined to save
his parents from financial ruin, he’ll do whatever it takes to convince his
wealthy great-uncle to invest in his next scheme, which means accompanying him
to the bottom of the world to spend three weeks pretending to be a die-hard Lord
of the Rings fan, even though he knows nothing about the stories. The one thing
that stands between him and his goal is a know-it-all tour guide who can’t stand
him and pegged him as a fake the moment he walked off the plane.
When Allison leads the group through the famous sites of the Tolkien movies,
she and Jackson start to see each other differently, and as they keep getting
thrown together on the tour, they find themselves drawn to each other. Neither
expected to fall in love again, but can they find a way beyond their regrets to
take a chance on the one thing they’re not looking for?
Comments
29 comments posted.
Re: Kara Isaac | How to Speak Like A "Kiwi"
After two days with no sleep, I'm feeling completely knackered!
(Cynthia Powers 10:32am April 29, 2016)
I was expecting a phone call from my boyfriend but never got it so I packed at sad and went out with the girls!!!
(Bonnie Capuano 10:51am April 29, 2016)
Living in Wop-wops would be calm, interesting and a big
change.
(Sharon Berger 11:06am April 29, 2016)
I loved all your Kiwi phrases. It's always so cool to learn new meanings to word/phrases you may hear but have NO IDEA what they actually mean. Your books sounds like it would be an amazing read and Congrats to you and your book. Wishing you great success.
(Sabrina Taylor 12:08pm April 29, 2016)
Those are some very interesting sayings! My nephew is a box of budgies... he always brings a smile to my face.
(Colleen Conklin 1:05pm April 29, 2016)
Seeing my first of the season crocus and daffodils bloom made me happier than a box of budgies!
(Kathleen Bylsma 2:17pm April 29, 2016)
I will pack a sad if I don't have a coffee soon..
I love these. Sharing them with my daughter.
(Kirsten Kimball 6:04am April 30, 2016)
My son just spat the dummy because I said no to video games this morning :)
(Jolene Allcock 2:05pm April 30, 2016)
Oh, the joys of two countries being separated by a common language! In England,NZ, and Australia (and probably South Africa, too!), not to mention Ireland and Scotland, being knackered is to be tired, fatigued, exhausted. Here in the US, it usually refers to a horse that is too old or "broken down" (whatever the heck THAT means!), and said animal is now on the way to the glue factory. (Yes, that is what used to happen to horses that were too old for whatever they were originally bred/purchased for. Bad for the horse, good for your local Luther, as glue made from the horse's hide is the best ever found for holding a string instrument together, yet being flexible enough to work with the wood as the instrument is played.
(Lynn Rettig 2:31pm April 30, 2016)
When I go mushroom picking I sometimes get lost in the wop-wops!
(Richard Burr 3:16pm April 30, 2016)
Flying international always makes me knackered.
(Nancy Ludvik 6:05pm April 30, 2016)
I discovered that cleaning out my garage was sure hard Yakka!
(Lori Byrd 6:29pm April 30, 2016)
I have been taking care of my two year old granddaughter this
week so I am completely knackered tonight but tomorrow is
Sunday so I will be a box of budgies at my home in the wops-
wops!
(Connie Saunders 9:35pm April 30, 2016)
Loving all of those cute sayings. There are many that I could
add to my conversations just to see people's reactions.
(Susan Sebastian 9:47pm April 30, 2016)
This new book Close To You by Kara Isaac is a bit of a dang.
(Daniela Caldarola 10:25pm April 30, 2016)
My book shelves are chocka.
I have been to both islands of New Zealand two times and
loved it.
(Leona Olson 4:56pm May 1, 2016)
The dog's a bit manky after his walk in the park, time for
a good bath.
(Nancy Krueger 12:16pm May 2, 2016)
It's a good thing it's trash day, my garbage can is chocka.
(Laurie Bergh 10:58am May 2, 2016)
I'm knackered from 12 hours of driving on Saturday!
(Sharlene Wegner 11:13am May 2, 2016)
thanks for this great chance!
(Barb Devine 3:56pm May 2, 2016)
My mother was born in the Wop-Wops.
(Mary Smith 7:00pm May 2, 2016)
CLothes are pretty Manky - must be time to do laundry!
(Joanne Schultz 4:04pm May 3, 2016)
I am hard yakka from cleaning up some of the yard.
Marilyn
(Marilyn Collins 6:04pm May 3, 2016)
thanks for the chance to read your book
(Angie White 7:15pm May 3, 2016)
the laundry basket is “Chocka" so I need to get busy and do the laundry.
(Melinda Marks 10:08pm May 3, 2016)
That boy is certainly a cracker-jack.
(Joan Thrasher 10:34am May 4, 2016)
There is something disturbing about a person (child or adult) who continually spats the dummy.
(Cathy Burkhead 1:58pm May 4, 2016)
Nice slang! I grew up in the wop-wops, myself.
(Mary Ann Dimand 7:33pm May 4, 2016)
interesting slang. And the book sounds interesting.
(Deb Pelletier 10:22pm May 4, 2016)
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