yakka

[ yak-uh ]

noun

, Australian.

1. work, especially hard work.

yakka

/ ˈjækə /

noun

1. informal.
   work

Word History and Origins

Origin of yakka¹

First recorded in 1885–90; earlier spellings yacker, wakker; of obscure origin; possibly from Yagara (an extinct Australian Aboriginal language of Queensland) yaga “to work”

Word History and Origins

Origin of yakka¹

C19: from a native Australian language

Example Sentences

This was hard yakka in hot sun on an unresponsive pitch with a ball less likely to misbehave than a child on Christmas Eve.

From BBC

With a distinctive nasal twang, the locals pepper their conversations with “crikey,” “sprog,” “yobbo,” “tinny,” “chunder,” “togs” and “hard yakka.”

From New York Times

The next night, after a lot of hard yakka in the field, assistant coach Jeetan Patel said, without flinching, "nothing is impossible" with this team.

From BBC

England can look forward to some hard yakka.

From BBC

Never has a day of hard yakka been made to seem so much fun.

From BBC