yakka
/ˈjakə
/(also yacker)
noun [mass noun] Australian /NZ informal
Work, especially of a strenuous physical kind: it was their hard yakka that built this place when the yakka is over, the kip begins...
- Yet for real hard yakka the plight of the servants, valets and other assorted members of staff stands alone.
- We do that every day of our lives; it's bloody hard yakka, even if you don't want to do it, it's pushed on you.
- Most of the journalistic hard yakka on the subject has been done by the FT and some of the best reporting on it has been in The Economist.
Origin
From Yagara (an extinct Aboriginal language of Queensland) yaga 'to work'.