Questions tagged [slang]
Questions about “Language of a highly colloquial type, considered as below the level of standard educated speech, and consisting either of new words or of current words employed in some special sense.” [OED: 𝒔𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒈]
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What is the native word for describing an expression or gesture
What will be the perfect word for expressing huff, pride or sulking like when children angry with their parents and sit in the corner and don't want to talk with them . What word generally a native ...
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How do I distinguish wanting something to happen vs predicting it will happen? [closed]
This question comes from arises from cases of shipping as in (romantic) relationship - ping; The Psychology of Shipping and The Psychology of Shipping.
What happened was that I saw this forum where 1 ...
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Bot, za and the like
The trend of using the last part of words, bot for robot or za for pizza for instance, appears to be from the late ‘60s as suggested by Etymonline:
The method of minting new slang by clipping ...
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What does "You can step" mean?
It's from the movie Love Jones (1997)
Two black men talking about one of them bringing to a party a woman despite that he's married. Here's their conversation:
"But you're married and all".
...
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What is the meaning of "if you would on your little diagram" in the following context?
What is the meaning of "if you would on your little diagram" in the following context?
if you would on your little diagram here, I'd like you to go ahead and actually sketch out the parts ...
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Is “I'm working totes” new slang?
I was reading a New York Times article about a Dollar General employee who was fired from her job in Tampa, Florida, when her TikTok videos went viral. In these videos, the retail store manager ...
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What does "careabouts" mean?
What does "careabouts" mean? I saw it in a LinkedIn video regarding jobs, workplace, etc.
I searched all dictionaries but got nothing! I even got nothing on Google! Like such a thing doesn't ...
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Does anyone know the expression "Aye Gannies" (or perhaps the spelling is "I gonees")
Growing up in the Missouri Ozarks we had a neighbor named Hicks who used this expression. One of Mr. Hick's frequent and unique expressions was, “I Gannies” (the “a” was short). The only other times ...
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What does "arse-knit" mean?
In Alan Hollinghurst's 2004 novel The Line of Beauty, winner of the 2004 Man Booker Prize, there appears the term arse-knit. What does it mean?
In context, it seems to be some kind of uncomfortable ...
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What is Dickens’ “fly-catcher”?
This is a passage from Dickens’ Little Dorrit, chapter 11. Emphasised words relate to the question below.
‘Ah Heaven, then,’ said she. ‘When the boat came up from Lyons, and brought the news that the ...
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An English expression for the easiness with which fish are caught
Is there an English word or phrase whose meaning indicates how lucky a person is to get a fish to bite?
In my local language, we have a phrase specific to fishing: "clom-giriwil". 'Clom' ...
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What is the origin of the idiom of “to stick it to someone”? [duplicate]
My cursory review so far has only been able to uncover the fact that dictionaries can’t even have a consensus on the exact meaning of it, and they differ substantially in how they define it.
Collins — ...
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Meaning of "The devil with you"
What does the expression "The devil with you" mean in this paragraph?
“Yes, yes, I know all about it. Your dear sainted mother is the only woman you’ll ever let into your heart, more’s the ...
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What do you call a newbie individual investor in the stock market?
Is there some slang word for a newbie individual investor in the stock market? For example, in Russia, we call them "hamsters", that is, these are people who have just entered the stock ...
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What does the expression "He went white ribbon when I was ten" mean?
I just watched the movie 'Nightmare Alley' and, in one of the scenes, the main character when describing his childhood with an alcoholic father says:
He went white ribbon when I was ten.
What does ...
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You [adjective] vs you are [adjective] [closed]
I've been wondering, why sometimes you don't say the verb in sentences, like "you stupid" instead of "you're stupid" or even "you are stupid"? What does it change? Is ...
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What is it called when you call someone on the phone over and over again? [closed]
What is it called when you call someone on the phone over and over again? I'm looking for a slang word or phrase.
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Is there a word for someone who sells false hope to calm nerves?
Rainmaking is a superstitious belief that performing a dance will make rain come. I guess it's somewhat analogous to the term snake oil salesman but, whereas snake oil salesman sell their bill of ...
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Is there an English equivalent of the Scots usage of "boak" (meaning retch) as a noun?
"Boak" is a Scots word that means "retch" (or vomit), and like retch it can be used as a verb, i.e. "that makes me want to boak" means "that makes me want to retch&...
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"Screw" slang terms — are any socially acceptable?
There are a number of slang terms that use the term "screw". Pulling from an answer on this site:
screw-based [slang terms] abound: you can screw something up (mess it up), you can be ...
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What is the origin of the phrase "circular firing squad"?
I've found many definitions online of the term, which the OED says is "used in reference to a situation in which a group of people are engaged in self-destructive internal conflicts and mutual ...
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How did "sand" come to mean courage/pluck?
How come sand means courage/pluck?
There isn't much information available on the Internet regarding its etymology.
With word etymologies I think the buck stops with the redoubtable World Wide Words, ...
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Scottish use of "and them" as a subject
Living in Scotland, I am accustomed to hearing "and them" used in non-controversial constructions such as "We are going to see Fiona and them for Christmas", where "them" ...
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Where should I add "ing" in the short form? [duplicate]
RTFM = Read the f***ing manual
I can say to someone "please RTFM" which would mean "please Read the f***ing manual"
How do I say it in short form when I want to say I have done it?
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Can you wind the wind? Can you tear a tear? Can you lead to lead? What are these examples called? [duplicate]
These words are spelled the same. These words sound different. These words have different meanings.
This question can be answered and is about learning English. We really speak American in the United ...
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What does "Oh snap" mean?
May I ask, what does "oh snap" mean please?
I heard it from the DIY Art competition, when the competitors were waiting for the judges to announce who's the winner.
Competitor A said: I'm ...
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Would you use 'bender' to describe a person? [closed]
We know 'bender' as a period of time which one spends excessively drunk (or maybe high), and "a person or thing which bends," and Bender, the robot on "Futurama," but would -- or ...
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What does “white spade” mean in this context?
This is a lyric in the Tom Waits song Heart Attack and Vine - “white spades hanging on a telephone wire”. Does anyone know what this means? I found online that “white spade” refers to an old type of ...
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What does this name "X Perry Ment" mean? [closed]
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I read this sentence in a book named Eyewitness testimony：
It gradually becomes evident that the article is satirical when the reader learns that the trial took place on April Fool’s Day, that the ...
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Why does "tarrier" as an American job title not appear in OED or Merriam-Webster?
The folksong "Drill Ye Tarriers Drill" is well-known:
Wikipedia Drill Ye Tarriers Drill.
The title refers to Irish workers, drilling holes in rock to blast out railroad tunnels. It may mean ...
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Origin of the Expression: "Yes, Harriet"
When I was a child (in the 1970s) when my mother asked my father to do something that he had already planned to do, he would say "Yes, Harriet". Can anyone tell me where this expression &...
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Legitimacy of the word "imput"
I see Merriam Webster defines "imput" as a "variant of input" but no other dictionaries have entries (unless you count the Urban Dictionary's "The usual idiotic misspelling of ...
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What is the general name/description for what I thought was "Makeout Creek"?
In The Simpsons, and many old movies from/set in the 1950s, there is a common scene where a couple sits in a parked car at what appears to be a high hill, in the evening or night, looking out over the ...
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"Ain't no thang but a chicken wang."
I understand that phrase to mean, "it's not difficult," but what is the metaphor with chicken wings? Where does this phrase come from?
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What does it mean by "Done Diddly doo do" [closed]
What does it mean by "Done Diddly doo do"
I have heard people saying this after a meeting or at the end of the meeting.
Alright folks we are done diddly doo do.
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How did "combo" arise as an abbreviation for "combination"? [duplicate]
I am interested in the shortening of "combination" to "combo." I understand the etymology of "combination," and it's clear to me how "comb-" would be used taken ...
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He had his ears bored
I’m reading The Underground Railroad by Coleson Whitehead. Early in the first chapter he writes:
“Her last husband had his ears bored for stealing honey. The wounds gave up pus until he wasted away.”
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What does this bit of Cockney mean?
In the 2nd episode of the 3rd season of Would I Lie To You?, a fragment is shown from a 1985 episode of London Weekend Television's The Six O'Clock Show, with someone purporting to be a former Teddy ...
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Can 'An ass that won't quit' connote stubbornness?
I've tracked down a potential folk etymology of "butt that won't quit" from the phrase 'legs that won't quit', but I can't attest that in a dictionary anywhere.
My question comes from my ...
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Understanding "ain't no fun when the rabbit got the gun"
"ain't no fun when the rabbit got the gun"
I came across the above slang recently. The explanation I could find on line is
Someone being butthurt over having something, they do to others ...
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"Truth" as a reply instead of "True"
I think this sentence is grammatically correct:
You need a new pair of glasses.
True.
However, I've heard sometimes someone says Truth instead of True:
You need a new pair of glasses.
Truth.
Is ...
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Is the phrase "he sucks in something..." offensive in UK? And US? How this can also be expressed? [closed]
The literal translation of the slang "He sucks", in some languages, can have a very different meaning.
First: is it offensive or it's ok to say?
Second: how can we say the same in UK/US but ...
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meaning of "giddy-up"
I'm reading The Sellout by Paul Beatty. It says:
"All I know is that I’m pre-black. Dickens born and raised. Homo sapiens OG Crip from the goddamn
primordial giddy-up, nigger."
What does &...
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Origin of 'gin up'
I have been reading the Ken Follet 'Century' saga, and came across a usage I had not seen before. Supposedly in the words of an American...
He had different governmental departments working together ...
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Are there any words or terms when 'a small daughter dancing with her dad with her feet on top of his'?
I'm writing my story and I had the idea to have both the characters to dance with one of them standing on the other's feet. But whenever I tried to search the word or term nothing showed up. The only ...
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"Сделать на отъебись" in English [duplicate]
There's an obscene yet often used expression in Russian which sounds exactly like this:
"Сделать что-то на отъебись"
Which means you do/create/complete something just enough so that it ...
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Not everything is about you [closed]
What does it actually mean when people say "Not everything is about you."
when they use it?
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How do I use "It's none of your business"? [closed]
I don't know how to use the phrase "it's none of your business" in everyday English or slang, please help me?
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Meaning of "gamecock" when referring to a person [closed]
I was watching a south korean drama (Youth of may), second episode, and the scene is:
The guy is waiting at the restaurant for a blind date. The girl arrives late and as soon as she seats in front of ...
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A to the B to the C: some kind of slang [closed]
I've often heard, especially in songs where slang is commonly used (pop, rap, etc.), people use a weird structure: something like "A to the B to the C...", where A, B, C, etc. are usually ...
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