English Tradie Learns Australian Slang the Hard Way

An English tradie living in Australia has revealed an embarrassing blunder over a simple piece of slang.

The tradie, who goes by _cloughy_ on TikTok, shared that he and his girlfriend's father were taking a load to a tip in Brisbane.

"I didn't think when coming to Australia, being English, there would be words and stuff that you can get mixed up," he explained.

However, when his girlfriend's dad asked the workers at the tip if they could "go for a quick root over there", he quickly learned that was indeed the case.

"The guy was like nah, and looked back at his work colleague a bit weird," he said.

The man's companion then asked again, prompting the worker to refuse as there were cameras filming the facility.

Since then, the pair have discovered that "root" is Australian slang for sex, while their intention was simply to "have a look around".

"We've driven off, like that's a bit weird. A week later, he's driven into the tip and they've asked him what he was there for this time," the expat recalled.

"Anyway, we found out root means shag. And it doesn't just mean shag, apparently. The lads at work have said it's like an aggressive f***."

He expressed that all they wanted to do was have a look around. "They think I am his little toy boy," he laughed.

This was not the first mix-up while living in Australia, and social media users enjoyed a chuckle at the X-rated mistake.

"The Aussie word you're looking for is 'squiz'," one user suggested.

Another social media user added: "I like that the guy's main issue was that you'd be caught on camera."

One user recounted, "My British uncle once asked an Aussie real estate agent if they could have a root upstairs."

Another commented: "Hahaha I'm an Aussie and it took till the end of the video for me to understand what you were actually asking to do."

One more shared their own embarrassing blunder, stating: "Me as a young Aussie woman, I asked my new boss in London if I had to wear pants to work (with my work shirt) or could just wear a skirt. TROUSERS I MEANT TROUSERS."

"My Irish colleague announced to the team she was 'going for a quick root at lunch.' She meant clothes shopping," another added.

One user noted: "You can have a squizz, take a ganda or root around ... you do not however, root at the dump."

Lastly, one user remarked: "I love that he didn't judge you for wanting to root your father-in-law, but simply felt it was inappropriate due to the presence of cameras."