Learn Slang

Slang Slang A. English is an amazingly adaptable language. In a single year, the Oxford Online Dictionaries adds approximately 1,000 words to our cultural lexicon, many of which stem from popular slang. New slang is always being created, some even originated out of the coronavirus pandemic. B. Truth be told, there are so many slang terms and phrases in the English language that you might probably don't even realize how frequently you use them. And while some of them just sort of popped into being, others actually have very interesting and elaborate etymologies. C. Takes the cake The phrase "takes the cake" comes from the cake walks that were popular in the late 19th century. Couples would strut around gracefully and well-attired, and the couple with the best walk would win a cake as a prize. Interestingly, cake walk was soon used to describe something that could be done very easily, and it's very possible that from there we get the phrase "piece of cake." D. Above the board When poker players keep their hands above the table, it's impossible (or at least much harder) for them to cheat by stacking the deck. The table was also called a board, so if something's above board it means it's legitimate. E. Parting shot A parting shot, which is a final insult tossed out at the end of a fight when you assume it's over, was originally a Parthian shot. The Parthians, who lived in an ancient kingdom called Parthia, had a strategy whereby they would pretend to retreat, then their archers would fire shots from horseback. Parthian sounds enough like parting, and, coupled with the fact that not a lot of people knew who the Parthians were, the phrase was changed to parting shot..

F. Dead as a doornail One could certainly argue that a doornail was never alive, but when a doornail is dead, it has actually been hammered through a door, with the protruding end hammered and flattened into the door so that it can never come loose or be removed or used again. The phrase "dead as a doornail" has actually been around since the 14th century, about as long as the word doornail has officially been in the English language. G. Down to brass tacks There are many theories about what "down to brass tacks" means, including that brass tacks is rhyming slang for hard facts. But it's very likely that the brass tacks being mentioned here are actual brass tacks. Merchants used to keep tacks nailed into their counters to use as guides for measuring things, so to get down to brass tacks would be you were finally done deciding what you wanted and were ready to cut some fabric and do some actual business. H. The phrase "it's Greek to me" is often attributed to Shakespeare, but it's been around since well before his time. An earlier version of the phrase can be found written in Medieval Latin translations, saying "Graecum est; non potest legi," or "it's Greek. . I. Pushing the envelope "Pushing the envelope" doesn't refer to an actual, physical envelope. Rather, the envelope is a mathematical one—in this case, a flight envelope. The flight envelope of an aircraft is a measure of its airspeed, load factor, or altitude capabilities. So to push the envelope would be to test the bounds of safety when flying an aircraft, not gently nudging an actual envelope across a table. J. Smart Alec You may have presumed the Alec in "smart Alec" was just a name that sounded good preceded by the word smart, but that's not necessarily the case. Professor Gerald Cohen suggested in his book Studies in Slang that the original smart Alec was Alexander Hoag, a professional thief who lived and robbed in New York City in the 1840s. Hoag was a very clever criminal who worked with his wife and two other policemen to pickpocket and rob people. He was eventually busted when he decided to stop paying the cops.

K. Heard it through the grapevine The grapevine people hear things through is a grapevine telegraph, which was the nickname given to the means of spreading information during the Civil War as a kind of wink at an actual telegraph. The grapevine telegraph is just a person-to-person exchange of information, and much like when you play a game of telephone, it's best to presume that the information you receive has gone through a few permutations since it was first shared. L. Saying you've got a beef —or are beefing—with somebody has actually been slang since the late 19th century. However, even before that, people were using beef as slang. In the 18th century, people would shout "hot beef" instead of "stop thief," and so beef gradually became synonymous with shouting, which gradually turned into arguing, and now it is mostly used to describe a feud between two people. . M. Snitch People have been using the word "snitch" to describe an informant since the late 18th century. Prior to that, snitch was a flick on the nose. Then it meant the nose itself. And since nosy people are always sticking their noses in other people's business, it wasn't long until snitch began to be used in the manner it is today. N. Bite the bullet Today, when somebody bites the bullet, they are doing something extremely unpleasant. When the phrase came into being, though, people would literally bite down on bullets. Before anesthetics were invented, soldiers would chomp down on a bullet to make it through the pain of an amputation. O. Blockbuster A blockbuster today refers to a big-budget Hollywood movie, but originally it was the name given to massive bombs used by the British in World War II, which weighed up to 12,000 pounds, that could eviscerate an entire city block. Advertisers took the word and used it describe a massive movie that would do anything but bomb. Sadly, some blockbusters still do. P. Cat's out of the bag Farmers used to stick little suckling pigs in bags to take them to market. But if a farmer was trying to rip somebody off, they would put a cat in the bag instead. So, if the cat got out of the bag, everybody was onto their ruse, which is how we use the phrase today, just not quite so literally. (We hope.)

Q. Nothing to sneeze at When something is nothing to sneeze at, it's substantial enough to warrant being taken seriously. What that has to do with sneezing seems like quite a mystery, unless you know that the word sneeze also meant snorting in addition to sneezing. So, "nothing to sneeze at" is actually "nothing to snort at in disdain." R. Icebreaker Countries used to send little boats out to break up the ice for big boats from other countries that were coming into port. This was a sign of friendliness between the countries, and now we break the ice at parties to show people we know how to be an actual conversational human being. S. Out of whack Today, "out of whack" means not quite right, but it took a long time to get there. Whack appeared in the 18th century as a word that meant to strike a blow when used as a verb. The noun whack was the blow that was whacked on something. But whack also grew to mean portion or share, especially as loot that was being split by criminals. From there, whack grew to mean an agreement, as in the agreed share of loot, but it also meant in good order. If something was behaving as it was intended to, it was "in fine whack." Eventually the opposite fell into common usage, and something that wasn't in good shape was "out of whack." T. Wicked Wicked is popular slang in New England, and the word has its roots in the Puritans who colonized the territories hundreds of years ago. Wicked was the word they used to describe people they accused of being witches, and over time the way the word was used changed much in the way words like awful and terrible have, e.g., that's awfully nice of you, or that's terribly sweet. U. Humble pie When somebody eats humble pie, they aren't eating a metaphorical pie filled with metaphorical humility that will make them feel less proud. Humble pie used to be "umble pie," which was a pie filled with the innards of game. It was food for servants or other people with lowly stations. V. Writing's on the wall The writing's on the wall is actually a reference to the book of Daniel in the Old Testament. Basically, a king named Belshazzar was really into a sinful lifestyle. After he and his pals drank from cups that had been stolen from the Temple of Solomon, an ethereal hand appeared and wrote on the wall that Belshazzar's days were numbered. And that very night he was killed.

W. Kibosh To put the kibosh on something is to shut it down. But the word kibosh possibly comes from the Gaelic word "cie bais," which is the black hat a judge would put on before sentencing somebody to be executed, which is a very extreme way to shut something down. X. Haywire If something's gone haywire it's unpredictable or difficult to control, which is exactly what actual haywire is. It's the wire that's used for hay bales, which happens to be springy and hard to maneuver. Y. Between a rock and a hard place Some people think that the phrase "between a rock and a hard place" is a kind of sloppy reference to Odysseus. But in 1921, the phrase became a popular means of describing when miners had to choose between dangerous work for little or no money or definite poverty during the Great Bankers' Panic of 1907. Z. . Buck Calling a dollar a buck hearkens back to the days when traders would use furs as currency. A buck was a deerskin. AA. Decked out The phrase "decked out" originates with the Middle Dutch word "dekken," which means to cover. It's a way of saying something is being adorned, for example, you might deck the halls with boughs of holly. So, if you are decked out, you have very thoroughly decorated yourself, basically. BB. . Balls to the wall If something is balls to the wall, it's full throttle, literally. The balls being discussed are the balls on top of the levers that controlled a plane's throttle, among other things. So, if a pilot pushed the balls to the wall, they were really going all out. CC. . Up to snuff "Up to snuff" became a popular phrase in the early 19th century, just as using snuff was becoming a disgusting habit for rich people. So, when it first started circulating, the phrase probably meant a person was worldly enough to have a snuff habit. It's possible that later it meant that a person would be able to distinguish between high and low quality snuff. Today, the phrase means that something is meeting a standard.

1. Teens in each generation develop a unique language of their own. Over the years, parents have heard terms ranging from "outta sight" and "phat," to things like "sick" and "gag me with a spoon." Every decade has been marked by its special phrases that quickly grow outdated (and might just become "cheugy") to the teens of the future. But even while being a part of youth culture (and the slang that defines it) when you're young, it can get harder and harder to keep up with the latest teen jargon by the time you're the parent of one. 2. Teen slang Trying to figure out what teens are saying is increasingly challenging, as the explosion of social media, memes, digital communication, and the ever-present-cellphone means teen-speak is evolving faster than ever. Once you think you've mastered a few phrases, you're probably already out of touch again. Some of this slang enters the mainstream vernacular—and by that point, is no longer cool—or "sic." But most of these words simply disappear as they lose favor with kids and are almost instantaneously replaced with new ones. 3. So, as "with it" and up to speed as we adults think we may be, most of us could benefit from a primer on the latest teen slang. We cover it all below, from social media acronyms and text message shorthand to code words for drugs, friends, and parties. It's important to educate yourself about common teen slang so that you understand what your teen is talking about—both online and in person. 4. General Teen slang words may be confusing to those not in the know, but most are harmless and a part of a teen's identity. Kids use these words to exert independence, sound cool, and/or to fit in with their peers. They seek to differentiate themselves from their parents and want to feel unique, free, and even revolutionary. Using slang helps teens do that while also bonding with friends.

Below are some common teen slang words you might hear: 5. AF - Stands for "as f**k," used to emphasize a statement (i.e. "she's cool AF") 6. Cheugy - Something that is out of date or a person who is trying too hard 7. Dead - Something is so funny that the speaker has "died" of laughter 8. Dope - Cool or awesome 9. Extra - Over-the-top, extreme 10. Fit - Short for outfit 11. Fire - Hot, trendy, amazing, or on point (formerly "straight fire") 12. GOAT - "Greatest of All Time" 13. Go Off - A phrase said to encourage someone to continue, usually when they're ranting about something (can also be sarcastic, as in, "but go off, I guess") 14. Gucci - Good, cool, or going well 15. Hits Different - Something that "hits different" is a lot better than normal

16. IYKYK - Stands for "if you know, you know" 17. Lit - Amazing, cool, or exciting 18. Low-Key - Added to a feeling or desire to downplay it (i.e. "I'm low-key freaking out") 19. Mood - A word to signify agreement 20. OMG - An abbreviation for "Oh my gosh" or "Oh my God" 21. ONG - Basically the equivalent of "I swear to God" 22. Salty - Bitter, angry, agitated 23. Sic/Sick - Cool or sweet 24. Slay - To be extremely stylish or successful 25. Sleep On - To be ignorant to something or someone's value (i.e. "Don't sleep on the new Ariana single") )

26. Snatched - Looks good, perfect, or fashionable; the new "on fleek" 27. TBH - To be honest 28. Tea - Gossip, situation, story, or news 29. Thirsty - Trying to get attention 30. Yassify - To apply several beauty filters to a picture until the person is totally unrecognizable 31. Yeet - To throw something 32. YOLO - "You Only Live Once" (often used ironically) 33. People and relationships 34. Bae - "Before anyone else," babe, or baby; is used to describe a romantic partner or good friend 35. Basic - Boring, average, or unoriginal 36. BF/GF - Boyfriend or girlfriend (used when texting, not in conversation) 37. BFF - "Best friends forever" 38. Bruh - Bro or dude (all three terms are gender-neutral) 39. Cap - Fake or a lie 40. CEO - To be the "CEO of" something is to excel at it 41. Curve - To reject someone romantically (related to "ghosting") 42. Emo - Someone who is emotional or a drama queen 43. Fam - Group of friends 44. Flex - To show off 45. Ghosted - To end a relationship by cutting off communication

46. A Karen - A disparaging way to describe a petty middle-aged woman, who is rude, especially to people who work in the service industry. (For example, saying, "What a Karen," about someone who returns their drink at a restaurant for not having enough ice.) 47. No cap - Totally true or no lie 48. Noob/n00b - A person who doesn't know what they're doing or who is bad at something; in other words, a newbie 49. OK, Boomer - Usually said in response to a person or idea that seems outdated 50. Periodt - End of statement emphasizer. For example: “That’s the best ice cream, periodt.” 51. Ship - You might "ship" two people together, as in you think they should be a couple; derived from the word relationship 52. Shook - To be incredibly shocked or shaken up 53. Simp - Someone who does way too much for the person they like; to have a huge crush on someone 54. Spill the Tea - Asking someone to spill gossip 55. Squad - Group of friends that hang out together regularly, used ironically 56. Stan - An overzealous fan of a particular group or celebrity 57. Sus - Suspicious, shady, not to be trusted 58. Throw shade - To give someone a dirty look 59. Tight - In a close relationship or friendship 60. Tool - Someone who is stupid, obnoxious, rude, and/or embarrasses themselves, often a jock type 61. Compound Slang 62. Compound slang is using shortcuts by combining two words together. To understand what they mean, you need to know the definition of each word. 63. Crashy - Crazy and trashy, like a trainwreck 64. Crunk - Getting high and drunk at the same time, or crazy and drunk 65. Hangry - Hungry and angry 66. Requestion - Request and a question, or to question again 67. Tope - Tight and dope 68. Parties, Drugs, and Sex Below is a list of some social slang to be aware of: 69. 53X - Sex 70. Body count - The number of people someone has slept with

71. CU46 - See you for sex 72. Dayger - Party during the day 73. Function/Func - Party 74. Kick back - Small party 75. Molly - Ecstasy (MDMA), a dangerous party drug 76. Netflix and chill - Used as a front for inviting someone over to make out (or maybe more) 77. Plug - Someone who can hook you up with drugs 78. Rager - Big party 79. Smash - To have casual sex 80. Sloshed - To be drunk 81. Throw down - To throw a party 82. Turnt - To be high or drunk (formerly "turnt up") 83. X - Ecstasy 84. WTTP - Want to trade photos? 85. LMIRL - Let's meet in real life 86. Hobnob Socialize with people of an artificially higher status 87. Chill Relax 88. Popo Police 89. Fuzz Police 90. Airhead Silly/foolish person 91. Cringe Really embarrassing 92. Copium Fake drug to help twitch users deal with loss/failure 93. Simp Person who does too much for who he/she likes 94. Cram Study like crazy 95. Crash Sleep/pass out 96. Dms’ Direct messages 97. Dead (Such as in a restaurant or bar) no one’s there 98. Steez Effortless style 99. Spox Spokesperson 100. Sawbuck Us$10 101. A-Game One’s best 102. Oops! When someone messes up 103. Dude A guy 104. Nuts Crazy 105. Dope! Cool 106. Yuppie Young urban professional, white-collar worker 107. White-Collar High-salary job that doesn’t involve manual labor, such as accountants and lawyers 108. Blue-Collar Jobs focused on manual labor, such as farmers and miners 109. Cray Crazy 110. Woke Aware of potential injustices 111.Poppin’ Excellent 112. Lit Drunk, or superb 113. Swole Very muscular 114. Drip Fashionable 115. Drownin’ Unfashionable 116. Salty Jealous (of someone) 117. Cool Great 118. Snatched Nice and cool 119. Yeet! Expression of excitement 120. Yikes! No way! It can’t be! 121. Finsta Fake/Private Instagram account 122. Periodt . End of discussion (for example, what a parent would say to the child) 123. Flex Show off 124. Low-key Modest, something you don’t want emphasized 125. Slay Excel at, win at

126. Gucci Trendy 127. Shook Emotionally bothered/shaken 128. Curve Rejecting someone’s advances (e.g. from a classmate) 129. Stan Obsessive fan 130. Sus Suspect/suspicious 131. Turnt Intoxicated, energized 132. Bae A best friend/loved one 133. Fleek Really good, stylish 134. Cheugy Out of style 135. Emo Overly angsty/emotional 136. E-Girl/E-Boy An emo girl/boy 137. Smol Small/cute 138. Snack Someone who’s attractive 139. Wig That’s so cool! 140. Lewk Someone’s personal style 141. Hot Attractive 142. Sick Cool, great 143. Shady Suspicious 144. Bomb Really good, tasty 145. Boujee Fancy and extravagant 146. Dank Excellent 147. Flakey Indecisive 148. Finna I am going to 149. Ghost Suddenly start ignoring 150. Hypebeast Someone who only wants to be popular 151. W A win 152. L A loss 153. Whip Car 154. Lemon Bad person 155. Grub Food 156. Jacked Muscular 157. Chicken Coward 158. Ex Former girlfriend or boyfriend 159. Whiz A smart person 160. Dump End a relationship 161. Jonesing (For) Really want something 162. Wack Bad, not cool 163. Score Get what you want 164. Corny (Things like movies and jokes) silly 165. Cheesy (Things like movies and jokes) silly 166. Flick Movie 167.Bummer Disappointment 168. Wasted Intoxicated 169. Booze Alcohol 170. Yas! (Celebratory) yes! 174. I don’t buy that I don’t believe you 175. That’s rad That’s cool 176. Never mind Let’s change the subject 177. Keep in touch (When leaving someone) Let’s stay in contact 178. I can’t even! I can’t tolerate that anymore! 179. No biggie Not a problem 180. No big deal Not a problem 181. No sweat Not a problem 182. Show up Go to, do better than someone 183. Have a crush (on someone) Like someone, want to ask someone out on a date 184. Get hitched Get married 185. Tie the knot Get married 186. I’m beat I’m tired 187. Get under one’s skin Annoy 188. A turn off Something you don’t like about someone/somewhere 189. Couch potato Someone who’s always watching tv 190. Party animal Someone who is always partying 191. Hang out Spend time with people 192. It sucked It was bad 193. I’m game I can join you/I will do it 194. I’m down I can join you/I will do it 195. I’m in I can join you/I will do it 196. Have a blast Having a great time 197. Get fired Lose one’s job 198. Hit the books Study 199. Rip (someone) off Overcharge 200. Ride shotgun Sit in the front passenger seat The bomb Excellent Have dibs on Make a claim on/to Suck up Win someone’s approval by being servile Kiss ass Win someone’s approval by being servile Fresh meat New target for humiliation Loose cannon Someone dangerously uncontrollable Pass the buck Make someone else responsible My bad My mistake Take for granted Assume Hit the road Leave (to go somewhere) Go dutch Every person pays for their own food/drinks Hit the spot (Said after food/drink) Really satisfying Wrap up Finish doing something Are you kidding me? Phrase to represent excitement/frustration Around the clock All the time, 24 hours a day, 7 seven days a week Take a rain check Do at a later time What’s up? How are you? How’s it going? You’re telling me! I know! All-ears Has your undivided attention All-nighter Staying up all night to do homework/chat with friends I’m baby I’m innocent/cute Glow up A makeover (transformed from ugly to less ugly) Open up pandora’s box Cause/start trouble/problems In the zone Performing as well as or better than one can Tune out Stop paying attention Armchair CEO Offering expertise on something in which the speaker lacks Off the hook Freed from blame Off the chain Really good Bye, Felicia Said when you’re done with a conversation. Meaning “that’s it. I’m done.” (To) ace Excel at (a test) (To) nail Excel at (a test, a race) (To) screw over Cheat or exploit someone Amped up Filled with enthusiasm/energy On point Relevant and appropriate, really good No cap Not lying Straight fire Trendy Spill the tea/spill the beans Share the gossip/secret Netflix and chill Watch Netflix and have sex Big mad Really angry Diamond hands Taking a major financial risk Fauci ouchie COVID-19 vaccine Cancel culture Online shaming/embarrassment of someone due to their views Region-specific American slang Cake/Cheese Money Mad Very Frontin’ Pretending to be skilled to impress others Dead-Ass Serious about something Tight Stylish, cool Ratchet A woman who has made some bad lifestyle choices Brick Freezing Schmear Lots of cream cheese Pie Pizza (pie) Schvitz Sweating Stoop Steps in front of a building Dumb Really, very Gotham Nickname for New York City (from Batman) Bodega Small neighborhood shop Cop Buy, feel (inappropriately) Buggin’ Acting crazy Ice Jewelry Wylin’/Wildin’ Acting crazy Crusty Unclean Snuff Hit/punch, drugs Schlep Impatiently going between places Regular coffee Coffee made with cream and sugar Have beef Have a problem with/want to fight with someone Are you down? Want to do it/join us? NoHo North Hollywood SigAlert Traffic alert/warning Yeah no No Gnarly Good or bad (depends on the context) Rad Cool Stoked Excited Hyphy Overly excited Outta pocket Inappropriate Slaps Really good (music) Yadadamean Do you know what I mean? Phubbing Ignoring someone by using their phone Stealth mode Secret Three commas club Billionaires Unicorn A start-up valued at over $1 billion Zombie mood Staring at one’s phone Texas slang words and phrases Fixin’ to About to do Bless your heart Used either to show sympathy, or to soften an insult Might could Maybe All hat, no cattle Someone who is arrogant Without anything to show for it Corn-fed Big/fat (describing people) Dag gum it! Darn it!/damn it! All git-out The (for example, best/worst) most extreme of something Pitch a hissy fit Throw a tantrum/act up Come hell or high water (Do something) at any cost, no matter if you get injured/make enemies Whole 'nuther Entirely different situation Worsh Wash (Wp/down) Yonder (Over) there, (down) there (describing a location