2. (adjective) be pretty good, not too bad - a colloquialism used to say that a person, or something a person has done, is good or quite good and perhaps better than expected.
He autaia tonu te kōhine rā ki te kōrero Māori. / The girl over there is pretty good at speaking Māori.
3. (modifier) pretty good, not too bad.
Arā anō ētahi tāngata autaia nei te matatau ki te reo (HM 2/1994:3). / There are some other people who are pretty fluent in the language.
Synonyms: nanakia, tōna [pai] nei
4. (modifier) difficult, troublesome - when used before a noun.
Ko ngā taitamariki tonu i kaha ki te whakawai i ō rātou pakeke ki te hokohoko i ō rātou whenua. Ka noho kino te iwi. Tautohetohe tonu ngā tamariki ki ngā pakeke. Ko Rāniera Te Iho-o-te-rangi rāua ko Te Mānihera Te Rangi-taka-i-waho me te tama anō hoki a Te Hiko, me Wī Tāmehana ngā autaia totohe nei (TTR 1990:190) / It was the younger youths who urged their elders to sell their lands. This caused conflict amongst the tribe. The children argued with the elders. Rāniera Te Iho-o-te-rangi and Te Mānihera Te Rangi-taka-i-waho along with Te Hiko's son, Wī Tamehana, were involved in this troublesome dispute.
5. (noun) fellow, bloke, guy, chap, tricky character - sometimes implies a sense of mischief.
I reira ngā koroheke o Taranaki e kōhumuhumu, e tūmatakuru ana ki te whakahīhī rawa o te autaia nei, kei te tamariki tonu ka tū ki te marae o te Kīngi (TTR 2000:30). / There the Taranaki elders were whispering and in consternation at the arrogance of this bloke, who was still a child daring to stand on the King’s marae.
6. (noun) amazing contraption, wondrous sight, extraordinary thing - a term used for something strange, unusual, unfamiliar or awesome. Sometimes a sense of humour is involved in the use of the term.
Katahi ka rere taua autaia nei. Aeha! Me te aha? Me te uira ka hiko i te rangi tōna rite o te haere. Kīhai i mau i te kanohi te hopu te āhua o ngā otaota me ngā rākau o taua whenua i te tere o te haere o taua rerewē (TWMNT 19/5/1874:138). / Then that amazing contraption sped on. Amazing! What was it like? It travelled like the lightning in the heavens. The eye could not catch the appearance of the vegetation and the trees of the land, such was the speed of the train.
