Questions tagged [slang]
Slang is a type of language that consists of words, and phrases, that are regarded as very informal.
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Word for ditching someone in a taxi [on hold]
Is there a word for this sort of situation:
Jack and Jill meet for the first time, and eventually agree to return home together for "coffee". They take a taxi to Jacks house, but as they pull up and ...
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1answer
48 views
What does “<nickname, callsign or characteristic> out” mean?
What does "smartass out" mean?
This is a verb? (I know that "smartass" means, but)
I guess it means that "He pretends to be smart, and tries to show it in all ways". Yeah, im right?
Can you give ...
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0answers
14 views
“What price” and this context
There was a book version of My Fair Lady (not Shaw's Pygmalion) which, if I remember correctly, has the line in it "what price the Covent Garden cobblestones" and I think the tag "on market day" with ...
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1answer
79 views
What dialect is “You wants I should do it for ya?”
I heard this phrasing in an episode of a TV show, but I can't remember what for the life of me. I just remember how weird it sounded, because no one else talked like that in the series?
It was a ...
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1answer
32 views
Is this archaic usage or a mistake in the gutenberg version?
In the version of "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" available on gutenberg.org here, this appears:
"she told him at last that if he didn't quit using around there"
Is the use of the word "using" here ...
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1answer
33 views
Whats a word for a person who pretends to be a administrator?
For example,
person 1 is in a forms website and breaks the rules.
Person 2 who is not a administrator tries to imposternate being one by informing the rules.
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0answers
21 views
Why do some British people fail to put an article before the word “hospital”? [duplicate]
Like all English nouns, the word "hospital" is normally preceded by an article. For example, we might have a sentence like the following:
He was taken to the hospital by an ambulance.
However, I ...
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1answer
28 views
Meaning of “go cards-up on something”
I've seen this expression in an episode of Supernatural TV series:
"Do it, or I go cards-up on your whole clambake"
For me it seems he intends to tell the others about "the clambake" unless they ...
3
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1answer
39 views
“Oh for cute” - grammatical interpretation?
So I'm from Minnesota, and while most of our English is fine, we're known for a few -- shall we call them -- adaptations. One of these is the phrase "oh for <insert adjective here>".
It's used as ...
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0answers
32 views
What is a “demi” (in a university setting)
My university computer science department recently sent out a letter asking for "students to demi for our first-year modules". The letter makes mention of it several times, such as "demis must have ...
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2answers
128 views
What does “fu” mean? [closed]
Bitch niggas always jackin' blood, but I know they fu
What does "fu" mean in this context? I'm sure it isn't "fuck you".
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1answer
242 views
What is the space in between flights of stairs where you can see all the way down called?
The space between flights of stairs that is kinda like a tunnel of sorts. Or a shaft. Does it have a name? It needs a name. Maybe this should be posted on a architecture page.
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1answer
36 views
Slang word for amputee [closed]
How do you refer (informally) to someone that is missing (1) one eye (2) a leg / foot or an arm / hand. ??
Am looking for something that I can use in a translated expression... For example...
We ...
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2answers
84 views
When and where did “bad boy” start being used to mean something impressive, e.g. “Let's take this bad boy out for a spin!”
The term "bad boy" literally means a boy who is bad. Those of us who were boys and grew up speaking English are likely to have heard it applied to us, either as a description or a warning.
Somewhere ...
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0answers
43 views
Kids' slang questions
I'm ESL and have some questions on some of the phrases used in 'Dive Olly Dive!' "Hide and Seaweed" episode. Hope you can help. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yst45J7SFCI
"...it's back to SURF with ...
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1answer
25 views
'GUTS' and Cast your Guts !spell again? in this Context
I see this dialogue in Code Geass episode 3 in subtitles and I did not understand what is meant by GUTS! and Cast your Guts! spell again?
Girl1: Rivalz, Can't you take being a student council member ...
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1answer
221 views
Boo as a term of endearment
The Cambridge Dictionary defines boo as an AmE expression meaning:
(us informal) someone you care about, especially a boyfriend, girlfriend, or other close friend:
You will always be my boo....
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4answers
366 views
Where does “sport” meaning “wear” come from?
To sport something to have or wear something in a proud way:
to sport a beard,
she was sporting a T-shirt with the company's logo on it. (OLD)
The etymology of sport as a verb doesn’t ...
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1answer
34 views
An unfamiliar word ‘raked’
I had something weird happened to me not too long ago, I was texting a friend and was asking a question that isn’t super illegal but it didn’t cross any lines within the law. To cut a long story ...
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2answers
47 views
Connotations of the word Triassic [closed]
Our company is planning to name a new venture as Triassic... and our user base is native English speakers mostly in the US and rest of the world.
I wanted to check with native speakers does the word ...
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1answer
51 views
Abuse as correct, frequent use
In the context of videogames, mostly competitive, PvP videogames, it is at least somewhat common slang to say that using an ability correctly and effectively or frequently is abusing the ability.
...
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2answers
55 views
Where exactly did the slang phrase “digging it” come from
I'm a young native english speaker raised in Canada. At school me and most of my friends tend to use the phrase "Im really digging this", as to mean i'm really enjoying a specific thing or activity. ...
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1answer
36 views
Can you give me an example of metonymy using slang? [closed]
Can you use slang in an example of metonymy? For example, If I say, "his jacket is crispy" (crispy meaning really stylish). Or "put some panties on that window" (meaning roll that window up). I ...
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1answer
101 views
Synonym for “sure” and “yes please”
When somebody suggests me something (maybe offering me something, or suggesting me for a proposal/plan), and I would like to show my agreement/approval for that. Instead of just saying "sure" or "yes ...
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2answers
61 views
How to say “dulcet” in verbal English (or slang)?
For example, if somebody sitting next to me hummed or sang a song and I want to tell him that his song is dulcet, in a polite but informal manner (or even slang). How can I express that?
Should I ...
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2answers
109 views
A term for: When a taste or smell of a product is being concealed by another product
Let's say, we create a smoothie and some ingredients are much stronger than others and they literally beat out the taste/smell of the other ingredients.
a. We can't add durian because it will ...
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1answer
50 views
In the context of gambling, specifically poker, do you post a bet or place a bet?
In the context of poker a player places/posts bets. Two particular types of bets are the blinds.
I've seen "place a bet" and "post the small/big blind" but are the verbs interchangeable?
I ...
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1answer
53 views
Is “blow wise to” a dialectal/archaic phrase? What is its etymology?
But blow wise to this, buddy, blow wise to this: Never play cards with a man called Doc. Never eat at a place called Mom’s. Never sleep with a woman whose troubles are worse than your own. Never let ...
2
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1answer
65 views
On being “snatched” in slang
Connie Eble writes in UNC-CH Campus Slang 2016 on the word snatched:
looking attractive:
That outfit is snatched
This is the earliest and only record Green's Dictionary of Slang lists as a ...
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5answers
147 views
What's the opposite of “last-minute (Christmas) shopping”?
The question is in the title. I'd like to know if there is an idiom or phrase used for someone who does not buy at the “last minute”, the hyperbolic expression is often used when purchasing gifts, ...
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1answer
124 views
What does “deserve a good kicking” mean? [closed]
I encountered this expression in a passage and did not understand.
can anyone help explain? Thanks!
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1answer
392 views
Origin of the slang term “Becky” — was there originally a vulgar connotation?
Green's Dictionary of Slang provides only one 2017 citation for the slang term "becky."
use of generic name to describe a white woman who is seen as using her inborn privilege as a means of ...
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8answers
13k views
Origin, meaning, and derivation of 'boof' as a verb in U.S. slang
Recently, the following entry included in a page from a 1983 yearbook for a high school in the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area has gained considerable notoriety in U.S. politics:
Judge — Have ...
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1answer
175 views
Is the primary usage of “Daddy” sexual now? Why?
Just yesterday in chat someone intentionally misquoted Glen from Chucky, saying "dad." They then followed with:
It's technically Daddy but that seems a bit awkward.
Google ngrams shows usage of ...
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3answers
392 views
Do “brownie points” derive from food-rationed “brown points”?
The OED has this to say about "brownie points."
Brownie point n. [probably a development < brown-nose n. at brown adj. Special uses 2, but popularly associated with 2 and hence frequently ...
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2answers
412 views
meaning of '4/5' (American slang?)
What is the meaning of '4/5' in this phrase?
Azealia Banks' Insults Cardi B "You're illiterate, you're baby mama 4/5 to a man who has women crawling out of the woodworks with kids."
— ...
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11answers
10k views
When did “a buck” start being used to mean a unit of 100? (E.g. “a buck fifty” for 150 lbs.)
Before you answer, please note: I'm only interested in when this usage was established in common (American) parlance. I know what the term means and I don't need it defined, nor do I require an ...
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1answer
104 views
Is it okay to say “what ja doing?” instead of “what ya doing?”
I live in the Midwest and it is very common to hear people say "what ja doing?" instead of saying "what ya doing?" or "what are you doing?".
Is this okay? Is using the 'j' sound instead of the 'y' ...
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3answers
390 views
responsible as to her keel
In the short story, The Last Cruise of the Judas Iscariot by Edward Page Mitchel, which tells the story of Captain Cram, a sailor in Main, who builds a schooner with three masts, which was considered ...
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2answers
91 views
“sink my jig” in nautical dialect
In a short story by Edward Page Mitchel entitled The Last Cruise of the Judas Iscariot, captain Cram, a sailor from Main, tells the story of him building a schooner with three masts, which was frowned ...
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1answer
46 views
knocked clean out
In a short story entitled The Last Cruise of the Judas Iscariot by Edward Page Mitchel, Captain Cram, a sailor in Main, builds a schooner with three masts, which is considred by the town's people as a ...
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1answer
80 views
How do you “leave all the beefin' to 50”?
How does someone "leave all the beefin' to 50"?
Context
From the latest song by Richard Colson Baker "Rap Devil"
Let's leave all the beefin' to 50 (please)
Em, you're pushin' 50
You can ...
7
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1answer
111 views
What connection (if any) is there in Australian slang between 'dinkum' and 'dink' (meaning a ride on bicycle handlebars)?
In an answer to the recent question, What is the American equivalent of a "backie"? site participant Chappo notes that in Australia the word dink is sometimes used as a noun to mean "a lift ...
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2answers
183 views
What ever happened to “fink”?
(Child of the 70's here...) While in conversation with a millenial yesterday, I used the word "fink" to describe a low, sneaky, two-faced um, fink. She'd never heard the word. "Ratfink"? Nope. "The ...
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0answers
50 views
Slang Appellation for Plastic Surgeon?
Some years ago there were a few quite amusing, albeit slightly derogatory terms for plastic surgeons.
A cursory Google has revealed but one: Sellout, which is a reasonable start. Others may exist, ...
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1answer
35 views
Is the expression “to run someone out” an actual saying?
I’ve hear it before, but can’t seem to find an actually source that says it is a common phrase used. As far as I know, it means to kick someone out. But let me know if you’ve used it before or if it ...
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4answers
208 views
Does “fu” mean weed?
Google translated "fu" as "weed" or "marijuana". However, dictionaries such as Merriam Webster and Dictionary.com don't have this definition. Does "fu" really mean "weed"?
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1answer
59 views
What does the colloquialisms 'chav' and 'scouse' mean? [closed]
I have been watching channel 4's Countdown with Jimmy Carr on youtube recently and have heard them mention these two particular colloquialisms/slang and was wondering what exactly they meant?
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3answers
621 views
The meaning and usage of ‘stiffs’ in “Of Mice and Men”
I would really appreciate it if someone could confirm whether I have interpreted correctly the meaning of “stiffs” in the following excerpt
“I had enough,” he said angrily. “You ain't wanted here. ...
3
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1answer
361 views
Victorian English slang: 'earnest' ~ 'gay'? [closed]
Is it true that Victorians would understand earnest in a slang sense to mean gay? For example, in Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest is there an assumed pun on "earnest"? This was suggested in ...
