What it means
Jandals are the Kiwi word for flip-flops, those rubber sandals with the bit that sits between your toes. The name started as a New Zealand brand twist on Japanese sandals, then escaped into everyday speech and never looked back. In NZ, saying jandals sounds dead normal. Saying thongs might get you a laugh or a raised eyebrow.
Usage examples
"Grab your jandals, bro, it’s boiling. We’ll swing by the dairy for a blue V and head down the beach before it gets dark."
"Chuck your jandals on and grab the chilly bin, we are heading to the beach before the tide comes in."
"Oi, you can't rock up to the servo barefoot, chuck your jandals on first."
"Left my jandals by the bach door and the dog's nicked one again, absolute menace."
"Bro, I did the whole supermarket run in jandals and socks, fully gave up on looking respectable."
Where it comes from
Jandals is a New Zealand coinage built from Japanese sandals. It was first used in the late 1950s by a Kiwi importer as a brand name for this style of sandal. The trademark stuck so hard that the word went generic, and now it’s the everyday NZ name for flip-flops.
Other ways to say it
This expression also appears in
