Tagged Questions
-1
votes
2answers
306 views
Why are animal names used as vulgar slang for body parts?
Asking this question in strict propriety out of genuine curiosity, why is that in (American) English animal-related names are used for vulgar names for the private body parts? In fact, all of the ...
2
votes
3answers
121 views
To give someone the 411
"To give someone the 411" is short for information but is this phrase common in the US and/or in Britain and is it still up to date or outdated?
1
vote
1answer
104 views
How should I use the phrasal verb “to d**k around”?
To waste time
Stop dicking me around and get to the point.
Would you please stop dicking around with her?
To take advantage of
You're dicking him around, you know?
Don't ...
6
votes
2answers
265 views
Is it derogatory or offensive to call a detective a dick?
The word dick is generally considered offensive and is marked so in dictionaries. But there is also a meaning of detective that it carries. I usually find no derog indication for this meaning.
Is it ...
1
vote
1answer
61 views
“Sport” as an informal appellation
I was watching a film ostensibly set during the American Progressive Era (1900 to 1918 or so), in which two teenaged boys used the line
"Ah, be a sport, Charlie!"
That got me to thinking, was ...
3
votes
2answers
261 views
Why do exciting things “rock”?
Rock (v):
6.
Slang. to be very good, impressive, exciting, or effective: This show really rocks.
So where did this odd usage originate?
2
votes
3answers
755 views
How commonly does “done” replace “did”?
How common is it for native English speakers to actively replace the past tense 'did' with the past participle 'done'? I used to think it was only really done in rather vulgar dialects, but I have ...
9
votes
3answers
1k views
Is “how come” slang?
Sample Conversation:
A: How are you?
B: I am mad.
A: How come?
I thought that how come was a logical word choice but upon speaking with somebody for whom English is a second language, ...
2
votes
4answers
716 views
What is “generation X” and “generation Y”?
Why are we called Generation Y?
What's Generation X anyway?
What about Baby Boomers?
5
votes
8answers
1k views
Can the word “special” have a negative connotation?
I am involved with a group that works with children aged about 7, who've been through some difficult things. One of the sessions focuses on how "every one of you is special".
Recently, somebody's ...
5
votes
3answers
456 views
Is “girls” a suitable complementary term to go along with “guys”?
Trying to keep the discussion about language and meaning, and hopefully not getting socio-political, is "girls" a valid counterpart for "guys", as in "guys and girls"? The intention is to describe a ...
4
votes
3answers
1k views
Where did the phrase “shut up” as an expression of disbelief or amazement originate?
I recently heard shut up used according to this definition in Urban dictionary.
shut·up (shuht-up)
--interjection
1. An expression of disbelief.
2. Amazement; astonishment.
I've only ...
9
votes
2answers
681 views
'Ours' meaning 'our home' - where is it used outside the UK, if anywhere?
In expressions like:
Let's go back to ours and have some food.
There's a party at ours on Friday.
There's a bottle of brandy at yours, isn't there?
'ours' and 'yours' are synonyms for ...
10
votes
3answers
335 views
Origin of the word “spraunce”
I was recently talking to someone who said a restaurant was spraunce, meaning it was well-presented and high-quality (that being the sense I was familiar with). We briefly discussed the fact that he ...
12
votes
2answers
600 views
Guidelines for the use of the slang term “cise”
I heard an unfamiliar regional slang word used thusly:
I'm gonna go cise (rhymes with ice) me a sandwich and then I'll be back.
When I questioned the user, the speaker insisted it has been ...
14
votes
2answers
4k views
People's names as names for genitalia?
How did Peter, the surname, Johnson, and the nicknames for William(Willy) and Richard(Dick), come to mean penis? Was the first instance of these usages, related to a specific person?
Are there more ...
