Australian Slang For Lazy (Helpful Content!)

The Australian slang term for lazy is bludger. A bludger is a lazy person, someone who doesn’t like making effort or doing real work. Australians might also call a lazy person a “layabout” or a “couch potato”, in the same way that other countries use these terms. The most common, though, by a long way, is bludger.

So, there is virtually one universally used Australian slang term for lazy and that’s bludger.

While other terms are definitely used here and there, if you’re looking for the most commonly used and the most uniquely Australian slang term for lazy, look no further than bludger.

Let’s find out more.

In This Article

What do Australians say for lazy?

The most common Australian slang term for lazy is bludger.

This is used virtually across the whole country to mean lazy, and everyone understands it.

If you’re a bludger, you are someone who is very lazy.

This term could be used to describe someone’s constant attitude, or it could just be used to describe someone who is being lazy.

It has the same sense, though in one way you might take it as a general comment on who you are as a person.

“He’s such a bludger, never does anything!” for example.

This is being used to describe someone who is always lazy.

A chronically lazy person who doesn’t like working, putting effort into things, or generally even doing anything even with their friends.

A bludger is someone who spends most of their time lazing around.

This is, by a long way, the most common slang term for lazy in Australia.

There are a couple of other examples, though.

“Layabout” is also a popular one used in Australia, much as it is used in other parts of the English speaking world.

It does have a slightly more flexible meaning in Australian slang, though.

It can be used to talk about a lazy day as well as a lazy person. “I’m going to have a layabout day, I think,” for example.

Equally, you could say “He’s such a layabout,” for example.

Other than that, you do have other common English terms such as “couch potato”, meaning someone who sits on the couch watching television all day.

Finally, one other term you might use in place of lazy is “buggered”.

In Australia, in this context, this term means “bothered”.

So, you might say “I can’t be buggered to do that today,” for example. It’s a way of saying you’re feeling too lazy to do it today.

So, where do these terms come from?

Why do Australians say bludger?

Bludger is a slang term with an intriguing history.

As far back as 1856, the term had a very specific meaning in Australia.

A bludger was a pimp, someone who would live off the earnings of a prostitute.

Not only that, a bludger specifically meant someone who would rob the clients of his prostitutes.

Eventually, by the early 20^th Century, the term had come to mean someone who avoids doing work or their share of work.

Our earliest attested use of this term comes from 1919. It developed out of the earlier meaning since those pimps would not do any work themselves—simply rake in the earnings from their women.

Why do Australians say layabout?

Layabout is another common one in Australia, and a more recent addition to the language.

By around 1932, people had combined the terms “lay” and “about”, meaning someone who lies around and doesn’t do anything.

This shortly became fixed in Australian slang and one of the best ways of saying that someone was lazy.

It was particularly used for people as a pejorative for people who would take government benefits while not doing any work.

Of course, this is a very sensitive subject now, since this perception of how benefits work is largely divorced from reality.

In any case, slang still emerged from it.

Why do Australians say couch potato?

Next we have couch potato, another one mired in some problematic history.

It seems to have originated in psychiatric treatments, the idea of a “couch potato” being someone who spent all their time on the couch of a psychiatrist.

To an extent, there was a perception that such people, as in those struggling with mental health problems, were inherently lazy.

Nowadays, the term simply means someone who loafs around a lot.

Though it’s not as popular as it once was, it is still used in Australia.

What does buggered mean?

Buggered can have a couple of different meanings.

In this context, though, the best translation is probably “bothered”. “Buggered” is a way of saying someone did a job lazily, or couldn’t be bothered to do it at all.

So, in that sense, it doesn’t directly mean lazy, but you’re very often going to hear this one in the context of laziness.

“Looks like whoever tried to fix this last time couldn’t be buggered to do a proper job,” for example.

It means you wanted to cut corners and save time, preferring to do a shoddy job quickly to taking the time to do a proper job.

So, again, bludger is definitely the best slang term for lazy in terms of specifically Australian terms.

There are others that can be used and even that have slightly different meanings for different purposes.

Bludger is a good catch-all term, for a lazy person, for someone who is just being lazy one time, or even for yourself on an off day.

More in Australian Slang

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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