What does "mean as" mean in NZ slang?

"Mean as" means awesome, excellent, really cool. In New Zealand "mean" is a strong compliment, and the "as" intensifier makes it even stronger.

Why does "mean" mean good in New Zealand?

It's the same semantic flip English has done with "wicked" and "sick" — negative words repurposed as praise. NZ embraced "mean" as a compliment from at least the 1990s.

What's a "mean feed"?

A great meal. "Feed" is Kiwi for a meal, so a mean feed is high praise for the cook — fish and chips at the beach, a hangi, or nana's roast.

Sweet As Tees › NZ Slang › Mean as

Mean as — Meaning in NZ Slang

Mean as: Awesome, excellent — 'mean' is a compliment in NZ. Pronunciation: meen-AZ.

What does "Mean as" mean?

In New Zealand, "mean" means awesome — and "mean as" means seriously awesome. A mean feed is a great meal. A mean tee is a great t-shirt. "How was the concert?" "Mean as, bro." First-time visitors hear someone call their cooking mean and briefly consider apologising; locals know they've just been paid a top-shelf compliment.

The phrase runs on the Kiwi "as" engine — the same intensifier behind sweet as, choice as and keen as. "Mean" on its own is already praise; "mean as" turns the dial to full. It can front a noun too: "that's a mean as sunset", "mean as kai at the hangi".

"Mean" also stars in one of the great Kiwi compliment escalations: good → choice → mean → mean as. Learn to place things on that ladder and you're conversationally fluent in New Zealand.

Origin

New Zealand flipped "mean" from nasty to magnificent — the same inversion English has done with "wicked", "sick" and "bad". Bolt on the classic Kiwi "as" intensifier and you get "mean as": as excellent as it's possible to be. The phrase took off in the 1990s and remains one of NZ's favourite compliments.

Examples

"How's the new board?" "Mean as — best waves of my life on Saturday."
"Nana's roast was mean as, as always."
"That's a mean tee, where'd you get it?"
"The view from the top is mean as, worth every step."

FAQs

What does "mean as" mean in NZ slang?: "Mean as" means awesome, excellent, really cool. In New Zealand "mean" is a strong compliment, and the "as" intensifier makes it even stronger.
Why does "mean" mean good in New Zealand?: It's the same semantic flip English has done with "wicked" and "sick" — negative words repurposed as praise. NZ embraced "mean" as a compliment from at least the 1990s.
What's a "mean feed"?: A great meal. "Feed" is Kiwi for a meal, so a mean feed is high praise for the cook — fish and chips at the beach, a hangi, or nana's roast.

Related NZ slang: Sweet as | Choice | Hard out | Mint

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