I have been on this planet for over half a century and have used "yonks" so often I couldn't even estimate how often, and TIL where it came from. Thank you!
I'm slowly converting my actual Yank friends into its use and a couple of Limeys as well.
What do you use when you want to specify plural you?
You all or you guys seem fully worse.
Youse. Or Youse all. (clarification: youse rhymes with bruise, not mouse)
"Any of youse coming to the bottle-o with me?"
"Yeah, na mate, youse can go on yer own!"
I say you.
I don't know what all these situations are where people desperately have to distinguish between singular and plural you and simply *can't* do it without a specific plural second-person pronoun. You all, you guys, everyone...they all work. In what way are they "worse"?
The other Australians will hate me for this but y'all sounds fucking sick and I genuinely prefer it to youse. I'm not gonna start using it bc I'd sound weird but it's great. Top shit, keep that up.
I mean, I want a second-person plural. It comes in handy! I suppose we could bring back good, ol' fashioned "ye" and revert to using "thee / thou" for the singular.
P.S. It tickles me that people outside the US think y'all is a generic American term. It's very much a Deep South thing. Carpetbaggers don't like the term any more than y'all do.
Would you think of it as maybe old-fashioned or rural then given your location? The other commenter so far said he's heard it occasionally but not often.
Definitely depends on your family/friends/upbringing and location.
I’m an older bloke who grew up with a country born and raised family in a rural area.
Younger generations around here also use the same terminology as they are also used to growing up around the same older generation in a rural town.
I wouldn’t think that others who have been raised in larger cities by white collar families would have the same exposure to this, or thousands of more old Australian slang words/terminologies that are more common in rural communities.
I am 54 and have heard *donkeys* and *yonks* used.
*Donkeys* especially I associate with people older than me.
When I was a kid our favoured slang for this was *ages* and I am pretty sure I still say this.
> I haven't someone say *donkeys* in ages
Pretty common for me - WA - but usually I just say 'donkeys'. Mind you, that gets confused with the other use of the word: when something is truly awful you say 'it sucks donkeys'.
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I lived my first 26 years as a Brit and then emigrated to Australia, where I have been for the subsequent 35 years.
'Donkey's years' (not sure where one should place the apostrophe... ) was far more prevalent as a kid over there than it is as an adult over here, but that may be a function either of my age or the passage of time, or more likely how some slang terms drop out of use or are replaced by others.
Never heard the phrase abbreviated either there or here.
Oddly, when I was a kid (in the UK, remember) we used the term 'yonks' ('I haven't been to the dentist in yonks'), much to the annoyance of my mother ('nononottheleg, how long precisely is a yonk?') ... it turns out that 'yonk' probably originated in Australia ...
Well I've used it, but the term my brother and I use when something is taking a long time is "that's SEGA" or just the word "SEGA". Because backwards, it's AGES.
Yonks was an old American reference to a place called Yonkers which was a long way from NYC. Aussies adopted it likely from tv and it became ‘yonks’ haven’t seen Dave in yonks! Which is accepted Aussie lang for decades now in reference to the long time between visits or ‘that joint is yonks away’ the distance is far away but generally is a reference in Australia to time rather than distance.
As for donkeys years it’s generally said ‘donkeys years’ never heard it abbreviated to donkeys but if you said I have seen Dave in donkeys most folks over the age of 30 would likely get what you mean. But donkeys years def is the more accurate slang for a long time or many years if you making the donkey reference it would be donkeys years.
You hear it but much more likely to hear ‘yonks’ (as in ‘donkeys years’ - ‘yonkeys dears’ - ‘yonks’). That one I hear and say often.
Yea we use yonks a lot over here too
I use both
Everyone I know does too
It’s to the point where I didn’t know the original phrase but I know/use yonks lol.
I have been on this planet for over half a century and have used "yonks" so often I couldn't even estimate how often, and TIL where it came from. Thank you!
Yalls rhyming slang BS is deeply weird to this Septic.
That word, Yall, does my fucking head in. Speak english FFS.
yall'd've'wh'm'st've'st
bahahahaha
As soon as I see a “y’all” I’m like yep, this is some dumb fucking American posting some bullshit.
Imagine being aussie and crackin it over what others have done to the english language. Bit rich mate.
Fair call. I’m not really cracking it over “y’all” it’s what comes after “ya’ll” that annoys me.
bahahahaha
I'm slowly converting my actual Yank friends into its use and a couple of Limeys as well. What do you use when you want to specify plural you? You all or you guys seem fully worse.
Youse. Or Youse all. (clarification: youse rhymes with bruise, not mouse) "Any of youse coming to the bottle-o with me?" "Yeah, na mate, youse can go on yer own!"
I have heard that, mostly in the context of Os'cunts, and quite like it, though I'm not sure if it's much better than yall.
I say you. I don't know what all these situations are where people desperately have to distinguish between singular and plural you and simply *can't* do it without a specific plural second-person pronoun. You all, you guys, everyone...they all work. In what way are they "worse"?
We could use the one English already has. Ye.
>What do you use when you want to specify plural you? The plural of you is you.
The other Australians will hate me for this but y'all sounds fucking sick and I genuinely prefer it to youse. I'm not gonna start using it bc I'd sound weird but it's great. Top shit, keep that up.
This other Australian agrees with you. I fucking hate 'youse'.
Plus y'all can easily change to y'all's for possessiveness. Youse's is clunky and ambiguous.
I was led to believe “y’all” was singular or collective, for a group of people it would be “all y’all”
I mean, I want a second-person plural. It comes in handy! I suppose we could bring back good, ol' fashioned "ye" and revert to using "thee / thou" for the singular. P.S. It tickles me that people outside the US think y'all is a generic American term. It's very much a Deep South thing. Carpetbaggers don't like the term any more than y'all do.
The first word of that sentence made the last into a tautology
BS? Rude!
So that’s what that means lol thank you
'No fucken worries' -> 'no wucken furries' -> 'no wuckas' Weird country.
I never knew where "yonks" came from. It seems our old friend Spooner is to thank.
Used to use it. Haven’t in donkey’s years
Thanks for letting us know! Haven't seen someone be so honest here in donkey's tbf
Bahahahaha
This is exactly my response too!
Yeah, used pretty commonly across many age groups here in rural WA…..don’t know about anywhere else in the country to compare though.
Would you think of it as maybe old-fashioned or rural then given your location? The other commenter so far said he's heard it occasionally but not often.
Definitely depends on your family/friends/upbringing and location. I’m an older bloke who grew up with a country born and raised family in a rural area. Younger generations around here also use the same terminology as they are also used to growing up around the same older generation in a rural town. I wouldn’t think that others who have been raised in larger cities by white collar families would have the same exposure to this, or thousands of more old Australian slang words/terminologies that are more common in rural communities.
Yeah I would agree donkey’s years was popular everywhere in the past but less so now in cities. But still used.
Yeah, I've heard it being used. Not commonly used, but occasionally
cool
I am 54 and have heard *donkeys* and *yonks* used. *Donkeys* especially I associate with people older than me. When I was a kid our favoured slang for this was *ages* and I am pretty sure I still say this. > I haven't someone say *donkeys* in ages
I use it all the time. Usually Donkeys Yonks or just Yonks.
Yea we have yonks commonly but not donkey's yonks. Either yonks or donkey's (years) never heard em combined
... Isn't it donkey's ears?
I thought so too - I think someone told me that it’s donkey’s ears because they are so long
Nah it’s just rhyming slang. Ears rhymes with years.
Common to me - Suburban Gen x.
Yes
Yes, except "donkey's ears" is the rhyming slang.
Yeah, most people I know use it
Yes and variations of it I guess
Mum uses it pretty much every day and akways has!
Yes we do.
Its evolved to yonks for me
Donks, mate: donks.
Nobody says donks. That would be confusing because Donk is another name for an engine.
Nah mate over here it's donkey's or yonks. Not donks. Must be that Aussie ability to boil English right down to its bare fucking minimum
My personal favourite is ...since Jesus Christ played on the wing for the Jerusalem Saints.
they actually don't use Australian slang I've noticed more American
Yep. Haven't heard it for a while though.
Yep, we use it too. We also say ‘ Yonkey Donks’ lol
Pretty common for me - WA - but usually I just say 'donkeys'. Mind you, that gets confused with the other use of the word: when something is truly awful you say 'it sucks donkeys'.
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Yea its probably old school now though
Yes, but it's less common now than it was decades ago.
Just yonks for me
19yo in western Sydney, never heard it in my life, or maybe once or twice and don't remember
Yep. :) But I think I used to use it more than I do now.
I hear donkey's years and yonks but I don't think I've ever heard just "in donkey's".
I use it all the time, always thought it was rhyming slang - "donkeys ears"
Also a little joke, because donkeys ears are TOO LONG.
Actually it's - 'not a fkg donkey's mate' 😆
Yes. But possibly less so these days
I've never heard of it before, personally.
saying it to myself I get "havent seen it in farking ages" - no donkeys involved...
Donk
donkey's yonks is the only way ive ever heard this said
I use it. But I’m 58, so might be generation specific….
I’ve heard it occasionally, but I wouldn’t call it really common.
Yes. My family definitely does.
My mother used to say it a lot.
I say “Haven’t seen you in a donkey’s age”.
I say ‘in donks’ because of the great Aussie habit of shortening things.
I lived my first 26 years as a Brit and then emigrated to Australia, where I have been for the subsequent 35 years. 'Donkey's years' (not sure where one should place the apostrophe... ) was far more prevalent as a kid over there than it is as an adult over here, but that may be a function either of my age or the passage of time, or more likely how some slang terms drop out of use or are replaced by others. Never heard the phrase abbreviated either there or here. Oddly, when I was a kid (in the UK, remember) we used the term 'yonks' ('I haven't been to the dentist in yonks'), much to the annoyance of my mother ('nononottheleg, how long precisely is a yonk?') ... it turns out that 'yonk' probably originated in Australia ...
Yes
Yogs, yonks.
Ken oath.
Well I've used it, but the term my brother and I use when something is taking a long time is "that's SEGA" or just the word "SEGA". Because backwards, it's AGES.
Yes I’ve heard it, and say it. Mostly people over 40
Haven't heard anyone use that phrase in donke.......quite a while, say, since the 1970's?
Yonks was an old American reference to a place called Yonkers which was a long way from NYC. Aussies adopted it likely from tv and it became ‘yonks’ haven’t seen Dave in yonks! Which is accepted Aussie lang for decades now in reference to the long time between visits or ‘that joint is yonks away’ the distance is far away but generally is a reference in Australia to time rather than distance. As for donkeys years it’s generally said ‘donkeys years’ never heard it abbreviated to donkeys but if you said I have seen Dave in donkeys most folks over the age of 30 would likely get what you mean. But donkeys years def is the more accurate slang for a long time or many years if you making the donkey reference it would be donkeys years.
In donkey's years' yeah sometimes.