Glossary

A few helpful words before or after you head south.

Antarctica comes with its own distinct vocabulary, like the verb ‘to winter’ — part science, part slang, part survival shorthand, and Australians love shortening words—adding -o or -ie, even on the most serious things Chockie anyone?

You don’t need to know any of it to enjoy the show, but if you’re curious (or like being in the know), this glossary is here to help. Think of it as a gentle warm-up or a crib sheet for later: a quick guide to the words, tools, and phrases that pop up along the way — no exam, no icebreaker required.

Type	Term	Definition
Australian	Fourbie	A large SUV (4×4).
Australian	Currawong	You won’t find the word Currawong spoken in the show, but you hear its distinct melodic songbird call whenever Station leader, Elizabeth, reminisces about her year south. Currawongs are large, gregarious black + white Aussie birds.
Australian	Girly Swot	A very studious, hardworking schoolgirl.
Australian	Great White Hell	Antarctica.
Australian	Kelpie	A smart, hardworking Australian sheepdog known for its energy and skill.
Australian	McMansion	A big, flashy suburban house, often oversized for the block and lite on garden space.
Australian	Murray River	The longest river in south-eastern Australia, surrounded by a major farming area and food bowl.
Australian	Nimbin	A small town in northern NSW, famous for its hippie vibe and alternative culture.
Australian	Ouse	House with the “h” dropped.
Australian	Storm Bay	The bay at the mouth of the Derwent Estuary near Hobart, where ships head out to sea.
Australian	Swing	The on-and-off work cycle for fly-in fly-out (FIFO) workers, especially in mining, where you spend a set time on site before flying home.
Antarctica term	4U2P	A cup and tube-like device to aid women urinating standing up, using the zip function of trousers, to limit cold exposure Also called a female urination device (FUD) or she-wee. Urination onto land is not permitted in ice free areas in Antarctica. Urine is collected in bottles and transported back to stations for proper disposal through sewage systems.
Antarctica term	Adélie Penguin	A species of penguin primarily limited to Antarctica.
Antarctica term	Aurora Australis	The southern lights, named after the Roman. goddess of dawn, who’s sisters were the moon and the sun.
Antarctica term	Blizz	Short for blizzard.
Antarctica term	Boffin	A scientist.
Antarctica term	Cathedrals float	Refers to the shape of very large icebergs.
Antarctica term	Chockie	Short for chocolate.
Antarctica term	Clamour and Din	Loud noises of ship breaking through sea ice.
Antarctica term	Comms	Radio communications.
Antarctica term	Crevasse	A deep crack in an ice sheet or glacier, often covered by snow.
Antarctica term	Donga	Australian slang for sleeping quarters, adopted by the Australian Antarctic Program in the 1940s. Dongas usually consist of small bedrooms with shared bathrooms.
Antarctica term	Furious Fifties	Strong, steady westerly winds that blow around the Southern Ocean between about 50° and 60° south.
Antarctica term	Hagglunds	An over-snow tracked vehicle made in Sweden AKA ‘Hagg’.
Antarctica term	Ice Axe	A mountaineering climbing tool with a metal head + pointed shaft for moving across snow and ice.
Antarctica term	Krill	An important shrimp-like crustacean, that is essential to the Southern Ocean food web, including penguins and whales.
Antarctica term	Leads Dry Up	As a ship approaches Antarctica it encounters sea ice. Gaps in the sea ice are called leads.
Antarctica term	Mess	The common eating area on an Antarctic station, usually adjacent to the kitchen. Derived from military usage.
Antarctica term	Met	Meteorological forecast.
Antarctica term	Midwinter Pantomime	A midwinter tradition of staging a Cinderella-themed pantomime—based on British Christmas pantos with playful role-swapping. It became part of Antarctic culture in the early 1900s, with the Discovery’s 1901-04 and Scott’s 1902 expeditions helping set the tradition.
Antarctica term	Midwinters	Midwinter celebrations on the 21st of June, the longest night of the year in the Southern Hemisphere.
Antarctica term	Neighbours (wildlife)	Most of Antarctica is covered in ice. Less than 1% is ice-free. These areas attract most wildlife and host most national Antarctic stations. As a result, animals like seals and penguins often pass through or hang around stations, though their main breeding areas are usually farther away.
Antarctica term	Newcombe Bay	A bay adjacent to Australian Casey Station. Our song and lyric composer, Dugald McLaren, wintered at Casey Station and first shaped the song ‘Antarctic’ there, while looking out on Newcombe Bay.
Antarctica term	Neptune’s Reward	Neptune’s ceremony – a maritime tradition held when crossing 60°S on the way to Antarctica, drawing on the figure of Neptune, the god of the sea, and like the “crossing the line” ceremony at the equator.
Antarctica term	Quad bikes	Off-road, 4-wheeled, All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) with a straddle seat and handlebar steering.
Antarctica term	Rain In Antarctica	Although possible, rain on the continent of Antarctica is rare. But the number of heatwaves in Antarctica is increasing, so temperatures are reaching above freezing, bringing rain, not snow.
Antarctica term	Red Ship	Most polar ships are red or marine orange to allow for ease of visibility in the ice.
Antarctica term	R.T.A.	Return to Australia. Usually refers to cargo in Antarctica but can also be used as a verb – ‘I’m going to RTA’.
Antarctica term	S.O.P.s	Standard Operating Procedures. Detailed, step-by-step instructions for tasks, ensuring consistency.
Antarctica term	S.A.R.	Search and Rescue.
Antarctica term	SAR Hagg	The Search and Rescue Hagglund.
Antarctica term	Screaming Sixties	Zone of stronger and faster winds than the Furious Fifties. Found below 60°S latitude.
Antarctica term	Sked	Scheduled radio communications.
Antarctica term	Slot	A crevasse.
Antarctica term	Snow bridge	A crust of snow over a crevasse. Sometimes it can hide the crevasse.
Antarctica term	Steel Breaking Ice	The crunching sound of an icebreaker ship’s bow breaking up sea ice.
Antarctica term	Teeth Of A Gale	Sailing into the full force of a gale.
Antarctica term	Winter Darkness	Antarctica has 24 hours of daylight around midsummer, 24 hours of dark around midwinter. This darkness is often for weeks depending on how far south a station is.
Antarctic People	Bennetts’ Bay	Imagined location, named after pioneer Australian scientist, Dr Isobel Bennett, who was one of the first female scientists to travel south with the Australian Antarctic Program. She went to subantarctic Macquarie Island in the 1950s
Antarctic People	Hurley Station	Imagined station named after heroic Australian Antarctic explorer and photographer Frank Hurley.
Antarctic People	Mawson	Sir Douglas Mawson (1882-1958). An explorer and Australian national hero who founded the Australian Antarctic Territory. He is famous for an extraordinary feat of endurance.
Antarctic People	Ninnis	Belgrave Edward Sutton Ninnis (1887-1912), while exploring with Mawson, he, his sled and dogs fell through a snow bridge into a crevasse. They could not be rescued and died.
Antarctic People	Robinson Crag	Imagined location named after globally recognised Antarctic plant scientist, Prof Sharon Robinson, a contemporary of book writer, Dana Bergstrom.
Antarctic People	Selkirk (Bryony / Birdie)	Birdie is named in honour of Dr Patrica Selkirk, science pioneer and the first female Australian scientist to work on the Antarctic continent with the Australian Antarctic Program. Dr Selkirk has been Dana Bergstrom’s mentor for her entire career.
Antarctic People	Shackleton	Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (1874-1922) was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic in the heroic era . He is famous for an extraordinary feat of endurance.
Antarctic People	Scott	Captain Robert Falcon Scott (1868–1912) was a British naval officer and Antarctic explorer. On his second expedition, Scott and his team reached the South Pole about a month after the Norwegian party led by Roald Amundsen. Amundsen’s success came from superior planning and the use of Indigenous Arctic knowledge, including Sámi expertise. Poor preparation and extreme weather doomed Scott’s return journey, and he and his team died on their way home.
Antarctic People	Wienecke Ridge	Imagined location named after respected penguin biologist Dr Barbara Wienecke, a contemporary of book writer Dana Bergstrom. Barbara with colleagues, has recognised that Emperor penguins are now threatened with extinction.
Culture Reference	Al Gore	Vice President of the USA (1993 to 2001) and climate change crusader. A 2006, film, An Inconvenient Truth highlighting Al Gore’s climate change message. A sequel, An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power, was released in 2017.
Culture Reference	Frog In Pot	A metaphor for ignoring a problem as it slowly gets worse, until it becomes a disaster. The phrase comes from the idea that a frog placed in cool water that is slowly heated won’t notice the danger and will stay put, while a frog dropped into hot water would jump out immediately.
Culture Reference	Hanging The Washing Out	A dance move where you lift your hands as if putting pegs on a clothes line, observed by Dana Bergstrom (our book writer) at a remote field camp on subantarctic Heard Island.
Culture Reference	Houston, Confirm First Egg Landing	Alludes to US space control at Houston, Texas, particularly the quote, “Houston, Tranquillity Base here. The Eagle has landed,” from the 1st moon landing (Apollo 11).
Culture Reference	Inconvenient Facts	Alludes to Al Gore’s phrase and film, An Inconvenient Truth.
Culture Reference	Jazz Hands	Dance move involving rapidly shaking open hands with splayed fingers, palms forward, often used in musical theatre (popularized by choreographer Bob Fosse).
Culture Reference	Making Boxes	A dance move where you shape the sides of box with your hands, observed by Dana Bergstrom (our book writer) at a remote field camp on subantarctic Heard Island.
Culture Reference	Roman Holiday	A 1953 American romantic comedy film starring Audrey Hepburn as a princess and Gregory Peck as a journalist, Joe Bradley. Hepburn was 24y, Peck 37y.
Culture Reference	Rubicon	The Rubicon was a Roman river. Crossing the Rubicon is a phrase meaning to make a decision that can’t be undone: there’s no going back.
Culture Reference	Shake your tail feather	A reference to a famous 1960’s rock & roll song ‘Shake a tail feather’, by the Five Du-Tones and famously covered by Ray Charles in the Blues Brothers movie.
Culture Reference	Shoe Shimmy	A dance move made famous by Elvis Presley, especially in Blue Suede Shoes.
Culture Reference	Trevi Fountain	A baroque fountain in Rome, where people throw coins to wish for a return visit.
Culture Reference	Walking Through Deep, Deep Snow	A dance move mimicking walking through deep snow.
Culture Reference	When You’re Square	As in a “square deal” – a fair and equitable arrangement. Origin being a US President Roosevelt policy.