This week’s Common Aussie Slang is a relatively new expression. It’s only been recorded from the 1990s and is a result of the baby boomer generation. This is the generation of people who were born during the mid-20th century baby boom that took place in many countries, including Australia, after the end of World War II.

Many of the people in this generation, who are also known as boomers, have now retired and some of them are choosing to spend their retirement travelling extensively around Australia. Campervan, caravan or motorhome is their preferred mode of transportation and it’s the flexibility that comes with using these vehicles which has helped these boomers to get the nickname grey nomads. Grey because of the colour of their hair (most of them anyway) and nomad to describe the way they continually move from place to place.

Although grey nomad is sometimes used in a negative way, many retired Aussies happily embrace this term.

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Glossary

generation – All the people of about the same age within a society or within a particular family

baby boom – A baby boom occurs when there is a large increase in the number of babies born among a particular group of people during a particular time.

extensively – in a way that covers a large area or has a great range

campervan (also camper van) – a large vehicle that is designed to be lived in while travelling. It contains cooking equipment, one or more beds, and sometimes a toilet.

caravan – a wheeled vehicle for living or travelling in, especially for holidays, that contains beds and cooking equipment and can be pulled by a car

motorhome (also motor home) – essentially a mobile home which is equipped with all the comforts you’ll find in a stationary home, only on wheels

transportation – a vehicle or system of vehicles for getting from one place to another

nomad – a member of a group of people who move from one place to another rather than living in one place all of the time

embrace – to accept something enthusiastically