The Footy Dictionary

The lexicon of the weird and wonderful language of our national game – written by sports journalists and footy fanatics Vince Rugari and Andrew Wu.


Australian Rules football is a code, a culture, and - unofficially - a language. Like any language, it evolves, contradicts itself, and makes very little sense when you think about it for more than a few moments.


Part glossary, part cultural commentary, part long-overdue piss-take, The Footy Dictionary reveals the absurdity, brilliance and strange beauty of the game's ever-expanding vocabulary, and what it says about Australia's national obsession. Compiled by Age and Sydney Morning Herald sports reporters Vince Rugari and Andrew Wu, it is both authoritative and gloriously unserious: a field guide for anyone who has ever nodded along while wondering what, exactly, a 'back shoulder' is.


Featuring over 650 terms, from old-school staples like 'speccy' and 'torpedo' to modern mysteries such as 'dancing with your sister', 'hamstring awareness' and 'lick of the ice cream', this sharp, affectionate and irreverent illustrated dictionary takes readers inside the 'four walls' to decode the clichés, coaching jargon, media buzzwords and accidental poetry that have developed 'over the journey'.


The Footy Dictionary is for players, coaches, umpires, commentators, analysts, confused foreigners and diehard fans. It's essential reading for anyone who loves Aussie Rules, or loves laughing at it, and anyone trying to find their 'one-wood', 'lower the eyes' and become the 'connection piece' this great game demands. If nothing else, it's a 'watch'.