Hard yakka

hard YAK-ah · noun

Hard physical work.

Person 1"How was the move?"
Person 2"Hard yakka. Never buying a piano again."

"Shifting that slab was hard yakka, I need a sit down."

You'll also hear

Yakkawork in general

Where it's from

From yaga, a word for work in Yagara, a language of the Brisbane area, picked up in the 1800s.

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While you're here

  • Sickie

    A day off sick when you're not sick. Chucking a sickie is a fundamental right of all Aussies.

  • Ambo

    Paramedic, or the ambulance they turned up in.

  • Tradie's laptop

    The pokies. Poker machines at the pub or club.

  • Earn a crust

    Make a living. "What do you do to earn a crust?" means what is your job?

  • Not here to fuck spiders

    I'm here to get on with it, not muck around.

  • As good as one man short

    Someone so unproductive that having them on the team is the same as being one person down.