smoko

Smoko is Australian and New Zealand slang for a short break from work, usually with tea, coffee and something to eat. It used to mean a cigarette break, but you don’t have to smoke to have smoko.

What smoko means

On building sites, farms and in workshops, smoko is the mid-morning or mid-afternoon break: kettle on, biscuits out, ten or fifteen minutes off. “Smoko” can mean the break itself or the food you eat during it.

It started on worksites, but plenty of offices use the word too.

Examples

• “We’ll finish this wall after smoko.”
• “Who brought the scones for smoko?”
• “It’s ten o’clock, smoko time.”

Where it came from

It’s smoke plus the Aussie and Kiwi -o ending, like arvo and servo. Wiktionary dates it to the 19th century as a break from work or military duty to have a smoke, later widening to any short rest or snack break. Dictionary.com spells it smoko or smoke-oh.

Related terms

• Arvo: afternoon.
• Brekkie: breakfast.
• Servo: a petrol station.
• Chuck a sickie: call in sick when you’re not.

More Kiwi words are in our New Zealand slang guide, and Aussie ones in our Australian slang guide.