Have you ever wondered about the things we say here in Aotearoa New Zealand that aren't common parlance for the rest of the world? It's more than them just not understanding our accent - there are a great number of words and phrases that only exist in godzone.
So many words and sayings are intrinsically Kiwi. From egg to hua, ghost chips to she'll be right, think big to gone by lunchtime, some things are undeniably, quintessentially ours and ours alone. Mark Broatch takes us on a deep dive into the meanings behind some of the quirkiest expressions in our nation's vocabulary, offering fascinating insights into how each linguistic gem came about, and how they've evolved over the years. Whether we stole them from the Aussies (yeah, nah!) or they stole them from us. Do we really have two degrees of separation, are we per capita brilliant, or do we suffer from cultural cringe? Seriously, Bro?
By:
Mark Broatch
Illustrated by:
Bruce Mahalski
Imprint: David Bateman Ltd
Country of Publication: New Zealand
Dimensions:
Height: 172mm,
Width: 142mm,
ISBN: 9781776890675
ISBN 10: 1776890671
Publication Date: 01 October 2025
Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
1. Skux 2. Borrow 3. Egg 4. Bugger 5. Hua 6. Kia ora 7. Macron 8. Accent 9. Lolly 10. Sweet as 11. Eh? 12. Eyebrow raise 13. Yeah, nah 14. Yeah right 15. Bro 16. Cuzzy 17. Nek minit 18. Skody 19. Dill 20. Choice 21. Down to earth 22. Barefoot 23. Deadpan 24. She'll be right 25. Tall poppy 26. 'Knocked the bastard off' 27. Fair go 28. Togs 29. Joker 30. Hoon 31. Tattoo 32. Barnes dance 33. Centrist 34. Jandals 35. Gumboots 36. Boat, bach, beamer 37. No. 8 wire 38. Cultural cringe 39. Pointy headed 40. Stink 41. Treaty 42. Godzone 43. Aotearoa 44. Pākehā 45. ANZAC 46. Suffrage 47. Nuclear free 48. 'God Defend New Zealand' 49. Gothic 50. Sauvignon blanc 51. Pie 52. Feijoa 53. Kiwi onion dip 54. Flat white 55. Pavlova 56. Squint 57. Four seasons in one day 58. Going bush 59. Dawn chorus 60. Kauri 61. Tussock 62. Volcano 63. Darkness 64. Kiwi 65. Black 66. OE 67. Two degrees of separation 68. Per captia 69. Mahi 70. Pōhutukawa 71. JAFA 72. Aussie 73. 501 74. Bullrush 75. Daylight saving 76. Thank you very much 77. Claytons 78. Ghost chips 79. Villa 80. Think Big 81. Doesn't give my opponents . . . 82. Gone by lunchtime 83. Name suppression 84. ACC 85. Orchestrated litany of lies 86. Black hands 87. Tangiwai 88. All blacks 89. P class 90. March! 91. Middle distance 92. Koru 93. Oily rag 94. Bungy 95. Rattle your dags 96. Milk 97. Get in behind 98. 1080 99. NZ Green 100. Phar Lap
Mark Broatch is a journalist and critic of three decades and is the author of three books, two on language, In a Word and Word to the Wise. A longtime literary editor, he is a trustee of the Matatuhi Foundation and has been an Ockham New Zealand Book Awards fiction judge, a peer assessor at Creative NZ Toi Aotearoa, a Buddle Findlay Sargaseon fellow and a resident at the Michael King Writers Centre.
