Okay, here’s an Australianism I find both amusing and odd. First, and this isn’t necessarily odd, just different, Aussies tend to make nicknames by sticking an “O” on the end of things. Like instead of saying “thingy” they may say “thingo”. I’ve also heard “yummo” instead of “yummy”.
The part that I find odd is that they’ll shorten just about anything and stick an O on the end of it. For example, the Salvation Army is known as “The Salvos” (they even use this in their advertising). Another thing I don’t entirely get is a football team (rugby? can’t recall) called the “Rabbit-ohs”. As in “rabbit with an o stuck on the end”. Presbyterians are sometimes called “Presbos” (I don’t know if Methodists are/were “Methodos”). Probably the funniest thing I’ve seen is a roadside fish seller (with a refridgerated truck, of course) that had “Fisho” painted on the side of the truck.
I don’t get it. I mean, I get it, in the sense that it’s a characteristic of the dialect, probably originating with some other English/Irish/Scottish dialect (Irish, I’d guess, but that’s purely speculation on my part). I just “don’t get it” in the sense that it’s very strange to my American ears. I’m used to it by now (I can find “the thingo” as well as the next person and tell when something is “yummo”), but sometimes I still hear usages of it that make me kinda cock my head to the side and make that “dog listening to his master’s voice” expression.
Some (probably) related posts: