What do Australians call a swimsuit?
Australians use several words for a swimsuit depending on where they live: cozzie or swimmers in New South Wales, bathers in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia, and togs in Queensland.
This regional variation is one of the best-known differences in Australian English. Linguists have mapped it through surveys, finding clear patterns between states, although people move around and mix the terms.
Cozzie comes from swimming costume, with the familiar Australian ie ending. Bathers comes from bathing costume, and togs, also used in New Zealand and Ireland, is an old word for clothes.
Budgie smugglers
Tight men's swimming briefs are humorously called budgie smugglers. The term became widely known when politicians were photographed wearing them on beaches, and it was added to dictionaries.
Speedos is also commonly used for men's briefs, after the Australian swimwear brand Speedo, founded in Sydney in the early twentieth century.
Whatever the word, swimwear is a major part of Australian beach culture, and sun-protective rash vests, known as rashies, are also widely worn, especially by children, to reduce sunburn. Surf lifesavers wear distinctive red and yellow caps on patrol.
Did You Know?
Speedo began as MacRae Knitting Mills in Sydney in 1914 and adopted the Speedo name in 1928.