Australianisms & Regional Slang

Entry 2: Nikko

Hey look! It's a pervasive use of marketing brand names in lieu of actual product names! Here in 'straya we call any large permanent (usually black) marker a Nikko, because that was a common brand of them for a good long time. Sort of how the Brits call all their ballpoint pens 'biros'. In fact, there are lots of examples of this kind of marketing-based vernacular! Here, there's a very common clothesline that's essentially a helicopter rotor, with four hoists stuck out from a central rotating axis and lines strung between them. For the longest time they were called 'Hills Hoists' because that was the marketing term for them!

'Straya.

Synonyms: Sharpie, marker, that thing you sniff to get high