australian yell

October 24, 2006 8:06 PM

Is there a yell of exuberance or exhilaration to which Australians are partial? Something equivalent to "woowee" or "yahoo." Maybe "cooee"?
posted by tommassit to society & culture (26 comments total)

no.

Cooeee is anachronistic. It's just a call for attention across distances - like yodelling but without any greater communication than "hello, I'm here!"

My mother and I are about the last people we know that cooeee. That reflects my rural background.
posted by wilful at 8:10 PM on October 24, 2006

This is the classic "coo-ee" recruiting poster from WW1
posted by wilful at 8:12 PM on October 24, 2006

Oi?
posted by converge at 8:13 PM on October 24, 2006

"Wooo!" and "Yeah!" probably cover it.
posted by krisjohn at 8:13 PM on October 24, 2006

'fuck yeah' or 'fuck yes'.

Depends on how formal the situation is.
posted by zaeon at 8:22 PM on October 24, 2006 [1 favorite]

hello??? it's 'Crikey!'
posted by Artful Codger at 8:30 PM on October 24, 2006

or 'Streuth!'
posted by Artful Codger at 8:31 PM on October 24, 2006

Howzat?
posted by Remy at 8:35 PM on October 24, 2006

Seconding 'Strueth' and 'Crikey' (Very Australian) ... used in ironic/cool mode amongst the younger set.

'Howzat' is used in cricket, by most countries.
posted by DOUBLE A SIDE at 8:54 PM on October 24, 2006

"You beauty!" (or "You ripper") for the particularly Australian, but I'd say "Fuck yeah" or "Shit yeah" would be in more common contemporary use.
posted by pompomtom at 8:59 PM on October 24, 2006

I've never heard 'strueth', 'crikey' or 'cooee' from ANY Australian, ever, unless it was in irony (or Steve Irwin).

I will third (second?) "fuck yeah" and "you little ripper" though...

Also, "wahoo" or any of a myriad of other american terms, due to our overexposure to american tv like the simpsons.
posted by ranglin at 9:04 PM on October 24, 2006

Heh, our Aussie friend just says "Wanker!" all the time. Doesn't quite translate as "yahoo," though...more like "Loser!"
posted by GaelFC at 9:06 PM on October 24, 2006

"You little ripper!"
"Go you good thing" (when watching the ra-ra)
Most formations using "bloody" or "fucking".

Having been an Australian for all of my life, I had never heard crikey! used as a spontaneous exclamation before Steve Irwin became well known (‘01 or ‘02 or there abouts).

'Struth is a good exclamation of surprise.

Howzat is an appeal in cricket ("How is that?") to the umpire to questioning if the batsman is out.
posted by dangerousdan at 9:06 PM on October 24, 2006

grandparent's generation:

bonza!

parent's generation:

you little ripper!

my generation:

fuckin oath!
posted by tabulem at 9:11 PM on October 24, 2006

a yell of exuberance or exhilaration

You mean like

AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE
OI OI OI
AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE
OI OI OI
AUSSIE
OI
AUSSIE
OI
AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE
OI OI OI

?
Call and response pattern frequently heard at sports matches. Done at top volume with exclamation marks to suit.
posted by booksandlibretti at 9:26 PM on October 24, 2006

It's `Struth', not `Strueth'. Supposedly a contraction of `God's Truth!'.
posted by tomble at 9:33 PM on October 24, 2006

it's strewth.
posted by wilful at 9:50 PM on October 24, 2006

Seconding "you beauty", pronounced: yeew beewdy.
Strewth (strueth/struth) is more an exclaimation of surprise in a 'WTF?' kind of way. But neither of these are really used in everyday mainstream Australian language anymore.

"Wooo!" and "Yeah!" probably cover it.
yep, I agree.
posted by harmless at 9:55 PM on October 24, 2006

How about "Vegemite!"
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 9:59 PM on October 24, 2006

I thought "coo-ee" was the equivalent of "yoo-hoo" when one is searching for another.
posted by brujita at 10:28 PM on October 24, 2006

I'm glad Tasmania has some form of isolation from the rest of Australia, because you all sound crazy.
posted by a. at 12:05 AM on October 25, 2006

FAIR-DINKUM
posted by cholly at 12:34 AM on October 25, 2006

The usual: woohoo, yahoo, hooray.

I think "Bonzer!" and "You little ripper!" are probably the closest "Aussie" expressions, but I don't think they're used in quite the same way.
posted by robcorr at 1:09 AM on October 25, 2006

Note: "fuckin' oath" is more likely to be pronounced "'kinoath". But I think "mate" is probably the closest you'll find to a genuine current Aussie "yell".

MAAAAAAAAAATE!
posted by coriolisdave at 2:38 AM on October 25, 2006

My Aussie buddy says "Good on ya!" when congratulating someone.
posted by zardoz at 2:54 AM on October 25, 2006

I agree with pompomtom for what it's worth (not very much) and opine that cholly and I have never ever crossed Sydney paths when exuberant outbursts were called for.
Wilful, I actually think there's always been an underground continuation of 'cooee'. It's got a bit of retro-chic hipness, particulary when preceding the obligatory 'cobber'. But maybe that's just my circle of twisted experience.

Geez, we ain't got any cultcha. Thank god we have animals we can hide behind to give an illusion of depth.
posted by peacay at 7:36 AM on October 25, 2006