Why are Australians obsessed with saying G'day?

Question

And chucking another shrimp on the barbie? They also greet women with "g'day sheelah". What's up with that?

Answer 1

G'day is a shotened Good day. Seriously. But who really has a fully good day? About one quarter of the day is good, what with work/school, trafic, house work etc. So we drop 3/4 of the phrase and hence, G'day.

Answer 2

I think its the equivalent of saying >>>> WASSSUPPP !!!!! <<<< Its the accepted lingo understood by a society of people.

Answer 3

why are americans obsessed with saying what's up?

Answer 4

As an Australian I can say - WE DON'T SAY IT!  It has been said that we do for tourism. It would not go down well in Australia to call a girl a 'Sheila'.  Yes people do say "G'day" but they down scream it at 100 decibels and say it to everyone who walks past.  Most people say hi, hello, etc.  "Shrimp on the barbie" - that too is a toursim thing.  

That is like saying all Americans wear cowboy hats, have red faces, wear jeans with their stomachs hanging out over the top.  Everyone has a gun in their back pocket and it would be more sensible to buy a one way airline ticket, as the chances of you be killed in bank robbery or drive by shooting is high.  

The point - DO NOT BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU SEE ON TV!

Answer 5

So many answers and yet the question still stands!  G'Day is aussie slang for Good Day, as in "Good day, kind sir" (old english talk). Because us aussies are such a laid back lot, it got whittled down to G'Day, as in "G'Day cobber". Easy huh.

Now, contrary to popular belief, we do have shrimp in Oz. The big shell fish that you have to pull the heads off and peel are prawns. Those small prawn imitations (usually found in prawn (or shrimp) cocktails, are called shrimp. Yabbi's, crays, etc are exactly those - yabbis, crays, etc - not prawns, duh. (BTW - prawns (the proper ones) taste absolutely delicious on the barbie, especially on skewers; give it a go.

And a sheila is slang for a woman - just like bird, chick, duck, love and many many many more.

Answer 6

i think that you would find that we call shrimp prawns and we enjoy eating them cold rather than on the BBQ.

g'day is slang for 'Good Day' because we are lazy when we talk. You wouldnt even know what a Sheelah is because you used it in a general term.....I dont think you know much about Australia at all.

Yes, we say g'day...but we never 'put shrimp on the barbie' ...and sheelah is not as common as once was in Australia now!

whats with american and african americans saying 'sup dog?'

Answer 7

well thats not exactly true. we dont have shrimp, there called prawns, yabbies, crayfish and marron. haha lol, i havnt really heard of anyone greeting a female like that but we do say g'day. its just slang and mainly its to say hello to a male. its said like this "g'day mate" lol. any other questions about us aussies im more than happy to answer :)

Answer 8

G'day.  Oweryergoinmateorright?  

I reckon you're coming the raw prawn there.  Someone been telling you furphies?    

(I deliberately use these older words so that people won't think I'm a Yank when on-line.)

See ya.

Answer 9

They are the Englishs' version of America's hillbillies.

Answer 10

sheila is a woman. a slang.

good day is a greeting.

in US u do say 'have a good day"

Answer 11

Any Aussie who greeted a woman with "g'day sheila" would probably end up with a handbag wrapped around his head. Come over here and try it a few times and see what I mean.

Nor do we 'chuck shrimps on the barbie' either. A barbie is much too hot to do justice to our magnificent, lucious prawns (that's the right name for the things you call shrimps). That saying comes from the Paul Hogan TV ad that takes the mickey out of gullible Yanks.

And, we're not 'obsessed' with saying g'day. Many Aussies would never say it, and for the ones who do, it's simply our way of saying '"Hi". Are you obsessed with saying "Hi"? If not, it's  probably because you're one of the w@nkers who goes around saying "Wassup?" to everyone.

Answer 12

Nobody uses the word shrimp.  Ever.  At least not when referring to prawns.

Any man who greets a woman with G'day Sheila is probably not going to live very long

G'day (short for Good Day) is patchy in use

Get your head out of the slang book and find some Aussies to talk to...

Answer 13

This is what happens when other nations make up things and stereotype.We don't use shrimp at all,we call them prawns here.By the way there are no kangaroos in our streets and most of us do not keep kolas as pets.

Answer 14

you been watching to much TV  we don't even say the word shrimp,they are not called shrimp in Australia that's the stupid American TV that does that

Sheela is a stereotype to,hardly ever used unless an Aussie is taking the Micky out of you

Answer 15

G'day is far better than .....what's up dog....or how are yall.Shrimp is american S**t talk.Sheelah is spelt Shiela and was a comman female name.S**t tank

Answer 16

Well - would you rather an Aussie saying 'G'day' to ya, or 'bugger off' instead?

Answer 17

We aren't obsessed with saying G'day, we just say it confuse the tourists  who have difficulty trying to pronounce it!! We don't have shrimp, we have prawns which are far more superior and as for saying "g'day sheelah" (spelt incorrectly BTW), you would be more likely to receive a punch in the mouth from someone who is very PC!!

Answer 18

It's called slang.  As everyone has already said - no - we don't call them shrimp... that is an american term.  We don't even cook prawns on the barbie unless we are a budding chef!  That's one of those stereotypical things that really has no solid foundation...

Sheila refers to a woman but is not commonly used.  In more outback/country settings some people still use it and it is definately not a derogetory term as some have mentioned.  I certainly wouldn't 'hit' someone for calling me a sheiler!

G'day is still a common term for some Aussies.  It is an easy way to greet people instead of saying 'hi'.  I say it to people who I walk past in the street - but I don't tend to say it commonly to friends.  It's as much an obsession as someone who says hi all the time... it's really not that weird!