Slang is a type of language that consists of words, and phrases, that are regarded as very informal.
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What is a plausible etymology of “dosh”, a British slang word for money?
Neither Wikitionary nor The Online Etymology Dictionary seem to know anything.
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What is the definition and origin of “imba”?
I often hear the phrase, "That is imba" in the video gaming community. It seems to refer to something powerful or unskillful:
Hunters are so imba.
Grenade launchers are imba!
But I have ...
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Is it better to be “hung like a pike” or “hung like a stickleback”?
More from the British movie The Football Factory. The background is that the main character and his best friend have picked up these two girls at a bar; things proceed swimmingly, and the two head ...
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How serious an insult is “wanker” in British English? [NSFW]
In the spirit of this question, "How profane is it to call someone a
'slag' in British English", how insulting is "wanker" in British English on the spectrum of profanities and vulgarities? What's ...
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What exactly does it mean to “mug somebody off” in British English?
I tried looking this up at the Urban Dictionary, but it gave only one net-upvoted definition, and that definition wasn't even clear. The background for my question is coming my watching from a movie ...
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What exactly does “fap” mean? [NSFW]
Sorry for the ridiculous question, but I can't understand the difference between fap and masturbation. Does fap mean the whole progress?
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Origin of “I can haz”?
I see some domain names have "icanhaz" in them. I think there must be some story behind it. Do you guys know?
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How offensive is it to call someone a “slag” in British English? (NSFW)
One more colorful slang term I gleaned from the British movie I recently watched is slag. In the movie, it was used in curses like, "Fuck-ing dogs! Slags." "Right slag, that one."
Now I know via ...
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In what contexts would one use the slang word “minging” in British English?
I was watching a Youtube video on English accents, and in the middle of a Yorkshire one, I think, the author of the video used the word "minging", in what seemed to be an insult. So I have two ...
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A polite substitution for “lamer”
Is there a polite word that can be used to designate someone who didn't really understand what he or she was doing? Or, in general, someone who is intentionally ignorant of how things work. A "lamer" ...
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Slang words for body parts [closed]
We all know the various slang words for bottoms, boobs and genitalia. Those are well covered here already. This question relates to slang words for the other parts of the body.
What common slang ...
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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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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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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 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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On the specifics of illegitimate children
Is there a feminine form of the word bastard? It seems like bastard is a word that’s applied to male children only.
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How did the word “beaver” come to be associated with vagina?
What is the etymology of the word beaver as it relates to a woman's vagina?
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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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Is the phrase “move over” an official English idiom? And if so, is it only in American English?
Is the phrase "move over" an official English idiom known worldwide? I would like to know:
Is it an official English idiom (not slang or colloquial)?
Is it known outside of the US (e.g. in the UK, ...
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Is there a name for the kind of sounds commonly found in profanities?
Fuck. Shit. Bitch. Cunt. I remember reading somewhere -- a very long time ago -- that these "hard" sounds are virtually necessary in profanities. The explanation I roughly remember is that because ...
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Why does “I got 'busted' for smoking weed” mean 'caught'?
How did the word 'busted' morph into a synonym for 'caught'?
Busted, down on Bourbon Street,
Set up, like a bowling pin.
Knocked down, it gets to wearin' thin
They just won't let you be....
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Etymology of “far out”
Where does the expression "far out" come from?
As in:
I had to phone someone so I picked on you /
Hey, that's far out so you heard him too! /
Switch on the TV we may pick him up on channel ...
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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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What does it mean when someone calls himself “non sequitur”?
Coming from my answer to question Is there a better noun form of “unreasonable” than “unreasonableness?”
What does it mean when someone calls himself "non sequitur"?
Examples:
"I AM NON ...
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What does “country fellows” actually mean?
I searched on Internet for country fellows, but I couldn't find definition. What is the origin and the real meaning of country fellows?
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Is 'learn' the new 'teach'?
With seemingly increasing frequency I come across a phrase using 'learn' when I think it should be 'teach'.
The classic example is 'that will learn them!', as in "Shoot all criminals - that will ...
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Where does “can't be arsed” come from?
I've only heard it from Kiwis, but I am told it's used in other countries as well: "I can't be arsed" means (IIUC) "I can't be bothered". Where could the expression come from? It's the only ...
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Do any non-transitive (in a mathematical sense) slang terms exist?
Are there any words that are slang for another word which is itself a slang term for something else, but the secondary slang term is not slang for the original word?
That is, given words Y and Z, ...
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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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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 common is “fugly”?
"Fugly" is a vulgar slang adjective as far as I know, and I wonder how common it is, and how do people react when they hear that word. Native speakers are appreciated if they share their opinions.
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Why is “bloody” considered obscene in the UK but not in the US?
Why is the word bloody considered obscene in the UK but not so in the US?
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Frequent use of word not found in dictionary, “programatically.”
Here's a word I see often on StackOverflow, "programatically."
Used to indicate that a programmer intends to do something within the code of a program, rather than through user interaction.
For ...
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What was slang for “absentminded” before “space cadet”?
What was slang for "absentminded" before "space cadet"?
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Non-sexual meaning of “to have a hard-on for someone”
What does it mean to "have a hard-on for someone" in a non-sexual sense? I've heard it used in contexts that make it seem like the subject is acting aggressive or belligerent toward "someone". Is that ...
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Why are people from Sunderland called “mackems”?
In the north-east of England, if nowhere else, people from Sunderland are called "mackems". Does anyone know why this should be? Wikipedia suggests a number of possibilities. Are any of these correct?
...
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What does the phrase “…it's like Groundhog Day every day” mean, and from whence does it originate?
Some background first: I was reading about the futility that has become the Cleveland Cavaliers' NBA season after Lebron James' departure in the newspaper of the Plains Dealer, when I came across this ...
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“Hot Diggity …”
Ok, perhaps the last one was too easy :) Here's one that a friend of mine uses, and I'd love to know if it's something he coined, or is it a more common expression than I think:
Hot ...
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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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Why is “ass” considered obscene?
Spam filters replace obscene "Ass" for "butt"
Meanwhile, in literature, newspaper articles, forum posts, sayings, proverbs, etc. I am encountering many more expressions with ass but not with butt. ...
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Why should I say 'One Hundred' when 'Hundred' seems enough?
I just want to know whether both the usages are right or not. Also, do these usages depend on geography?
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Pronunciation of voiceless alveolar fricative /s/ as ʃ (/sh/) in slang?
Observed some words get pronounced with a /sh/ rather than /s/ in certain situations.
Stripes as "Shtripes" (from some "The Wire" episode)
Screw it as "shcrew it" (from a rap song)
In both ...
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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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“Give me one half of that” Vs. “give me half of that”
I can't remember when and where I had this discussion, but I remember being corrected when I was speaking by a stranger saying that it is never correct to say give me half of this; instead, the ...
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Are there any current examples of English “Back-Slang”?
Other languages feature words pronounced as their inverse (such as verlan and fika). What are some examples of this in English? The closest example I can think of it Pig Latin.
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What's the deep meaning in the lyrics of “Heavy Traffic” by Elton John?
In the lyrics, some pieces I couldn't understand very well:
Shakey wake up thirsty from a night in the bar
And snake hips Joe is Mr. Cool
What's snake hips? And, does the name Joe have a ...
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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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Question regarding the usage of “Bang”
Can anyone shed some light on the origin of the use of the word "Bang" to imply a positive adjective?
For example, here are three colloquial phrases which use the word bang to lend strength to the ...
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Long lived slang
Every year new slang words enter the popular lexicon but which ones actually 'stick'? Every since I can remember, 'cool' has been an acceptable word whereas 'groovy' passed out of usage in the 70s. Is ...
