What is the meaning of hoon in Australia?

The meaning of hoon in Australia is reasonably close to that of boy racer everywhere else. In Australian slang, hHooning is driving flashily, noisily and dangerously, while attempting stunts.

When you first hear the term, it’s easy to think that hoon is synonymous with hooligan in Australia. But the meaning of hoon in Australia is a little more honed-in than that.

Hooligan or thuggish behaviour can cover a wide gamut, from shouting at grannies in city centres to throwing café chairs around after a football match. So what is a hoon in Australia?

Meaning of hoon in Australia

A hoon is something more specific. And hooning, generally, involves cars.

Burned out van — When hooning goes wrong…

The generally accepted meaning of hoon in Australia is someone who indulges in dangerous, attention-seeking behaviour behind the wheel. A hoon is someone going recklessly fast to show off, or doing skids and doughnuts. Hooning is noisy, anti-social and sometimes puts other road users at risk.

Hoons are almost always young men, and very often ones who have added personalisations to their cars. They soup the cars up, then are so eager to show that their car is souped up that they do tiresomely childish stunts on the roads.

Hoons vs bogans in Australian slang

The car-centricity of hooning means there is a degree of crossover between the meaning of hoon and the meaning of bogan. Boganism is a much more wide-ranging, proudly anti-cultural thing, though. Someone with a mullet and blue singlet is very likely to be a bogan, but not necessarily a hoon as well. In fact, some hoons can be pretty snappily-dressed. The showy fashion is an extension of the showy car.

Probably the closest definition of hoon that would be recognised elsewhere is boy racer. It’s not an exact fit, though, as boy racer antics while driving are generally about speed rather than exhibition.

More Australian slang

driving slang