Local slang

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Here's where you talk about slang that is specific to your very local geographic region.
I grew up on a native American reservation, so I was exposed to words like these:

"Sav" - (abrev. of "Savage") A more back-woodsy native american, typically from the far reaches of the rez. Characterized by a less-than-clean-cut appearance, heavy accent, darker than normal skin (i.e.: more native blood, although this is often conveniently overlooked by name-callers), and, especially, an opportunistic willingness to use or eat food, clothing, or other items discarded or unwanted by others.

"Neej" - A person heavily into native american culture (e.g. pow-wows, drum groups, etc.). Neejs are often townies; wealthier than most natives, and lighter-skinned, but dark enough to credibly be able to cling tenaciously to traditional culture and practices.

"Ho-wa!" (HOE-WA) - The most well-known item of native american slang. It is an exclamation which conveys appreciative awe. It is somehow more powerful than the seemingly-equivalent “wow!”

Additionally, there exist several common exclamations which, although not necessarily unique to the rez, are uniquely utilized there (in inflection and frequency of use). For example "Ick!" and "Nay!"

Note: as a white guy, I would never say some of these words, for the same reason I would never "drop the N-bomb". It just wouldn't be appropriate coming from me. I guess it’s up to you to decide whether or not they’re offensive coming from me in even this manner.

― Dan I., Thursday, 6 March 2003 07:34 (twenty-three years ago)

"yo, that class was *crunked*! We was all up in the teacha's face an' everythin' muthafucka!'

use context clues to determine the meaning of the asteriked word please.

― That Girl (thatgirl), Thursday, 6 March 2003 07:41 (twenty-three years ago)

"skex" - sex with someone who you'd rather not have sex with
(combination of "sketch" + sex)

"crunk" - dirty debaucherous drunken and destructive
(novel usage)

I remember when no one outside of the bay area said "hella."

I know a bunch of spanish slang, but I'm pretty sure most of it is used throughout México.

― Ryan McKay (Ryan McKay), Thursday, 6 March 2003 12:18 (twenty-three years ago)

Does anyone use 'jancky/jainky' anymore? As in inferior/shoddy

― oops (Oops), Thursday, 6 March 2003 15:41 (twenty-three years ago)

favorite slang phrase at the moment: "sling the dank."

― hstencil, Thursday, 6 March 2003 15:46 (twenty-three years ago)

are you pushing the herb, hstencil?

― oops (Oops), Thursday, 6 March 2003 15:47 (twenty-three years ago)

no, I just appreciate my friends in the ~~black market~~ underground economy.

― hstencil, Thursday, 6 March 2003 15:49 (twenty-three years ago)

http://www.slanguage.com/rhode.html

― Jon Williams (ex machina), Thursday, 6 March 2003 15:52 (twenty-three years ago)

The only local slang I hear here is the usual stuff you find in the New Orleans tourist guidebooks -- not so much slang as usage differences (people don't "shop for groceries," they "make groceries" -- that thing that looks like a median but is four cars wide is "the neutral ground," etc.)

Odd slang that I heard when last visiting my family in New Hampshire: "safe," as in "dude, you're so safe," which is either good (you rock, you're cool, I dig your thing) or bad (you're lame, you're a weenie, babies laugh at you), depending on tone of voice.

― Tep (ktepi), Thursday, 6 March 2003 16:18 (twenty-three years ago)

Dood Im wicked hammered.

― Chris V. (Chris V), Thursday, 6 March 2003 16:24 (twenty-three years ago)

Ha, last night I heard someone on a local cable access show call in and refer to "making groceries" and no one knew what the hell they were talking about. And I live in Virginia.

― Nick A. (Nick A.), Thursday, 6 March 2003 16:24 (twenty-three years ago)

Chris, it's 11:30 AM, I'm worried about you.

― Nick A. (Nick A.), Thursday, 6 March 2003 16:25 (twenty-three years ago)

I'm not really. Mass slang.

― Chris V. (Chris V), Thursday, 6 March 2003 16:26 (twenty-three years ago)

Now I'm disappointed in you.

― Nick A. (Nick A.), Thursday, 6 March 2003 16:26 (twenty-three years ago)

Ha, last night I heard someone on a local cable access show call in and refer to "making groceries" and no one knew what the hell they were talking about. And I live in Virginia.

It took me ages to figure it out, and I finally had to ask my boss, because I thought it must be, like, cooking or something -- you know, you shop for the groceries and then bring them home and ... make them. That was the most sense I could make of it.

My girlfriend (from WA, no contact with the northeast except through me) makes fun of me for saying "wicked" all the time. (It was easy to drop "grinder" from my vocabulary because of the horrified looks I'd get at Subway.)

― Tep (ktepi), Thursday, 6 March 2003 16:35 (twenty-three years ago)

love those southern words.

Dan, what rez? My dad worked on the Tohono O'Odham for a while.

― teeny (teeny), Thursday, 6 March 2003 16:57 (twenty-three years ago)

My favorite from around here is "booter", which may not actually be particular to Manitoba, but I've never heard it anywhere else. A booter happens to you when you get snow/mud/poo inside your boot because you've sunk into a puddle/gotten stuck in a snowbank.

― Bryan (Bryan), Thursday, 6 March 2003 17:17 (twenty-three years ago)

norcal slang:

hella = very (orig. contraction of "hell of a", usage has subverted grammatical bounds)

― gygax! (gygax!), Thursday, 6 March 2003 17:32 (twenty-three years ago)

All of these words are absolutely cromulent.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Thursday, 6 March 2003 19:03 (twenty-three years ago)

When I moved to Scotland I was very puzzled by the dialect term for shopping for groceries: "getting the messages".

― caitlin (caitlin), Thursday, 6 March 2003 19:12 (twenty-three years ago)

Swayzey to thread.

― Cozen (Cozen), Thursday, 6 March 2003 19:13 (twenty-three years ago)

There are about 50 meanings for "Dude" depending on tone.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 6 March 2003 19:15 (twenty-three years ago)

yes, Martin, but somehow this thread embiggens my soul.

― oops (Oops), Thursday, 6 March 2003 19:18 (twenty-three years ago)

a misogynistic friend of mine from Long Beach (the home of slang) refers to women as "wingless rats". This is somehow drawn from some women being called 'hood-rats' and pigeons being described as flying rats. I'm still not sure I get it.

This is a man who called his Sikh roommate at Berkeley, "soft-serve."

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 6 March 2003 19:23 (twenty-three years ago)

(My friend Satinder would be first in with the Mr Whippy Singh joke; she said she puked to her Kaur once)

― suzy (suzy), Thursday, 6 March 2003 19:30 (twenty-three years ago)

A friend of mine who works @ vanderbilt university reports that all the kids are saying "one" or "won" instead of "goodbye" or "later" or whatnot. Anyone heard this before? Know the etymology?

― Colin Saunders (csaunders), Thursday, 6 March 2003 19:34 (twenty-three years ago)

From "one love" perhaps?

― oops (Oops), Thursday, 6 March 2003 19:37 (twenty-three years ago)

Colin, can you remember any more terms from our mutual "wingless rat" friend?

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 6 March 2003 19:38 (twenty-three years ago)

also, "one" is played out, everybody's on to deuce now! (actually, I just made that up)

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 6 March 2003 19:42 (twenty-three years ago)

What the fuck are you lot chopsing about?

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Thursday, 6 March 2003 19:43 (twenty-three years ago)

remember (this is uk) when everyone said 'itchy chin' and scrtched their chin, when they were kinda disbelieving, or you were making some sort of outrageous claim? in the town i lived, there was this local tramp guy called billy tanner, so they local this became 'billy tanner', while scratching yr chin, shortened to 'tanner', or 'billy'. this was totally ubiquitous, but makes no sense whatsoever. it even spread to neighbouring towns, even further removed from its source. language is, luckily, totally mental. people who moan about slang are the same ones who whinge about words dying out, or being misused. the language is chaning and being enriched, surely?

― ambrose (ambrose), Thursday, 6 March 2003 19:44 (twenty-three years ago)

all grammatical errors and typos above are examples of the language being enriched and i am blameless.

― ambrose (ambrose), Thursday, 6 March 2003 19:45 (twenty-three years ago)

"Wingless rats" is great. Can we start using "legless snakes" and indeed revive "hairless chicken" as well? (Link back to lame supervillain thread, for the Wingless Wizard, about as useful as pointing out that a rat lacks wings.)

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Thursday, 6 March 2003 21:02 (twenty-three years ago)

I've noticed that, rather than asking someone where they are during the course of a telephone conversation, Bristolians will enquire
"Where'y'to?" - it amused me at first but now I find myself asking my mum where she's to...

― chris sallis, Thursday, 6 March 2003 21:09 (twenty-three years ago)

about as useful as pointing out that a rat lacks wings

this is why I still don't get the logic, but my friend insists it's up in the local LBC lingo.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 6 March 2003 23:49 (twenty-three years ago)

strewth! fridee arvo soon cobber. i could go a schooey of VB or six.

― gaz (gaz), Friday, 7 March 2003 00:30 (twenty-three years ago)

I can't think of any really local slang but everyone here says "man, he got owned" all the time. Or "that owns". For some reason it makes me giggle.

My cats name is Yampy which is brummy slang, as in "you yampy git".

― Trayce (trayce), Friday, 7 March 2003 01:01 (twenty-three years ago)

I don't think that there's any local slang. The only ones I can think of are the words tardparade and kicking (used as an adjective to describe something awesome). Those might be stolen from other places, though.

― liz! (liz!), Friday, 7 March 2003 01:25 (twenty-three years ago)

don't come the raw prawn, ya boofheads

― gaz (gaz), Friday, 7 March 2003 01:33 (twenty-three years ago)

remember (this is uk) when everyone said 'itchy chin' and scrtched their chin, when they were kinda disbelieving, or you were making some sort of outrageous claim?

We said "chinny chin chin", if it was really unbelievable it turned into "chinny chin chin all the way to Scarborough". I haven't a clue why.

I get picked up on these things loads. Mostly for my use of "while" I would say "I'm working 9 while 5". I didn't realize it wasn't common usage until people looked at me wierdly, and it was pointed out in an English Language class that I was odd. It's a Yorkshire thing.

We use "pimp" as slang for something being really good. So good that a pimp would use it. I'm not sure if this is just my friends, or Ormskirk or more national.

― celeste (Celeste), Friday, 7 March 2003 02:12 (twenty-three years ago)

Oooh I just remembered a Perth one - gogans. Gogan = goth+bogan.

A bogan in the goth sense would be one of those trashy kids wearing Manson and Korn tshirts who last season probably had a Slayer tshirt on.

― Trayce (trayce), Friday, 7 March 2003 02:56 (twenty-three years ago)

Smigganasmette = cigarette

Its origin, somewhat inevitably, is The Simpsons and Homer's splendid use of the word "saxomophone". This novel bastardisation became "viomolin" and, inexplicably, "trumpamapet" round our way, and then somehow managed to jump into the non-musical arena with aplomb.

Thus cigarette led to "cigamarette" and/or "fagamarag" - and also "cigamafagamaragamarette", less common due to its ungainly gait - smigganasmette came naturally from then on.

I've only ever heard it in certain rarified sections of London and Sydney, however - maybe we should look for the least used local slang ever?

― CharlieNo4 (Charlie), Friday, 7 March 2003 03:03 (twenty-three years ago)

I don't think it's really local, but I'm often subjected to the use of "oh snap!" as an exclamation.

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Friday, 7 March 2003 03:12 (twenty-three years ago)

Not really slang but a way of talking that is sweeping America:
the way a lot of people speak like they are asking you questions when the are trying to tell you something. Boy how that irks me!

― My life with the BurmaKitty (My life with the BurmaKitty), Friday, 7 March 2003 05:40 (twenty-three years ago)

I have to admit I've employed homerisms with things like "cigamarette" in the past. It adds so much to so many words!

― Trayce (trayce), Friday, 7 March 2003 05:44 (twenty-three years ago)

"crunk" - dirty debaucherous drunken and destructive

i thought crunk was a word invented by conan o'brien...

― phil-two (phil-two), Friday, 7 March 2003 06:17 (twenty-three years ago)

what about dizzee rascal slang:
bare
gully
shotters
twanging out

― minna (minna), Friday, 7 March 2003 08:03 (twenty-three years ago)

i can only guess at their meanings:

context in this interview

gully: "So they're stepping into the world with a gully-ier attitude than the ones above us."
"we're keeping things on a low. We're moving ninja. Keeping it all gully."
"I make sure I'm seen around certain places, gully areas"

my guess is gully means quiet, unknown

bare:
"I got kicked out of bare schools"
"Bare people were getting pregnant around me in the manor, getme? Bare girls were getting breeded up."
"There's just so many talented people but road gets a hold of them, bare people I know could have made it"
"It's all Chinese whisper style, getme? One little thing gets out, gets changed, changed, by the time it goes from two people to bare people."
"Oh yeah I've heard bare times that I've been shot."

bare = many

shotters = drug dealers

twanging out = manipulating

safe:
"So what else… that I'm [More Fire Crew member] Ozzie B's cousin. We ain't related, we're just safe"

safe = friends

― minna (minna), Friday, 7 March 2003 08:15 (twenty-three years ago)

haha dizzy on george bush: "He'll be in his bunker and come out to watch the devastated world, and probably say "oh well." "

― minna (minna), Friday, 7 March 2003 08:17 (twenty-three years ago)

haha thats even better when you SAY IT IN THE "OH WELL" VOICE FROM THE SONG

― jess (dubplatestyle), Friday, 7 March 2003 08:25 (twenty-three years ago)

can somebody please multimedia something something sounds + pictures together and make this happen!

― minna (minna), Friday, 7 March 2003 08:45 (twenty-three years ago)

probably not

― jess (dubplatestyle), Friday, 7 March 2003 08:46 (twenty-three years ago)

That's all fairly generic south London slang Minna. My friend Lou talks like that the whole time, very excitably. There are times when you know he's speaking English, but you're just not quite sure of the content.

"Aw mate, we went on a bare mission and when we got there the bloke had nothing to blaze. It was sick man. Long that shit!"

(Oh, we went miles/ it took ages and when we got there the bloke was out of of skunk. It was awful, but forget about it.)

From my home area (West Midlands, UK) you have:
Yam - someone with a very strong regional accent. Contraction of 'you am' - 'you are'.

― Anna (Anna), Friday, 7 March 2003 10:52 (twenty-three years ago)

I had never heard "bell-end" before moving to Oxfordshire. No idea whether this is coz it's local or not.

― MarkH (MarkH), Friday, 7 March 2003 11:39 (twenty-three years ago)

We said 'billy' in the same way as Ambrose but it came from 'billy no-mates' innit.

― Sarah (starry), Friday, 7 March 2003 11:44 (twenty-three years ago)

Chinny = Jimmy Hill, obv.

This thread pony, you are all irons.

― Tim (Tim), Friday, 7 March 2003 13:33 (twenty-three years ago)

out of context haha: "by the time it goes from two people to bare people"

gully ist US slang for gangsta, kind of

― zemko (bob), Friday, 7 March 2003 15:32 (twenty-three years ago)

We use "pimp" as slang for something being really good. So good that a pimp would use it. I'm not sure if this is just my friends, or Ormskirk or more national.

More international methinks, as I've heard this used here in the US for about 5 years.

― oops (Oops), Friday, 7 March 2003 15:52 (twenty-three years ago)

I believe it may be time for Playground Law, which mentions the chinny reckon/Jimmy Hill.

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Friday, 7 March 2003 16:28 (twenty-three years ago)

my friend andy invented "nails" as the ultimate postmodern slang term. it can mean either good or bad, depending on how you use it.

"that movie was totally nails!"

― john fail (cenotaph), Friday, 7 March 2003 16:29 (twenty-three years ago)

I am stealing "nails". Can I?

― Colin Saunders (csaunders), Friday, 7 March 2003 18:32 (twenty-three years ago)

two months pass...

Colin Saunders, a Saussure of slang, just sent me this link:

http://www.thesourcefym.com/teenlingo/

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Friday, 9 May 2003 17:13 (twenty-three years ago)

haha

squirrel
(n.) a hot female. "Check out that squirrel - I'm going to give her some nuts."

― teeny (teeny), Friday, 9 May 2003 17:44 (twenty-three years ago)

my favortie = "whas' crackulatin'"

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Friday, 9 May 2003 17:50 (twenty-three years ago)

A gas station attendant told me my hair was "bangin'"... I feel kind of creepy now.

― Mandee, Friday, 9 May 2003 18:28 (twenty-three years ago)

Thank god "off the hook" and "bitchin'" are dead.

― Mandee, Friday, 9 May 2003 18:29 (twenty-three years ago)

The creepy gas station attendant you were bangin' told you what now?

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Friday, 9 May 2003 18:32 (twenty-three years ago)

'off the hook' isn't dead. just the other day my friend said he liked this guy's phone. told him it was 'off the hook'. true story.

― oops (Oops), Friday, 9 May 2003 19:02 (twenty-three years ago)

I don't hear "off the hook" anymore, but I do hear "off the handle" and "off the chain", which are infinitely more annoying.

And good one Oops! *high five*

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 9 May 2003 19:04 (twenty-three years ago)

eh, i'll take that high five for my friend I guess. (and yes, those are way more annoying)

― oops (Oops), Friday, 9 May 2003 19:08 (twenty-three years ago)

And good one Oops! *high five*

Because coming up with slang is a man's job!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 9 May 2003 19:26 (twenty-three years ago)

are you a benny tied to a tree?

(not slang as such, but hey, there you go)

― CarsmileSteve (CarsmileSteve), Saturday, 10 May 2003 13:48 (twenty-three years ago)

I purposely don't use slang until it's become passe. Otherwise it seems forced and like I'm trying to be cool--which i so desperately want to be *sigh*.
So, in a few months, I'll be saying nothing but 'that was tiiiight' and 'what's poppin'?'.

― oops (Oops), Saturday, 10 May 2003 18:31 (twenty-three years ago)

I'm well up with you young people's slang. I'm very with it.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Saturday, 10 May 2003 18:44 (twenty-three years ago)

In days gone past, when friends would make a spectacular pratfall or would be shot down in flames by a member of the opposite , everyone would let them know that they had '...eaten the bün!'. Sometimes a mere 'Bünnnn!' would be enough. Don't ask me where it came from.

A young lady with a lot going for her would be classified C.K.S.A - 'Curves Kink, Sass & Ass'.

Wow, I miss the late nineties.

― Michael Stuchbery (Mikey Bidness), Saturday, 10 May 2003 23:41 (twenty-three years ago)

All slang should contain umlauts.

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Saturday, 10 May 2003 23:53 (twenty-three years ago)

Butter Face - a girl who has a great body, 'butter' face leaves much to be desired

I don't really have any other unique examples.

― Millar (Millar), Sunday, 11 May 2003 00:09 (twenty-three years ago)

response to Dan - a friend of mine has referred to the umlaut as the money shot of the alphabet. Yeah.

― Millar (Millar), Sunday, 11 May 2003 00:10 (twenty-three years ago)

nine months pass...

byurr - girl
grade - money
chat (or yolk) - used to refer to a certain thing or object
maygram - scumbag (more of a Tipperary term than a Limerick one)
sneer - laugh as in "lets do it for a sneer"
there's more but I can't think of any at the moment

― Michael B, Wednesday, 25 February 2004 14:53 (twenty-two years ago)

(dont know how local this is)

a monet- a girl (or boy) that only looks good from a distance

― kephm, Wednesday, 25 February 2004 14:57 (twenty-two years ago)

"Clueless" to thread.

― Matt (Matt), Wednesday, 25 February 2004 15:00 (twenty-two years ago)

yikes!
the teens where you live are skoold, my tayda!

― My Huckleberry Friend (Horace Mann), Wednesday, 25 February 2004 15:00 (twenty-two years ago)

is that were 'monet' comes from? i don't watch 90's teenie flicks.

xpost .

― kephm, Wednesday, 25 February 2004 15:02 (twenty-two years ago)

Round or way, a "stig" is someone who is tight with money, and generally unpleasent. Coming from "Stig of The Dump", obviously. Is this local to Didcot and surrounding areas, or more general?

― Johnney B (Johnney B), Wednesday, 25 February 2004 15:29 (twenty-two years ago)

meow kephm! yes that is indeed where I can first recall hearing the expression. Course it might have been coined in Finnegan's Wake, I just don't know.

― Matt (Matt), Wednesday, 25 February 2004 15:30 (twenty-two years ago)

please tell me what "pwned" means.

― Markelby (Mark C), Wednesday, 25 February 2004 15:37 (twenty-two years ago)

I couldn't tell you off my pwn bat, someone else might know tho..

― Matt (Matt), Wednesday, 25 February 2004 15:41 (twenty-two years ago)

Swayze (verb) To leave or go somewhere. (It is somehow related to Patrick Swayze, the actor.) [University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI]

― My Huckleberry Friend (Horace Mann), Wednesday, 25 February 2004 15:48 (twenty-two years ago)

Darren (verb) same meaning as above, comes from rhyming slang ("Darren Gough" = Off) (Darren Gough also = English cricketer for those wondering who he was).

― Matt (Matt), Wednesday, 25 February 2004 15:50 (twenty-two years ago)

Viz Profanisaurus to thread, unfortunately

― Donna Brown (Donna Brown), Wednesday, 25 February 2004 16:02 (twenty-two years ago)

porsche - A sip or a sample, "Let me get a porsche off that forty." From "portion"?

That's all I'm sayin'.

― Pleasant Plains (Pleasant Plains), Wednesday, 25 February 2004 18:16 (twenty-two years ago)

Michael B's words are local slang, all right. Of them all,I've only heard of 'byurr' and 'yoke'.
Byurr for a girl reminded me of 'feen' or 'sham', meaning a man.
I know feen is a Cant(Irish Traveller slanguage) word, some of these others could be as well.
Only other Cork example I can think of at the minute is 'ska' (short for scandal), meaning news or gossip.

― Joe Kay (feethurt), Wednesday, 25 February 2004 21:08 (twenty-two years ago)

Also, calling someone a 'langer' is an all-purpose insult.
Not to be confused with 'langers' which means drunk

― Joe Kay (feethurt), Thursday, 26 February 2004 12:15 (twenty-two years ago)

one month passes...

Cocaine = "That white bitch"

Funky music = "Chk-A-chk-A-Chk-A-Chk-A"

Sex without condom = "Full contact sparring"

― LC, Monday, 29 March 2004 11:50 (twenty-two years ago)

three years pass...

I first became aware of rhyming slang when I stumbled across an old copy of Eric Partridge's "Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English." Being that the book was so old, I figured that the info contained therein was also pretty out-of-date.

However, yesterday while browsing the Berkeley Breathed wikipedia page, I came across this disturbing info:

In the middle of September 1990, while visiting a factory in England, Mr. Breathed, noticed receiving humorous looks from the workers at hearing his name. After inquiring about the reason for their strange looks, he discovered that his nickname, "Berke" was also a vulgar term in England, (pronounced the same, spelled "Berk"). Berk is short for "Berkshire Hunt", which means "cunt". (This is commonly regarded as the one word in the English language more offensive than the word "fuck".) He immediately stopped using his nickname and began referring to himself by his given name, "Berkely", and asks others to do the same.

Now, as ILX has a pretty high population of well-read English people, I pose the following questions for your academic perusal:

Seriously, like, what the hell? Is this for real?

Please expound on cockney rhyming slang for me so I can better understand your culture. : )

― kingkongvsgodzilla, Monday, 14 May 2007 14:00 (nineteen years ago)

sounds like a right load of pony

― blueski, Monday, 14 May 2007 14:08 (nineteen years ago)

I didn't know that's where "berk" came from. Plus, who laughs at people called Berk when you've got much funnier names out there?

― the next grozart, Monday, 14 May 2007 14:15 (nineteen years ago)

I know loads of patois stuff (Jamaican dialect) stuff, but I very rarely use it.

― Stone Monkey, Monday, 14 May 2007 16:27 (nineteen years ago)

Is "Berk" as in the insult pronounced like the "Berk" in Berkshire, though?

I am suspicious of this etymology.

― Masonic Boom, Monday, 14 May 2007 17:03 (nineteen years ago)

Local slang in my neck of the woods:

http://www.extreme-hawaii.com/pidgin/vocab/

― Super Cub, Monday, 14 May 2007 17:20 (nineteen years ago)

The only two truly region-specific ones I can remember from my youth:

all kinds -- meaning "very," as in "that chick is all kinds crazy"
umbers -- used by small children to shame one another (as in "I saw you, I'm telling the teacher," etc.)

― nabisco, Monday, 14 May 2007 17:49 (nineteen years ago)

(Those are southern Colorado / northern New Mexico.)

― nabisco, Monday, 14 May 2007 17:51 (nineteen years ago)

(Haha, a google for real-life hometown usage of that first one brought up the perfect example from someone's MySpace: "Dang, you were born on Cinco De Mayo thats all kinds crazy!")

― nabisco, Monday, 14 May 2007 17:58 (nineteen years ago)

"Neej"

is this short for something?

"Ho-wa!" (HOE-WA)

like the Lakota "Aho"?

― gabbneb, Monday, 14 May 2007 18:18 (nineteen years ago)

Here in Minnesota we play Duck, Duck, Grey Duck instead of Duck, Duck Goose.

Also, rubber bands used in the hair for pony-tails are called "hair binders"

― Caledonia, Monday, 14 May 2007 18:56 (nineteen years ago)

I have heard that Berk etymology before but it was Berkeley Hunt which at least is pronounced the same way.

― Colonel Poo, Monday, 14 May 2007 19:54 (nineteen years ago)

goof

― Dr. Superman, Monday, 14 May 2007 22:31 (nineteen years ago)

umbers -- used by small children to shame one another (as in "I saw you, I'm telling the teacher," etc.)

We had that in NoCal (and I think in Australia as well, iirc), except it was more 'um-ahh'.

― luna, Monday, 14 May 2007 22:39 (nineteen years ago)

Wait, did you live in Australia as a child?

― nabisco, Monday, 14 May 2007 22:51 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah Australian kids do/did say 'um-ahh'

― Drooone, Monday, 14 May 2007 22:57 (nineteen years ago)

"gift"-90s slang meaning great or really worthy of praise. "your baggy jeans are gift"

"legend"-00s slang meaning same thing. "it's legend". "he is a legend".

"savage"-later 00s slang meaning same thing. "that's savage".

all these kind of middle class Dublin I'd say, except savage might be a bit more universal, not sure.

― Ronan, Monday, 14 May 2007 22:59 (nineteen years ago)

A lot of Australians say "legend".
Also ending questions in "or" is a big one. But I don't think that's exclusively an Australian thing.

like: "Do you want to get mad cunted tonight, or...?

― Drooone, Monday, 14 May 2007 23:08 (nineteen years ago)

also: "yeah nah"

― Drooone, Monday, 14 May 2007 23:10 (nineteen years ago)

I've known of that Berkshire Hunt etymology for years and years, but "berk" itself is such a mild word for all that complicated baggage. Mind you, "cunt" itself is pretty mild these days, really.

― Lostandfound, Monday, 14 May 2007 23:41 (nineteen years ago)

Wait, did you live in Australia as a child?

Yeah, from 8-12, I did. Started out in Castle Hill, NSW, then went to Manly, NSW, then Surfer's Paradise, QLD.

― luna, Monday, 14 May 2007 23:41 (nineteen years ago)

I picked up "hella" from my cousins in San Francisco and brought it to Seattle. A wonderfully versatile word, I can't imagine not having it at my disposal.

― musically, Monday, 14 May 2007 23:43 (nineteen years ago)

Some old Manc (Manchester) slang, some of which escaped the Greater Manchester area, some which didn't:

Scran = food
Ginnel = alley
Mither = bother
Shufty = take a look
"Sound" = "cool"
Pants = not very good
Mint = great
Madferit = passionate
Five-O/Dibble = Police
Skrike = cry
Scowler = troublemaker
Brassic = skint
Bobbins = Rotten

― Lostandfound, Monday, 14 May 2007 23:43 (nineteen years ago)

Surfer's Paradise = hellish awfulness.

xxp

― Drooone, Monday, 14 May 2007 23:44 (nineteen years ago)

It was pretty killer in the early 80s, though.

― luna, Monday, 14 May 2007 23:44 (nineteen years ago)

I've known of that Berkshire Hunt etymology for years and years, but "berk" itself is such a mild word for all that complicated baggage. Mind you, "cunt" itself is pretty mild these days, really.

In Britain. In the states, I can't think of anything that would piss off more people.

― kingkongvsgodzilla, Monday, 14 May 2007 23:46 (nineteen years ago)

I should clarify that "umbers" was not like the regular sounds "umm ahh" and was fully pronounced, even by this kindergarten stoolie who caught me eating paste: "ummmmmmbers."

I like to imagine it was a high-level crayon reference meaning "you got BURNT," but nobody ever caught me eating paste and said "sienna."

― nabisco, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 04:36 (nineteen years ago)

To be honest I think it was a little-kid screw-up of "embarrassed."

― nabisco, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 04:37 (nineteen years ago)

"Ho-wa!" (HOE-WA) - The most well-known item of native american slang. It is an exclamation which conveys appreciative awe. It is somehow more powerful than the seemingly-equivalent ?wow!?

!!

I grew up in northern MN and I heard this a lot from my Chippewa classmates, but I moved away in 6th grade and never heard it since, so I almost thought I imagined it.

― Jesse, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 04:57 (nineteen years ago)

Berkeley Hunt makes a lot more sense than Berkshire Hunt on the pronounciation front.

― Masonic Boom, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 09:18 (nineteen years ago)

Berk was quite a popular (and mild) insult growing up in Worcester in the 80s. Never hear anyone use it nowadays.

― Colonel Poo, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 09:36 (nineteen years ago)

Does anyone in the U.S. actually use "ass" as an insult, or is it purely network TV shorthand for "asshole"?

More Dublin ones:

Deadly: very good
Gee (pronounced with a hard g): lady's front bottom
Gee-eyed: drunk
Geebag: person who has just wronged you
Mickey: penis

― accentmonkey, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 10:06 (nineteen years ago)

Shufty = take a look

not Manc, I'm afraid. Either Hindi or Arabic and dating from colonial times.

― Grandpont Genie, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 14:33 (nineteen years ago)

Yes, definitely not confined to Manchester, likewise "Scran" and "Brassic", the latter is rhyming slang:

boracic lint = skint

― Tom D., Tuesday, 15 May 2007 14:35 (nineteen years ago)

"shufti" is gypsy/romani

― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:41 (nineteen years ago)

I don't know about that, I'm pretty sure it's British army, from India

― Tom D., Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:44 (nineteen years ago)

alright, that's what i'd always heard.. romanis are from india, if you go back far enough

― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 17:02 (nineteen years ago)

i'm pretty sure "chav" is a gypsy word

― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 17:04 (nineteen years ago)

all kinds -- meaning "very," as in "that chick is all kinds crazy"

This is my favorite thing to check when I meet people from new places--whether they say "mad" (which is what I said growing up in NJ), "hella" (mostly NorCal I think), "wicked" (New England and specifically Boston obviously), or one that I've never heard, like "all kinds."

― max, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 17:26 (nineteen years ago)

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