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South Pacific peso

South Pacific peso is a tongue-in-cheek, slightly self-deprecating Australian slang term for the Australian dollar.

ˈsaʊθ pəˈsɪfɪk ˈpeɪsoʊ56 viewsLast reviewed Jun 29, 2026+ Add a definition
🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
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Australia
#1·Apr 28, 2026AUS

South Pacific peso is a tongue-in-cheek, slightly self-deprecating Australian slang term for the Australian dollar. The nickname implies that the AUD is a soft, unreliable currency — more at home alongside developing-world money than the heavyweight currencies of the world stage. Australians deploy the phrase with wry humour, usually when the exchange rate is particularly unflattering or when they are about to get rinsed booking an overseas holiday.

He sighed at the airport currency exchange and muttered something about the South Pacific peso being worth less every time he travelled.
Origin: A satirical portmanteau of the AUD's geographic origin (South Pacific) and peso, a currency associated in Anglo popular culture with volatility. Editorial expansion authored on Slangora.
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Australia
#2·Apr 27, 2026AUS

(Australia, derogatory) The Australian dollar.

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🇦🇺About Australian & NZ slang slang

Aussie and Kiwi vocabulary — bogan, daggy, brekkie, sheila, bach, jandals — the whole Antipodean lexicon, including outback dialect, surf and beach culture, and Sydney/Melbourne street slang.

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