A Tog by Any Other Name...

“So what do you call togs?” asked one of my coworkers, innocently enough.  It was approximately 4:00am and we were closing in on the final hours of our night shift.  We had been lucky.  It had been a calm night.  All of our patients were asleep and our paperwork was done.  So, we were chatting to kill time and stay awake.  The conversation had turned to the differences between Aussie English and American English. 

I attempted to process the question.  A what?  Togs?  That word didn’t even register in the deepest recesses of my vocabulary.  I was convinced I had heard her wrong, that my sleep-deprived brain was playing tricks on me.  I asked her to repeat the question.  “What do you call togs?” she repeated, straight-faced.  I must have given her the most clueless, blank look possible.  “You know, togs!  What is the American word for togs?” she prompted, as if repeating this absolutely foreign word would help.  There was no recognition on my end.  I was drawing a complete blank.  She must have thought I was incredibly daft. 

“OK.  You’re going to have to help me out,” I replied.  “I have no idea what that word refers to.  Can you, at least, describe it?”  She narrowed her eyes and looked at me like I was the slowest human being on the face of the earth.  I could almost hear the dismissive thoughts in her head.  She paused for a moment, and then continued.  “You know, togs.  It’s like a bathing suit, but it’s two pieces.”

“Like a bikini?” I asked.

“Yeah – they’re the same thing.  So, what do Americans call togs?”

“We call them bikinis.”

“Oh.”  She was absolutely deflated.  I had thoroughly disappointed her with my boring answer. 

But, that seems to be how things work.  Australian English has developed out of this great, quirky slang.  American English is much less creative and much more proper.  Learning the slang is one of my greatest sources of joy since moving here.  I have a good laugh, at least once a day, thanks to Aussie language.

So, I have decided to share my findings with you.  I am going to start an “Aussie Urban Dictionary” of sorts.  Each week, I will post new vocabulary or slang terms that I come across.  I hope it will be both educational and humorous.  Look for the first installment tomorrow.