Slang is a type of language that consists of words, and phrases, that are regarded as very informal.
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If the English language is always evolving, why do we need to learn and follow grammatical rules? [closed]
Since language evolves over time — the best example I can think of is slang where it mostly doesn't follow grammar rules — why is there a need to preserve grammar or stress that proper ...
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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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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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“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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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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10answers
894 views
Origin of “hating on”
What is the origin of the slang phrase hating on?
Google Trends suggests that the phrase did not enter the lexicon until early 2009. I'm curious where the phrase originated.
As Stefano Palazzo ...
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4answers
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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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4answers
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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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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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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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3answers
771 views
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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5answers
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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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2answers
3k views
What is the origin of the word “wog”?
Some friend of mine told me it was an acronym for "western oriental gentleman" and was a form of sarcastic politeness. Is this true, and is it offensive to use this word?
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1answer
689 views
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 ...
0
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0answers
388 views
“She’s got a ticket to ride, but she don’t care” — why? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
The grammaticality of “that don't impress me much”
In the famous Beatles song Ticket to ride, it is said of the protagonist that “she don’t care”. Why ...
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10answers
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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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2answers
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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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5answers
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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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4answers
320 views
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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8answers
568 views
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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4answers
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Where does the phrase “No skin off my teeth/nose” come from?
The phrase "it's no skin off my nose/teeth" is generally used to mean that something isn't much of a risk/concern. But where does it come from? Specifically with respect to teeth. What is tooth skin?
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2answers
276 views
What is the origin of “oh noodles!”
Noodles are tasty. I like them, but why are they also used as an exclamation of dismay in the following?
Oh Noodles!
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6answers
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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 ...
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3answers
649 views
Use of “them” as an article, not a pronoun
I've seen a lot of times the pronoun them used like an article. For example, in the title of the Delta Rhythm Boys Them bones, or in the first sentence of "Money for nothing":
Now look at them ...
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2answers
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Origin of the phrase “for the win”?
Just curious as to where "for the win" (commonly abbreviated FTW) originated?
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1answer
170 views
What is the term for giving an action or phenomenon somebody's name, e.g. “Doing a Lord Lucan”?
A friend of mine is keen on taking the glory (or adverse publicity!) when something goes wrong on a job he's working on and he likes to give it his name, e.g., "this is turning into a right Simpson of ...
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3answers
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How do American dialects differ?
I grew up in a very homogenous suburb, and was quite shocked when I moved to Philadelphia for college and started hearing how many different dialects exist even within one city. My untrained ear could ...
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2answers
676 views
Where does the phrase “dead simple” originate?
It feels like there should be a story behind it, or perhaps a type of slang, but I can't find anything in various Web searches.
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2answers
700 views
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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10answers
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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 ...
9
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1answer
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How did the slang meaning of “flog” come about?
I've searched multiple dictionaries and Etymonline but the only origin for "flog" that I can find is:
1670s, slang, perhaps a schoolboy shortening of L. flagellare "flagellate."
This clearly ...
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4answers
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Are the acronyms FYI, BTW, LOL, WTF now considered “normal” words?
Are these "words" moving out of the elitist slang stage and into popular usage? It is hard for me to tell, because in the techie culture I work in they are ubiquitous. However, I've tried them out ...
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7answers
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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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4answers
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Where did the phrase “batsh*t crazy” come from?
I am curious how this term came to be. I've found this question on various forums, but none of them seem to agree where the term came from. The most popular explanation seems to come from "bat in the ...
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6answers
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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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3answers
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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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3answers
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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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3answers
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Are the terms “welsh” or “welch” (as in reneging on a bet) derogatory toward the Welsh people?
From the casual research I've done, it's assumed to be offensive (like "gyp" for Gypsies), but I've not found anything definitive. I'm also curious when it first entered the language with this ...
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4answers
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Are Pounds Sterling referred to as squid (in addition to quid)
Commonly pounds are called quid,
but I've come across references to pounds as
squid
Is that a typo or actually a common usage?
Example from Football forums:
It is believed they have ...
10
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7answers
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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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2answers
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Would sir like something for the weekend?
"Something for the weekend" is a euphemism heard in barber shops, when the above phrase is used to enquire of a customer whether he would like a packet of condoms. Does anyone know how this phrase ...
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2answers
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'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 ...
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3answers
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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 ...
7
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1answer
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Why would you write “ain't”? Isn't it a contraction only used in spoken English?
I often hear in English conversation or movies the contraction "ain't" (for "isn't"), but I am more surprised to see it in writing (and I am not referring to a novel, where I can understand its usage: ...
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2answers
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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 ...
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3answers
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Origin and scope of “cruft”
I just had to look up "cruft" (jargon for software or hardware that is of poor quality), as used in a comment to an earlier question.
But I can't find any details of etymology, and I don't know how ...
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3answers
490 views
“Fixing to…” at the beginning of a sentence
Use of "Fixing to ..." at the beginning of a sentence is prevalent in southern USA. Is this the right usage? And is this only a southern US thing?
Examples:
Fixing to call her.
Fixing dinner.
...
5
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2answers
249 views
Origin of “to be into [someone] for [a sum of money]”
"He's into me for fifty quid" means "He owes me fifty pounds". It's common enough in the UK, but I'm fairly sure I've heard it in American movies too (bucks or grand there, not quid, obviously), so I ...
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8answers
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What would you call a person who is not a student, but takes interest in exploring academic topics?
A person who is not formally enrolled as a student, researcher or faculty in some university or college but who takes interest in exploring academic topics/stuff. For e.g. Such a person could be ...
5
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2answers
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Is “premises” always plural?
On-premises ... On-premise
I see these terms frequently used to describe software systems hosted within a company's datacenter vs. software systems hosted externally by a third party (in the ...
