Australian Slang For Sausage (Explained!)

In Australia, sausages are called either “snags” or “bangers”, most commonly. Snag is by far the most common, and can refer to just about any kind of sausage including basic sausages and even hot dogs. Bangers is less common and a term borrowed from Britain, but still very popular in Australia.

The Australians have a couple of slang words for sausages, then, and they may well use other international terms here and there.

By far the most common slang terms in Australia for sausage, though, are snag and banger.

Let’s find out more.

In This Article

What do Australians call sausages?

Australians have a handful of different slang terms for sausage.

Without doubt, the most common, universal, and most widely understood slang term for sausage in Australia is “snag”.

This term refers to just about any kind of sausage.

They are all snags.

Most commonly, though, this term is used for simple, stand-alone sausages—that is to say, not wrapped in pastry or on a bun.

Snags are sausages on your plate or otherwise free of embellishments.

Similarly, you have the term “bangers”.

Bangers are also any kind of sausage on their own, and this phrase is very often used in the full dish “bangers and mash”.

This is a dish of mashed potato and sausages, or bangers, a very popular dish in Britain and Australia.

Again, most people in Australia will know what you mean by bangers, even if they don’t use the term themselves.

It’s widely used across the country, though not as frequently as “snag”.

When it comes to sausages, there are a lot of different forms they might come in.

Traditional pork sausages, intended to be eaten on their own or perhaps as a sandwich—a snag sanger, as they’re called—tend to be what people mean by the term snag.

However, you’ve also got vegetarian sausages and other things like this which some might refuse to call snags, reserving that term for meat sausages.

But you’ve also got things like hot dogs and sausage rolls, so where do they fit into the equation?

I’ll answer that in full shortly, but generally, there is a distinction made between “snags” and these other kinds of sausages.

Again, snags, or indeed bangers, tend to refer to sausages that don’t come with any embellishment—whatever you might add yourself.

Where do all these terms come from, then?

Why do Australians say snag?

The word snag certainly has an interesting history, and as best we can tell, it derives from a Scots slang word.

This word was used through some parts of Britain, in both the north of England and Scotland.

The original meaning was first recorded in 1937—meaning it probably predates that in the vernacular by some time.

At first, it just meant a morsel, a very light meal—rather like “snack”, in that sense.

Eventually, that spread to Australia, particularly to the Australian football scene.

Often, things like sausage rolls were sold at games, and “snag” became a shorthand term for these cheap food items.

From there, the word took on a broader meaning and usage, and came just to mean any sausage. Indeed, many would no longer refer to sausage rolls as snags.

What about banger?

Why do Australians say banger?

The term banger is another one with an interesting history.

Though we don’t know for sure where it comes from, our most reliable account is that the term originated in the First World War.

Here, meat shortages meant that you had to fill out sausages with other items to bulk them up.

One of the items they used was simply water.

When you cook a sausage that is full of water, this will cause the sausage to explode.

Thus, they came to be known as bangers because they would literally explode.

This term caught on in Australia during the 20^th Century, probably spreading first through Australian soldiers returning home.

What do Australians call hot dogs?

So, is there a different term for a hot dog?

The answer is not really.

Many would say that a snag is not the right term for a hot dog.

A hot dog is just a hot dog, and there really isn’t any other term for a hot dog.

That said, the term snag is generally not used to refer to hot dogs, and is the exclusive domain of actual sausages.

However, it really depends on where you are and who you’re talking to.

Many people indeed do call hot dogs snags, still.

What do Australians call sausage rolls?

Again, for the most part, they will just call it a sausage roll.

Some might instead refer to it as a “sausage sizzle” or “snag sanger”, as if it were a sausage sandwich.

However, for the most part, they will again just use the term sausage roll.

Some might call it a “snag roll”, although this is very uncommon.

Much like with hot dogs, most Australians prefer to reserve “snag” for unembellished sausages, rather than savory treats of this kind.

So, banger and snag generally do the job no matter what the context.

Any kind of sausage can be a snag, and this is a good deal more common than banger.

Banger, nonetheless, is still widely used though perhaps in a narrower context, generally speaking.

In any case, if all you need is a simple, catch-all term for sausage that will be understood by most Australians, then look no further than snag.

Australian Slang Quiz

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Founder - @PollyWebster

Polly Webster is the founder of Foreign Lingo and a seasoned traveler with a decade of exploration under her belt.

Over the past 10 years, she has journeyed to numerous countries around the globe, immersing herself in diverse cultures, traditions, and languages.

Drawing from her rich experiences, Polly now writes insightful articles about travel, languages, traditions, and cultures, sharing her unique perspectives and invaluable tips with her readers.

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