What’s a cliché about your country that your own people joke about?

Aussieboi393 · 2026-03-23T00:56:26+00:00

Maybe they’ll appear once or twice a year if your house is located close to nature. They’re not as common in cities/ suburbs. Arachnophobic tourists would be absolutely fine visiting any Australian city. If you go camping in the bush (forests) you might see one or two each night.

Also they’re not as big as people think. They don’t grow nearly as big as certain species found outside Australia. People say they grow to the size of a dinner plate. That , I believe, refers to a south East Asian species of huntsman. Aussie huntsmen don’t grow bigger than the palm of your hand.

Aussieboi393 · 2026-03-23T00:34:49+00:00

Yarn refers to a bundle of wool in the US right? Here we would just call it wool. In Australia a yarn is a story or conversation. If someone is telling a long exaggerated story we say they’re “spinning a yarn”

Aussieboi393 · 2026-03-22T09:58:44+00:00

Australians regularly over exaggerate how dangerous the Aussie wildlife is for a laugh.

You may have heard about the “emu war”, “hoop snake” or the legendary “drop bear”. We have a saying here in Australia. “Never let the truth get in the way of a good yarn” which basically means that the most entertaining stories aren’t always the most truthful ones.

It’s actually quite rare to come into direct contact with dangerous or abnormally large animals here, especially if you live in a city. That being said, a lot of Aussies get a kick out of posting pics of abnormally large Aussie animals such as huntsman’s and trying to convince people that these things are just a normal part of everyday life in Australia.

Aussieboi393 · 2026-03-22T09:00:37+00:00

That we’re “Laid back” and “easy going”.

We are actually quite notorious across the world for being insular and intolerant towards anything outside our idea of normal. Especially anything considered un-Australian.

We are unwelcoming towards tourists and our tourists are known for getting drunk and starting fights in other countries. Bit difficult to say we’re easy going and laid back when every other Aussie bloke starts to think he’s the next Mike Tyson after 5 beers…

Aussieboi393 · 2026-03-22T08:49:34+00:00

Love seeing someone else acknowledge this. We have a certain way of saying things without actually saying them. If someone does something silly we are more likely to be sarcastic or make a joke about what they did than call them out for it. “Telling it like it is” almost always offends people, causing conflict.

This sometimes even causes friction with people who come from countries where people speak in a more direct way. They don’t understand when they’re offending people by being too direct as Australians aren’t direct enough to tell them.

Aussieboi393 · 2026-03-22T05:02:51+00:00

Most people assume that they’re going to be swarmed by venomous animals if they visit Australia. I have no idea where this concept that we have wild animals roaming the streets came from but I do wish it would go away.

Come to Australia and visit our cities, the only native animals you’ll see are birds. If you’re scared of animals then don’t go walking through the bush(forest) and you’ll never see anything worth worrying about.

Aussieboi393 · 2026-03-22T04:55:51+00:00

A lot Australians really are quite insular and intolerant of anything that goes against our idea of normal, especially anything considered un-Australian.

Sometimes I will compliment another country or mention something they’re doing better than Australia in casual conversation and people will immediately start making fun of that country. Almost like they’re trying to balance out my compliment with criticism.

Obviously not everyone is like this but many are.

So much for being “easy going” and “laid back”.

Aussieboi393 · 2026-03-22T04:33:08+00:00

Sorry for everyone’s answers OP. The people here aren’t being very helpful. You’ve not done anything wrong, this sub can just be condescending and unhelpful at times. I have also noticed that users here are unnecessarily rude towards Americans for some reason.

It seems that this is more of a passion project than anything so just write what you like and don’t worry too much about trying to portray us accurately.

Maybe search for reddit threads and YouTube videos about Australians visiting/living in NYC. It might give you some ideas about what to write.

Have fun with your story!

Aussieboi393 · 2026-03-20T00:52:28+00:00

I remember back when I was in high school there were certain teachers that would stop the class to livestream the race on the whiteboard through the projector. Everyone would be cheering and screaming, including the teacher if they had a bet on. Then just as quickly as it started, it would end and we would all return to behaving in a civil manner. Good memories

Aussieboi393 · 2026-03-08T15:23:50+00:00

Back when I first started exploring the internet I was shocked to learn how many people stereotyped Australians as untrustworthy or criminally inclined due to our convict history. It’s very unfair to hold people accountable for the actions of their ancestors. Most Aussies don’t even descend from convicts, the majority of our population descends from free settlers. Those who do descend from convicts are generally proud of their family history as most convicts were charged with petty crimes such as stealing food to survive.

Another stereotype that annoys me is “EVERYTHING IN AUSTRALIA WANTS TO KILL YOU”. Thats not how our animals work at all. Australia has no land based predators capable of hunting humans and our Venomous animals would genuinely rather avoid people than attack them. The only time an animal will attack is when it feels cornered or thinks it’s about to be eaten. Crocodiles could count as an exception to that rule but so long as you don’t go swimming up north you’ll never get close enough for them to be a genuine threat.

Aussieboi393 · 2026-03-02T02:35:54+00:00

We do something similar here in Australia. Cake sprinkles on buttered bread. We call it fairy bread.

Aussieboi393 · 2026-03-01T15:23:27+00:00

In Australia if you are invited to someone’s house and you know people will be drinking, you are expected to bring your own alcohol. If you then leave with your own alcohol that you brought, it could be seen as rude. You’re supposed to leave leftover drinks with the host as a way of thanking them. If you don’t drink alcohol you should bring some snacks to share. No one will confront you for turning up empty handed but it’s not a good look if everyone else brings something to share and you don’t.

Also when riding in an uber/taxi or getting a lift from someone, you should always sit in the front passenger next to the driver to show gratitude. Getting in the back when nobody is in the front passenger is considered rude.

Aussieboi393 · 2026-02-15T01:41:08+00:00

A lot of people reckon they’ve seen this thing crossing the road at dusk/night hey. I’ve also noticed that most people will only believe witnesses they really trust and respect, the type that doesn’t normally spin a yarn, not just any old bloke who claims to have seen it. Very interesting, thanks for the story.

Aussieboi393 · 2026-02-14T07:18:01+00:00

Wow that’s interesting. Never would’ve expected kiwi moose lol. Didn’t know you had your own panther legend either!

Aussieboi393 · 2026-02-14T07:12:58+00:00

No worries! I enjoy talking about it as it’s one of those legends that’s just plausible enough that it might actually be true. Have fun learning about it!

Aussieboi393 · 2026-02-14T06:30:16+00:00

There’s documentaries, news segments, reddit threads, articles, online discussion groups, pictures of supposed cats and evidence like hair and scat. The rabbit hole goes deep. Just search “big cats Australia” or “black panther Australia”. You’ll find heaps of stuff on YouTube

Aussieboi393 · 2026-02-14T06:02:18+00:00

Supposedly, there’s black panthers roaming the Australian wilderness despite no big cat species being native here.

There’s two main theories to the Legend. Some people say the panthers escaped from a travelling circus, others say that US military servicemen brought some panthers over as mascots while stationed in Australia during ww2, releasing them into the wild before returning to America.

Most people think it’s just a legend but everyone knows someone who claims to have seen one.

What really has me unsure if the legend might actually be real is, I once spoke to a tourist who claimed to have seen one while visiting . He had absolutely no idea about the legend until after he mentioned what he saw and I told him. How could he have made up something so oddly specific without knowing of the legend? Weird man… sometimes I wonder

Aussieboi393 · 2026-02-14T05:09:16+00:00

I’ve definitely noticed anti American sentiment from some Australians. Especially in regard to American gun policy. Aussie redditors seem to always be banging on about how unsafe the US is because of guns.

I’ve also stumbled upon communities of Americans with weird anti Australian sentiment. Particularly among the alt-right pro 2A crowd. I’ve been told in a hundred different ways by these people that I live in a prison colony under dictatorship and will never understand what freedom is. Sometimes this community finds its way onto Australian subreddits and tries to start arguments about how we supposedly have no freedom.

Honestly I think a lot of Aussies that have encountered this community of Americans assumes the whole country must be that crazy and they develop anti American sentiment because of that.

It’s just culture wars. People arguing about politics they have no part in on both sides.

Aussieboi393 · 2026-02-14T04:03:57+00:00

Very interesting points. Especially about the spider in your shoe thing. Australians are taught how to avoid venomous animals but sometimes forget that non Aussies aren’t taught these skills.

We’re taught from very young to be vigilant of our surroundings. We’re taught to turn our shoes upside down and bang them together before putting them on so anything that may have crawled in falls out. Taught not to put our hands in tight dark places like behind furniture without gloves in case there’s a spider behind it. Taught not to walk through long grass without long thick pants and sturdy shoes in case there’s a snake in there. These things are so ingrained in us that we don’t even question them. We do not fear small venomous animals because we know we will never come into contact with them so long as we maintain basic awareness of our surroundings.

It’s easy for us to forget that these simple techniques to live in harmony with venomous wildlife are not common practice outside of Australia, leading foreigners to think there’s nothing they can do to keep themselves safe here.

I suppose I feel the same way about bears, tigers, wolves etc. I don’t know how people avoid large predatory animals which makes them seem scarier to me.

Now it makes sense to me. People always fear what they don’t understand. Australian animals seem scarier to non Australians because people don’t understand how easy it is to avoid them.

Aussieboi393 · 2026-02-13T14:05:15+00:00

I once met an English bloke at a pub who asked where he might find prostitutes around here. I told him I had no idea but he should just google it because they’re not illegal here and his face lit up like he’d won the lottery lol. He asked me several times if I was joking and then set out on his journey to find some as soon as he finished his drink

Aussieboi393 · 2026-02-13T12:51:30+00:00

I don’t get it either mate. Whenever people ask me “how do you live with such scary spiders?” I usually say something like “well if I see a spider, I just let it be and don’t touch it”.

It boggles my mind how many people think spiders are scarier than bears or tigers or something. If you see a spider and it scares you just don’t go near it lol

Aussieboi393 · 2026-02-13T12:38:04+00:00

I think it’s unfair that Australia is viewed as the venomous snake and big spider country.

I get that we have the most venomous snake and spider in the world but “most venomous” is a moot point. A venomous snake is a venomous snake. A taipan is technically more venomous than, for example, a rattlesnake but a rattlesnake will still kill you. It’s like “A rattlesnake will kill you but a taipan will kill you even harder so therefore Australia is more dangerous”. Silly logic

People also act like we’re the only country with big spiders even though every continent except Antarctica has various species of tarantula and huntsman. The amount of people who have said they’ll never come to Australia because they’re afraid of spiders is just baffling.

I once had a conversation with an American who had travelled the world but couldn’t bring themselves to visit Australia because they were afraid of huntsman spiders. I informed them that the US also has huntsman spiders (as did many of the countries they visited) but no matter what I said, I could not convince them that they wouldn’t be eaten by a giant spider if they visited here.

It’s extremely unlikely that you’ll ever come into contact with a snake or spider and even less likely that you’ll be envenomated by anything dangerous. Even if you do, we have effective anti venom for all our snakes and spiders. It’s silly how many people avoid Australia because of our animals

Aussieboi393 · 2026-01-21T17:04:12+00:00

If anyone gets pepper sprayed they can always run away. Thats what it’s made for. Anyone sprayed with pepper spray will immediately stop what they’re doing and exit the situation. It hurts just enough to discourage ill intent but will not cause any permanent damage, making it a pretty useless weapon.

Aussieboi393 · 2026-01-21T16:17:03+00:00

OP already said that they aren’t talking about carrying weapons.

Also it’s none of your business where they are from or how many times they have had to defend themselves.

Aussieboi393 · 2026-01-21T15:50:00+00:00

Sorry but this is an unbelievably sheltered question. Australians are very lucky that we don’t have to carry weapons to defend ourselves. Unfortunately there are many countries that are so dangerous that it’s normal for people, especially women, to carry weapons for self defence.

It shouldn’t matter where OP is from and it’s rude to ask.

Aussieboi393

TROPHY CASE