Subject: Re: Slang from across the pond
Author:
Posted on: 2013-10-23 15:06:00 UTC
"Dibs" is still in use on this side of the pond, but I haven't run across "shotgun" as a synonym. Here, if you call shotgun, it means you're claiming the front passenger seat in a car/van (usually because you and at least two others are about to get into said vehicle).
Well, maybe.
Basically, I've got an idea--no, hey, come back here! No running!
So, my mom is in charge of a program for people who need or want to improve their English (mainly foreign students--this is university level, by the way), and she's always on the look-out for games she can use. Today she brought home some English Slang Cards that a colleague of hers had bought.
Yes, I'm leading into something. Patience, young Padawan. What do you mean, you may be older than I am? Sit down, son, I'm talkin' here--yeah--no, your father was a hamster--oh yeah? You want a shrubbery? You want a shrubbery? Well, I'm fresh out of shrubberies, only albatrosses left here--whaddaya mean, this isn't the time for a Monty Python quote-off? You can just--
...sorry, got carried away there.
Anyway. These slang cards...are ridiculous. I went through them and found only three cards that used current slang--and one or two of those choices were terms I wasn't actually sure so many people were using after all, when I thought about it. (Why did the colleague buy these, you ask? Well, they came sealed. She probably didn't realize). I made a number of other piles of cards, but that's not important right now (beyond the fact that 'jawn' went into my small pile of absolutely hilarious cards--along with 'steeze' and 'dunzo'**), because I've got an activity for you.
While I may eventually post pictures of some of these cards (for your amusement and to see if any of us actually use these--maybe I'm limited by being uni-age and Canadian and some of them are actually popular), this moment's idea is as follows:
Name some slang terms (5-10, or more, or fewer--whatever you like, the numbers are just there for people who like having guidelines) that you use, and/or some that you hear the people around you using. Don't forget to give a definition and/or example, so we can all get an idea of what they mean and how they're used! The terms don't necessarily have to be in English--some English slang isn't composed of English words, and I also don't want this to be completely limited to people from English-speaking countries--but they should be terms you hear a lot. Feel free to comment on other people's posts saying if you've heard, or haven't heard, some of the terms they've posted!
My brain's a bit muddled right now from all the really old/potentially non-existent slang I've been reading off the cards, but I'll do my best:
1. What's up?
Used as a greeting. Frustrating in that the answer can be 'fine' or 'nothing' and is not generally expected to really give any idea of what's actually going on.
2. Sayonara!
(Okay, fine, this isn't current. I'm going to provide a mix of current and from-the-cards terms; feel free to throw in very old slang as well, just specify it as such.) A version of 'goodbye!', almost definitely originating in Japanese. According to my mother, it was popular around the 1940s and continued to be used into the 60s and 70s--mostly by people who had grown up or been born in the 40s, such as my grandmother. Something I wish would come back, as I rather like it.
3. Cool.
This means...cool. Um. Popular, awesome, wonderful, good. Sometimes used to indicate agreement, such as 'See you later, then.' 'Cool, I'll be there.' Has been around since at least the 1970s, possibly older.
4. Down [with it/that]. Also, 'I'm cool with that.'
Indicates agreement. According to the slang cards, it also means that you're cool; I've never heard it used that way. If you say 'I'm down with that', it means that you're okay to do something--argh! It means that you are willing, or would like, to do whatever's just been suggested. Look how much slang we use without realizing it!
5. Okay to do.
Similar to 'I'm down/cool with that'. If you say 'I'm okay to go to the party'...well, it means you're willing to go to the party. These latest three entries should have been listed together in one giant clump, shouldn't they...
6. [I'm] fine.
'Fine' has a number of meanings, as I hear it used (and use it myself). If someone says, 'Hey, how are you?' or 'Hey, what's up?' you might reply with 'Fine'--which, while a nice placeholder, really doesn't give anyone any idea of what's going on. My friend used to always repeatedly ask me 'how are you?' until I gave her a proper reply (generally this was over the telephone). 'I'm fine' can also be used to mean 'no, thanks'--as in, when someone says, 'Do you want more lasagna?' and you reply 'No, I'm fine[, thanks]' or someone says, 'Want to go for a walk?' and you reply, 'Nah, I'm fine.' You can probably tell that these two example exchanges happen between me and my mom...repeatedly...although I normally do go for more lasagna, which is very tasty.
I'm going to end it here. Basically, give me a list of your favorite slang/the slang you're hearing/the slang you're really not hearing and wish you were/some awesome slang that's actually really, really old but worthy of a mention because it's amazing or hilarious/hilarious slang/something you've seen somewhere that no one you know uses or has ever used and you think is insanely funny/just slang.
So, with all those options...go crazy!
Later,
~DF
--
**These words may be giving you a sense of just how outdated most of the slang on these cards is; whatever you're thinking, multiply it to include the majority of the deck.***
***If you actually use 'jawn', 'dunzo', or 'steeze' as they're defined on the slang cards I've got, sorry for calling your slang outdated. (It's still hilarious, though--especially 'jawn'.)
I've had a time picking out slang from idiom, euphemism, and just plain swearing, but here's what I've come up with:
- Yo!
Could be a response to "'Sup?", or vice versa. Can also be an accusation: "Yo, watch it!" Basically interchangeable with "Hey!"
- Chill, e.g. "he's pretty chill," "this scene is pretty chill"
Variation on "cool," generally meaning relaxed, easy-going.
- Sweet!, e.g. "dude, that's sweet!", "sweet moves, bro!"
Basically synonymous with "cool." See also "sick," "wicked," and (I'm told) "ill." See also also "rad," if you're a dweeb from the `80s or so.
- Dweeb
While we're on the subject... a dweeb is a socially inept, uncool person, much like a dork. Dweebs and dorks don't necessarily need to have the obsessively honed expertise and/or IQ of nerds and geeks.
- Mad skills
Someone with mad skills is really, really good at what they do.
- Killer
An intensifier. Can be positive or negative: "killer moves," but "killer workload."
- Lame, bogus
Uncool. Note that "lame" may be considered offensive and "bogus" may make you sound like a dweeb from the `80s or so.
- Right on!, rock on!
Approval, agreement.
- My ride, my wheels
Slipping into idiom a bit here, but these are pretty common expressions referring to a car or other personal vehicle. May be used with slang, e.g. "sweet ride" or "sick wheels!"
- This rocks!
This is great, awesome, exciting, the best. Can be escalated to "this totally rocks!" Also, "this rocks my socks!"
- This sucks!, this blows!, this bites!
Oddly enough, these are all the opposite of "this rocks!" "This bites!" usually stands alone, but the others have infinite variations: "this sucks hardcore," "this sucks balls/[unpleasant, inappropriate, and/or humorous thing]"; "this is sucktastic"; "this blows chunks/monkeys/[unpleasant, inappropriate, and/or humorous thing]", etc. Also, "you suck!" is common, but not "you bite/blow!" However, "bite/blow me!" is used... but I digress.
- Epic, epic win, epic fail
"Epic" has by now lost its original meaning and simply become an intensifier. An epic win is an impressive victory, accomplishment, or display of talent; an epic fail is an impressive display of stupidity, clumsiness, lack of talent, etc. Something described as simply "epic" is probably cool, awesome, sweet, etc.
- Screw-up, to screw up
Someone who just committed an epic fail probably screwed up. If they screw up a lot, they may be a screw-up.
... I think I'll stop there for now. This tale grew in the telling, as they say. ^_^;
~Neshomeh, who was born in 1985 and was a kid in the `90s, for what it's worth.
Or rather slang I'm used to here in Britain.
-'sup?
shortened version of 'What's up?' if ou're trying to be funny a reply along the lines of 'the sky' or 'the ceiling' works well.
-Ace
Wonderful, brilliant, really good etc.
-'aye up
Hello, pretty much solely used in Yorkshire and some other northern English counties
-Dunderhead (Dunder'ead)
Idiot, fool. Only works as one word, don't go round trying to call people a "Dunder".
-duff
false or fake, most commonly used in "The information was duff" or something similar.
-dibs
Also (and more commonly now) shotgun. Calling for it, e.g "Dibs I get the shower" or "Shotgun the shower" NOTE: ownership of shotgun not required.
-Taking the Mickey
To tease/ridicule someone.
then of course you have cockney rhyming slang and the nicknames that various countries/counties/cities/teams have for one another.
And I tend to use the sky and ceiling responses quite often, because like Dawn pointed out, the general response is "Nothing" which is really lame.
Also, dunderhead is an awesome insult.
General response is different over here though, it's generally slightly more detailed.
I know, I like using it a lot.
"Dibs" is still in use on this side of the pond, but I haven't run across "shotgun" as a synonym. Here, if you call shotgun, it means you're claiming the front passenger seat in a car/van (usually because you and at least two others are about to get into said vehicle).
"Cool" as we use it today has been around since the 1930s; if I recall correctly, the first documented use of it in this manner was in 1933 (and I only recall this because it was also the year Adolf Hitler came into power, see my useless trivia).