Kiwi Slang: the Letter J

Kiwi slang and phrases starting with the letter J

Jafa – An Aucklander. It’s an acronym so I’ll leave that up to you to work out what it stands for. Here’s a quick guide to becoming one.

Jaffa – A Cadbury candy, chocolate balls covered in orange hard candy, kind of like a giant round orange M&M. Remember that steepest street in the world that I walked down in Dunedin back in January? Well the Cadbury factory is located in Dunedin, and they sponsor the “Annual Jaffa Race.” Once a year New Zealanders gather to roll numbered Jaffa balls down the street and I think the winner gets a life supply of Cadbury chocolate or something like that. If that sounds like a joke here's proof.

Jandals – Flip-flops. Pronounced like sandals with a j. Also part of the phrase “Can you handle the jandal.” I still don’t fully understand what that one means.

Jug – Electric teapot or kettle. Ex: "Chuck the jug on mate, will ya?"

Jumper – Sweatshirt or sweater.

There ya have it, the letter J. Consider that jandal handled.

Next week we'll tackle K and L...gotta speed things up since I've only got 11 or so weeks left to get through the rest of the alphabet! Yikes!