Slang is a type of language that consists of words, and phrases, that are regarded as very informal.
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What is the origin of ZOMG?
I have looked in a number of places, with contradicting results.
The Urban Dictionary provides a whopping 73 "explanations", of which I will quote just a few. (Original spelling and punctuation ...
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Differences between slang words for breasts
What is the difference between “tits” and “boobs”?
P.S. I'm not sure if this question is appropriate but as English is not my native language I really would love to know the difference.
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What is meant by “don't piss on my boots and tell me it's raining”?
I have heard a couple of times recently the phrase "don't piss on my boots and tell me it's raining", usually in the context of a heated argument so I've hesitated to ask speaker what exactly he meant ...
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Why “job” in “nut job”
Why are crazy people called nut jobs? Why are they called a job? Wiktionary is of no help here.
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How bad is the f-word, really?
I am confused: on the one hand, many of my native-speaker friends keep telling me that the f-word is very, very bad. Much worse than the s-word for example. On the other hand, I see it being used ...
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“A whole nother” way of looking at things
People say this so much (instead of "another whole" way, etc.) that I wonder how it got started. How did "another whole..." get changed to "a whole nother..."?
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Is “Yankee” derogatory?
I have heard of the term "Yankee" often referring to people in the Northern U.S. by Southerners. My question is: is this term considered derogatory or offensive and should it be avoided in formal ...
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Why do we “get cold feet”?
A sudden loss of nerve when embarked on a venture is called cold feet. Does anyone know why that should be? An etymology is suggested at englishdaily626.
If your 'feet' are 'cold', you can't walk ...
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What's the origin of “yo”?
I have some friends, and they say “Yo!” when I call them. I haven”t heard this response until quite recently (somehow), and I thought it was some word coined by rappers in their songs, and was adopted ...
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How derogatory is “chicks” when used to refer to women?
A comment in “What is a feminine version of guys?” got me wondering: how derogatory is the use of chicks to refer to women (either in general, or to a specific group). To me (I'm a man), it was quite ...
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What does “packing heat” mean?
I believe it means “to carry a weapon”, but I would also like the phrase origins, if possible. So the full question is:
What is the meaning of the phrase “packing heat” and what are its origins?
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“Knocked up” to mean “woken up”
I'm reading some Sherlock Holmes stories (don't judge - it's good vacation reading) and Conan Doyle has Holmes saying things like "Sorry to knock you up, Watson..." which I'm finding very... odd. ...
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Why do we “paint the town red”?
Why is the phrase "paint the town red" used to mean go on a colossal drinking spree? Does anyone know where it came from?
Green's Slang Dictionary tentatively suggests a famous toot by the Marquis of ...
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The use of “hey” in North America
Having had my formative years in New Zealand, I was born in South Africa. I vaguely recall when I was VERY young having someone tell me when I said "hey" that "hay is what horses eat".
I got that ...
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Difference between “retro” and “vintage”
What's the difference between retro and vintage? (or antique for that matter)
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Where did “wired” come from?
I am not a coffee drinker, but I just drank some coffee. I said to my Hispanic friend, "I am WIRED!" and had to explain what the slang term means. However now that I think about it, that's an awfully ...
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How long has the f-word been in use as an abusive term?
When was the f-word 'invented'? Who invented it? Has it always had the derogatory meaning that it does today. Is it a recent invention?
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Why do we say “[expletive] ALL” for “nothing”?
Damn all, Bugger all, Sod all etc., etc. What does all mean here? How did the expression originate? Was there a single original term (expletive or not) preceding all in this usage?
At the risk of ...
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What's the difference between “informal”, “colloquial”, “slang”, and “vulgar”?
It seems many people get confused about the differences (and similarities) between "colloquial" and "slang", so what exactly does each term apply to?
But to be even more thorough it seems to me we ...
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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 ...
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2answers
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Is this usage of “lol” considered a hedge?
In doing some research on another question I bumped into the term "hedge":
A hedge is a mitigating device used to lessen the impact of an utterance. Typically, they are adjectives or adverbs, but ...
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A non-straight route
In informal speech, how would you describe a bus that travels from point A to point B by passing through every part of the city instead of using the straight way? When you give someone an advice which ...
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How does “pussy” come to mean “coward”?
The word pussy is often used to mean "coward".
This guy is a pussy.
and I am wondering why. How are woman's genitals related to being a "coward"?
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Is it offensive to call a redhead a “ginger”?
So I just re-watched this great comedy by Tim Minchin, and here are the questions:
How bad/offensive is the g-word
really (other than being an anagram of the n-word)?
What are alternatives? Is ...
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How old is the word “prolly”?
Prolly is given this definition at Wiktionary:
Clipped pronunciation of probably.
I was reading an interesting article today that claimed prolly dates from 1947 and that surprised me. ...
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2answers
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“I'm on the brew”
A conversation between two Scots:
— What do you do for a living?
— I'm on the brew.
Assuming that I have the phrase right, what exactly does "on the brew" mean here? Based on the context, I ...
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Is the word “wotcher” British slang? What does it mean?
I was reading a Harry Potter book the other day and one of the characters greets Harry by saying "Wotcher, Harry".
What is "Wotcher"?
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Why does “sucker” mean “unexpected” in “Sucker Punch”?
Sucker punch seems to mean "an unexpected punch" in slang. What is the origin of this term and why does sucker mean unexpected in sucker punch?
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Why “shrink” (of a psychiatrist)?
I know it originates from "head shrinking", but it doesn't help me a lot to understand the etymology. Why are psychiatrists called that? Is it like "my head is swollen [from anguish, misery, stress, ...
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Do Brits understand rhyming slang or are they sometimes puzzled by it too?
Most people know that rhyming slang is a colorful addition to British English, where someone says something that is not the intended word but rhymes with it. For example, "He was brown bread," might ...
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How do I spell the truncation 'Cas', as in 'Sports Casual/Sports Cas'?
How do I spell the truncation 'Cas', as in 'Sports Casual/Sports Cas'? It may be UK only, and may have been spawned by Alan Partridge. Cash/Cas are not right.
*As in a slang term, "he was acting all ...
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How did the slang meaning of “owned” come to be?
Why does
Dude! I just owned you!
mean that the speaker did really well against "Dude" in some sort of competition or game?
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Is “Canuck” offensive?
I was criticized the other day for using this word. It never occurred to me that it was offensive, but Wikipedia says it "may" be derogatory. Given Vancouver's hockey team, I tend to think it's ...
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What is the etymology of “cornhole”?
Since being introduced to the bean bag-toss game of the same name, I've wondered about this word. The old farm game, similar to horseshoes, has recently gained such popularity that Googling cornhole ...
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Why is a bathroom sometimes called a “john”?
"John" is sometimes used as slang for a bathroom or a toilet.
I'm curious, what is the origin of this usage?
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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 ...
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What does the term “86'd” relate to?
What does it mean when someone or something is referred to as being "86'd"?
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How to spell [ʒʊʒd] and what does it mean?
I heard this strange word in American Dad over a year ago and it's been bugging me ever since. Not only do I have no idea how it's spelt, I have no idea how it could possibly be spelt. My only guesses ...
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“Oojakapiv”: what does this word mean?
A lot of people in my family use this word, not regularly, but enough for me to ask what it means.
I know it’s not a “real word”, but how come people from different sides of my family use it? It must ...
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Use of “deadpool” as a verb
I recently came across this term while examining a set of properties in a JSON feed relating to a startup company:
...
"deadpooled_year": null,
"deadpooled_month": null,
"deadpooled_day": null,
...
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Origins of the gaming term “cheese strategy”
In a gaming scene the word cheese is used to describe strategies or ways of playing that are really powerful and do not require much skill from the players side at the same time. The term is widely ...
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What is a feminine version of “dude”?
OK . . . another one similar to "What is a feminine version of 'guys'?"
"Dude" is masculine; what is the feminine version?
The usage I'm thinking of is that "dude" nowadays is used primarily as a ...
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Is it true that “tuppence” refers to a woman's vagina in British English slang? If so, why?
I was looking up a definition online, as I often do, in this case the British slang word tuppence; I got the standard "a slang reference to a coin denomination" definition from Wikipedia, but stumbled ...
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Can the term “jack/jerk off” be used for female masturbation?
I apologize for this potentially obscene question.
Can the terms jack off or jerk off be used for female masturbation? If not (which is my intuition), what would be the not too poetic vulgar slang ...
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What is an appropriate response to “what's up” greeting?
Sorry if it's a trivial question, but when someone uses what's up as a greeting I have no idea what they want to hear. What are the possible answers and what does this question mean exactly?
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What is the origin of “call a spade a spade” and does it have racial connotations?
Now that we know how to punctuate the phrase “call a spade a spade” I am curious where it originated and what the original meaning was.
Also, the term “spade” can have negative racial connotations ...
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Is it okay to say and write “ain't” yet?
Over 10 years ago saying "ain't" was discouraged but it was gaining momentum. What happened? Seems like it's still discouraged. Maybe in another 10 years?
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“Don't got” — how common is it in American usage?
I often hear the usage "don't got" in American English as spoken on TV programmes. Recently I was watching season four of "Prison Break" and one character, an Asian computer wizard, repeatedly used ...
