H |
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haere mai |
Welcome, come here (prn high-re my). Haere rä - goodbye. Haere atu! - go away! |
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haka |
'War dance' is the perceived modern meaning but traditionally speaking any sort of dance. |
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half-cut | Intoxicated. (definition contributed by MG, 9/4/2004) |
half-pie |
From Maori "pai" for "good"; half-and-half, neither one thing nor the other, imperfect, unsatisfactory. |
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hang out |
To crave for, to have a craving for. "I'm hanging out for a beer." |
hangi |
Steam oven in ground - popular at special events |
hapü |
(sub-) Tribe, clan |
hard as nails |
Physically or mentally very hard or tough, unyielding. |
hard case, hard shot |
Amusing character (see also dag) |
hard earned |
Hard-earned cash, or money. |
hard word |
"To put the hard word on" someone, to ask for a favour or loan, a proposition (especially one involving sexual favours), to put pressure on someone. |
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heaps |
General expression to mean a lot, as in "miss you heaps", or try hard; "give it heaps" |
hiding, to get a | To be severely, physically, chastised or disciplined. To be beaten, to lose decisively. (as in sports). |
hiding to nothing | Bound to fail. |
high dudgeon |
Feeling of deep disgust or irritability |
hikoi |
Step, march |
hissy fit |
Throwing a tantrum when things don't go your way or when someone does something to offend you. |
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hit up for |
To ask someone for money |
hoe in(to) |
To attack vigorously, to 'get stuck in' |
hoick, hoik |
To clear one's throat and spit, also a gob of phlegm |
hokey pokey |
Type of caramel lolly and ice cream flavouring |
hollywood, to do (pull, throw) a |
To feign or exaggerate injury during a game to gain some advantage or respite. |
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home and hosed (or dried) |
Safe, completed successfully |
homebake |
Home-made morphine or heroin |
honesty box |
Slotted money box for unsolicited donations in return for goods. |
hongi |
Greet by lightly pressing foreheads and noses (and clasping hands), not a rubbing of noses as many think |
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hoo-ha | A commotion or fuss. |
hoon |
Gang member, a rough person |
hooning |
Playing about, verb form of hoon |
hooray |
Goodbye |
hosing down |
Raining heavily |
hose in |
To win by an easy margin |
hose off |
To thoroughly displease, to piss off |
hose out |
To overcome completely, to 'clean out', to 'whitewash'. |
hotel |
Pub, accommodation hotel |
hottie |
Hot water bottle |
housie |
Bingo |
hui |
Meeting, conference, etc |
hunky dory |
Everything's fine, as in "my life is hunky dory" |
huntaway |
Dog that drives a mob or herd |
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I |
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iceblock |
Ice lolly |
improve, on the |
Improving, 'on the mend', regaining health |
informal vote |
Invalid vote |
Intermediate School |
School between primary and secondary accommodating forms one and two (basically ages 11 & 12). |
Islander |
Pacific Islander - esp Polynesian, often has special entry rights into NZ |
iwi |
Maori tribe |
J |
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jack at, to have a |
To have/take a look. |
jack-up |
A swindle, a con, an underhand deal. |
JAFA |
A non-Auckland originating derisive acronym: "Just Another Fucking Aucklander" |
jake, she'll be |
Expressing confidence in a happy outcome. |
jandals |
Usual name for flip-flops, thongs, "Japanese riding boots" - type of rubber sandal (from brand name) |
jerry-built |
Something constructed in a flimsy, unprofessional manner. |
jersey |
Usual name for pullover, sweater, sports team shirt |
joker |
Man |
journo |
Journalist |
judder bar |
Speed bump |
just quietly |
In confidence, 'between you and me'. |
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K |
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kai |
Food, eat |
kapai |
Very good, agreed! |
karakia | Maori-language prayer created anew for the event or situation. Similar to a prayer. |
karanga | Maori chanting call, signifying the beginning of an event or gathering. |
kaumatua | Maori elder, sage, wise-man. |
kia ora |
Hello |
kia kaha! |
Be strong! |
kina |
Sea egg |
kindie, kindy |
Kindergarten |
kip |
Sleep |
kit |
Basket, kete |
kiwi |
Several species of a near-extinct flightless bird, 35 - 55cm, Apteryx - national symbol, New Zealander. |
Kiwi Green |
Locally grown cannabis |
kiwi ingenuity |
The supposed native talent of NZers and their ability to make all kinds of weird and wonderful contraptions out of "a bit of No.8 fencing wire". |
knackered |
Exhausted (from Knacker, an archaic profession whose practitioners destroyed old horses) |
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knock-back |
A refusal, a snub. |
knock off |
To dispose off, to sell.To finish (as in work). |
koha |
Gift, the value of which is based on perceived mana of receiver, also term used by PC pakehas for financial donation |
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kuia |
(respected) Old woman |
kumara, kümara |
Sweet potato, Ipomoea batatas, prn. 'ku-mara (the West Coast township is prn. ku-'ma-ra - ' signifying stressed syllable) |
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L |
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L&P |
Lemon and Paeroa soft drink, originally made in Paeroa, North Island, now by Coca Cola and marketed as "World Famous in New Zealand"; perhaps the last local soft drink brand |
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lamb's fry |
Sheep's liver |
lamington |
Cubes of sponge cake covered in icing and coconut about 4 - 5 cm a side |
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last shower, not to have come down in the |
Indicating experienced awareness by the speaker, who 'wasn't born yesterday'. |
laughing, to be away |
To be off to a good start, to be in the lead, to be well on the way to success. |
laughing gear |
Teeth |
layby |
Type of time payment where goods are kept by the shop until paid off (not a parking space) |
league |
Rugby league |
licensee |
Publican |
littlie |
Infant, small child |
lollies |
Sweets (not lollipops); lolly scramble - handfuls of free lollies thrown out to kids at fairs etc |
long drop |
Outdoor privy built over a hole in the ground. |
long paddock |
Grass along country road grazed illegally |
long road to hoe |
Urban variation on 'long row to hoe'. A long way to go before reaching completion. |
lose one's block, to |
To lose one's head, to become angry or excited. |
M |
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maimai |
Duck shooter's hide, miamia (prn my-my) |
Mainland(er) |
South Island(er) |
mana |
Power, respect, influence, etc |
Maori |
Original inhabitant of NZ of Polynesian stock, Tangata Whenua, also Cook Island Maori, Rarotongan, also spelt Mâori, Maaori, Mäori |
marae |
Meeting place |
marching girls |
Club of uniformed girls doing competition marching and drills |
mate |
Pal, friend |
mate's rates |
Reduced preferential rates of payment for friends or acquaintances. |
metal |
Gravel used on country roads (e.g. a metal road) |
mighty |
Excellent, fine, an expression of approval or agreement. |
milo |
Popular chocolate and sugar drink invented by Oz chemist, marketed by Nestles |
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mission, bit of a |
A difficult undertaking |
mob |
Flock or herd of sheep (but never "mob of cattle"), also used to describe tireless admirers of public figures, such as "Rob's Mob" (Robert Muldoon, past PM) |
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moko |
Patterned facial tattoo |
mort |
A moron, a stupid person |
mountain oysters |
Dish of rams testicles |
mousetrap (food) |
Slices of bread spread with tomato relish and a mixture of beaten egg, grated cheese, chopped onion, bacon etc., browned in an oven |
mozzie, mossie |
Mosquito |
muck around | Involved in useless activity, doing nothing in particular, just occupying time. |
munter |
A fool or prat. |
munted |
Broken. |
murder house |
School dental clinic |
muso |
Musician |
muttonbird |
Sooty shearwater |
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N |
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naff off! |
Get lost! |
named after |
Named for, eg "Cook Strait is named after Captain James Cook." |
Nappy Valley |
Stereotypical ideal subdivision filled with young couples just starting a family |
naughty, having a |
Sexual intercourse |
New Zild |
New Zealand, NZ speech - from supposed pronunciation |
nick, in the |
Naked |
nick away, nick out |
To slip away |
nick over |
To pay a hurried visit |
niggly | Impatient, critical, short-tempered, fractious, fussy. |
nipper |
Young child |
No.8 fencing wire |
Supposedly the main component of contraptions invented by "kiwi ingenuity" |
no-hoper |
Hopelessly ineffectual or incompetent person |
nonce |
Knowledge, experience for the task. |
North Cape |
Northern tip of NZ. From North Cape to The Bluff - from one end of NZ to the other. |
no worries |
Not a problem |
nugget |
Common term for shoe polish (noun and verb) eg, "Go get the nugget and nugget your shoes, they're dirty" - from brand name depicted by shining gold nugget |
nut off |
To lose control of oneself, to lose temper |