Word-Up.pdf

Word Up

A Lexicon and Guide to Communication in the 21st Century

Mark McCrindle with Emily Wolfinger Foreword by Kel Richards

About us

McCrindle Research exists to conduct world-class research and to communicate the insights in innovative ways. You can find out more about our research agency at www.mccrindle.com.au. For more information, feel free to contact us: Phone: 02) 8824 3422 Fax: 02) 8824 3566 Email: [email protected]

Mail: McCrindle Research A39, 24 Lexington Drive Bella Vista, NSW, 2153 Australia

CANBERRA MMXI Published by Halstead Press Gorman House, Ainslie Avenue Braddon, Australian Capital Territory, 2612 and Unit 66, 89–97 Jones Street Ultimo, New South Wales, 2007 Copyright 2011, McCrindle Research Pty Ltd. Not to be copied whole or in part without authorisation. Typeset by ePrintDesign. Printed in Australia by Trojan Press. National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Author: McCrindle, Mark. Title:

Word up : a lexicon and guide to communication in the 21st century / by Mark McCrindle, with Emily Wolfinger.

ISBN:

9781920831851 (hbk.)

Subjects: English language–Australia–Usage. English language–Variation. English language–Social aspects–Australia English language–Slang–Lexicography. Young adults–Language. English language–Foreign influences. Language and culture–Australia. Other Authors/Contributors: Wolfinger, Emily.

Contents Foreword 4 lntroduction 6 Chapter 1 Talkin’ ‘bout my Generation 9 Chapter 2 lnfluences on 21st Century Language 22 Chapter 3 Youth Slang 53 Chapter 4 Australianisms and Clichés 68 Chapter 5 lconic One-liners and Jingles 89 Chapter 6 Political Jargon 101 Chapter 7 The Offensive and the Incorrect 111 Chapter 8 Manners 128 Chapter 9 Literacy 145 Conclusion 161 Notes 162 Glossary 169 The Youth Language Lexicon 175 Have You Got A Word? 208

T he Y outh L anguage L exicon

The Youth Language Lexicon A word on the methodology: To compile this lexicon we surveyed generations Y and Z, asking them for key words that they use – and the meanings. We used written and online surveys and informal discussions, so the words have come directly from teenagers and 20-somethings. We have also included contributions from researchers who have defined some words that they hear used regularly by generations Y and Z. Youth jargon is in constant flux. What may be all the go today, may disappear tomorrow. Herein some of the slang may be recognisable to Y-ers but not Zeds and vice versa. This disparity is also seen within the two generations. For example, older Y-ers may continue to use slang that has been changed or not even adopted by the younger Y-ers. On top of this, terms recognisable to older generations have been given new meaning and new life by younger generations.

African American street jargon Herein you will find a number of African American slang words. Contrary to popular perception, much of African American jargon has not been fully accepted by Australian youth. There is a cringe factor to words like boo, izzle, da hood, feel me, who’s your daddy!, da bom, homie, and booty call. Despite growing up in a multicultural society, influenced by many cultures in daily life as well as via the internet and entertainment media, the younger generations reject slang that doesn’t sit right with them. Those outside the culture who use it are seen as ‘try-hards’ by their peers. So, while these terms are well known due to the domination of American entertainment, they are not widely used by Aussie youth, at least in their original context. Often, mock tones are applied. Indeed, 175

T he Y outh L anguage L exicon A

when these words are presented as slang used by Aussie Y-ers and Zeds, the young people often respond with indignation. As one Zed revealed: “It’s used, but more as a joke thing, if one of my friends is trying to be African American.” Remember, context is everything with gens Y and Z!

Note on offensive slang Some of the language in this lexicon is profane and crude. In the interest of presenting an accurate lexicon of youth slang, please consider any offensive language in the context and purpose for which it is presented. A

already?

ab

Do you already know? “You fellas going to Rob’s tonight? Already?”

adjective. Weird, strange – as in abnormal. “My olds have gone totally ab on me.”

AMW

a’ight

(Pronounced a’ite or ite) adjective. All right. “See you at 9 tomorrow, a’ight?”

noun. Acronym for “actress, model, whatever”. Woman whose appearance is closely linked to her success.

A-list

arse hat

noun. Idiot.

noun. Category of people who are in demand as additions to a party because they are desirable, glamorous and cool. “Sasha is definitely on the A-list. She’s the best to have around.”

as

adjective. All good. “Calm down mate, it’s all-g.”

preposition. Totally, much, very. Placed after an adjective, as intensifies it like so placed before. “Sick as”, “gnarly as”. A contraction replacing a simile, e.g. “cool as a cucumber” can be replaced by “cool as”.

all that

as if

all-g

That’s totally not going to happen; it can’t be. “Can I come too?” “As if !” Kimmy on Kath and Kim uses this retort frequently.

adjective. Superior in nature, wonderful or attractive. “That boy is all that.” “That song is all that and a bag of potato chips!” 176


bang on

aw yea

That’s right, correct. “Are you saying she fully hooked up with him?” “Bang on.”

(Pronounced aw yeah). Oh, yes. “Nice wheels.” “Aw yea.”

ax

bare

adjective. A lot of, very. “That dude is bare uggers.”

verb. Ask. “I’m only gonna ax you once.” B

barred

verb. Fooled. “You got barred badly.”

back in the day

In the past. An imprecise way to refer to the past without sounding like a tryhard.“Back in the day, Led Zeppelin . . . ” Old folks say “Well, when I was a boy . . .”

b-cubed

bait

beast

adjective. Bland beyond belief. “Are you going to invite Leah?” “As if. She’s b-cubed.”

noun, adjective. Obvious, self evident, annoyingly familiar. “Did you know Jess and me are together?” “Yeah, that was bait, everyone knew.”

1. noun. Impressive, usually customised car. 2. noun. Person who performs an impressive feat. “Did you see him ollie those stairs? What a beast!” 3. adjective. coo.

baked

verb, adjective. Substance-affected, out of it, off with the fairies. “Dude, you should have seen him. He was totally baked.”

bent

adjective. Skewed, misconstruing reality. “That’s bent, it ain’t like that at all.” As in warped.

baked potato

noun. Couch potato who is stoned as well as stuffed (from pigging out on junk food). “Get a life Jimmy, you baked potato!”

betty

noun. Girl, woman. An old-school term recently readopted in youth circles. “Hey man, check out that fine looking betty.”

bakin

verb. Reference to drugs. Typically said when asking people which drugs they are currently using or supplying. “So wadda ya have bakin these days?”. Derived from the practice of baking cupcakes, muffins etc. with drugs in them.

bevan

noun. Daggy young male.

biatch

(Pronounced bee-arch) noun. 1. Someone who is rude in behaviour. 2. Someone who says or does something unkind but amusing. Said tongue-in-cheek in

bananas adjective. Hot, cute, adorable. “That guy is bananas.” 177

A B

T he Y outh L anguage L exicon B

blig it

a friendly way. “I feel like taking a pair of scissors to some of the clothes she wears.” “You biatch!”

verb. Stop raving on. Used to instruct someone that there is no point in continuing the topic, no one wants to hear any more. “Blig it why don’t you?”

big horse

noun. Cool person.

bling, bling-bling

big rig

noun. Jewellery, usually chunky and dazzling jewellery. “Check out John’s bling!” With Gen Y it’s not just the girls who wear bling.

noun. Large person.

bikkie

noun. Ecstasy pill, not something you eat with a cup of tea. “Those bikkies are hard core.”

blingin

verb. Wearing a lot of jewellery. “Samantha’s blingin tonight.”

biskit, biscuit

1. noun. Someone who crumbles under pressure. “Blake is such a biskit.” 2. bikkie. 3. Someone whose behaviour is repeatedly irrational and nonsensical.

blinglish

BIT

blogosphere

noun. Contemporary African American vernacular borrowed from commercial hip hop culture. Compound of bling and English.

noun. Acronym for “bitch in training”. Affluent, stuck-up, teenage girl.

noun. That part of the internet dominated by blogs. “Steph’s a great writer, but you’ve got to remember she’s stuck in the blogosphere.”

bitchin

adjective. Totally awesome, unbelievable, exciting. “The surf is bitchin.”

blong

noun. Serious bling. “Now that’s some blong you’ve got on!”

bite it

verb. Trip, fall down. “See Dylan bite it when he was trying to jump that train?”

blotto

noun. Business, personal concerns. “Nothing to do with you. That’s my biz, man.”

adjective. Drunk, intoxicated, between the drink you shouldn’t have had and the one that will have you hugging the toilet bowl; call a taxi. “You’re blotto! Ease up a bit, dude.”

blazed

blouse

biz

adjective. High on marijuana.

noun. Effeminate male. “Stop whining. Man, you can be such a blouse!” 178


blow

you like my playlist?” “Book.” Book is the first option given by predictive text to someone when trying to type c-o-o-l when texting.

1. verb. Be great, go off. Usually in reference to an event. “This party is going to blow!” 2. adjective. Terrible, of a bad standard. “This movie blows!”

boosh

blow-in

noun. Someone from outside an ingroup. “So, what’s this blow-in’s name?”

(oo is pronounced as in boo, not as in book). Like saying “nice one”, “good call”.

blurfle

booty

noun. Bottom, particularly in reference to a female.

verb. Said to someone caught talking very loudly at the moment the music suddenly stops at a bar, a nightclub, or a party. “Ha, ha – blurfle!”

booty call

noun. Phone call to arrange a romantic rendezvous, usually made late at night. “Sarah got a booty call last night!”

BMW

Acronym for “bitch, moan, whine”, usually used in SMS or online communication. “Here she goes again. BMW.”

bootylicious

adjective. Having great curves. Said about an attractive female. “Look at you girl, you’re bootylicious!” Compound of booty and delicious.

bomb, bom

noun. Best. “That song is the bomb!” Used since the mid-nineties.

boulanger

noun. Something or someone weird or obnoxious. “She’s such a boulanger.”

bom chika wah wah

Chant indicating someone attractive has been mentioned or caught the speaker’s eye. It comes from a 2007 advert for Lynx deodorant, and is said on its own.

booyakasha

Expression of delight, used for something very good.

bra, braw – bro

boo, b

brandist

noun. 1. Darling, sweetheart; term of affection used between lovers. “Just you and me tonight, boo.” 2. Girlfriend, boyfriend. “Don’t come near my boo.”

noun. Someone who wears only brand name clothes and makes it obvious. “You’re such a brandist, Simone. Look at your wardrobe!”

book

adjective. Admirable, fashionable, cool. “Hey, check out those book jeans.” “How do 179

B

T he Y outh L anguage L exicon B

brand nazi

buggin

noun. brandist who insists on a particular brand or particular brands of clothing.

verb. Acting strange. “Why are you buggin?”

bundy

BRB

imperative verb. Get away! Called out as a warning.

Acronym for “be right back”. Mostly used when temporarily calling off electronic communication.

bunger

noun. 1. Cigarette. “Can I scab a bunger from you, mate?” 2. Tom Thumb or similar firecracker.

brick

adjective. 1. Cold. “Man, it’s brick tonight.” 2. Cool, appealing.

bunk

briefcase

adjective. 1. Really bad or annoying. “Dad won’t drive us to the party. He’s so bunk!” 2. Boring, stupid. “This town is bunk, there’s like absolutely nothing to do.”

noun. Wine cask. Often paired with the name of a residential area where drinking sessions around a wine cask are the norm. “Broadmeadows briefcase”, “Bellambi briefcase”.

burn

1. verb. Enjoy something. “I’m burning this sandwich.” 2. noun. Harsh criticism, often used by a third party as commentary. “Sick, that was amazing!” “That’s what your Mum told me last night!” “Burn!”

bringin sexy back

Being very sexy. From Justin Timberlake’s song “Sexy Back”. Someone who brings sexy back is claiming to be sexy. “Girl, I’m bringin sexy back.”

bro, bra, braw, broseph

burnout

noun. Friend or close acquaintance. “What’s up, bro?” Derived from brother.

noun. Car stunt involving loss of traction to the tyres. “That burnout was mad!” See donut.

brown-town

adjective. Dull, boring, like the colour brown in clothing. “His style is so brown-town.” See whitebread.

busted

adjective. Unfashionable. “Do I look busted?”

BTW

bustin

Acronym for “by the way”. Usually used in texting or online communication. “BTW, the party was GR8.”

verb. Executing an action skillfully. “Hey, look at Dan. He’s bustin some moves!” Derived from busting.

buff

adjective. Fit, toned, sexy. 180


chaddy – chatty

butta

noun. Good stuff. “Now that’s the butta!” Derived from butter.

chat

adjective. Disgusting, wrong, not very nice. “Ugh, I look chat in that photo.”

butters

chatty, chaddy

1. adjective. Ugly, from butt-ugly. 2. noun. Clumsy person who drops the ball, from butter fingers.

adjective. Uncool, inferior.

cheddar

noun. Money. “He’s got the cheddar.”

buzzing

cheers

1. adjective. Cool. 2. adjective. Excited. 3. verb. Feeling the effects of drugs, particularly MDMA.

Thanks. “Cheers, mate!” A British word now common in Australia.

cheese

noun. Money.

C

cheezin

verb. Smiling. “Why you cheezin so big?”

caffescienti

noun. People who spend a lot of their free time in coffee shops. “Hey look, here come the caffescienti.”

chick flick

noun. Film targetted at and popular amongst female viewers, usually a romantic comedy or tear jerker. “Oh, not another chick flick tonight, babe! I thought we were gunna watch the footy!”

call the wambulance

Expression used to accuse someone of crying or seeking sympathy over nothing important, or exaggerating a perceived injury.

chili

noun, adjective. Attractive female. “Check that chick out bra.” “Yeah, she’s chili.”

c-bomb

chillax

noun. Very old taboo word starting with c, dropped into dialogue unexpectedly, with the effect of startling or embarrassing listeners.

verb. Relax and hang out with friends; relax and calm down. “Sit down and chillax.” Compound of chill and relax.

chillin

verb. Being calm and relaxed; hanging out with no particular purpose. “Whassup?” “Just chillin.” From chill, a Boomer word.

cha-ching

Expression used when one comes into money. “Here’s the rest of what I owed you.” “Cha-ching.”

chomper

cash

noun. Computer slang for loser. “I met this guy online the other day. Talk about a chomper!”

adjective. Appealing or cool. “This stuff ’s cash!” 181

B C

T he Y outh L anguage L exicon C

chron

coo

adjective. 1. Great, excellent. 2. Substandard. 3. Cool, awesome. From chronic. The sense depends on the emphasis and context.

Cool.

coolth

adjective. State or quality of being cool; from a hip point of view of course, not an indication of temperature.

chron dog

adjective. Cool, awesome. “That car is chron dog.”

cool wit dat

Comfortable with that.

clappin

adjective. Worn out, exhausted, outdated, unfashionable. “Sorry dude, but those shoes are clappin.”

coota

clicked

core

adjective. Good, all right. “That’s coota as.”

adjective. Angry.

adjectival suffix. Totally, completely. “That band is sick core”.

clownin

couch-hopping, couch-surfing

verb. Making fun of someone, joking around. “Man, you clownin on me?”

verb. Staying temporarily with one friend after another. “When are you going to get a place and stop this couch-hopping business, bro?”

clubbing

noun. Going out to a club which plays loud music, such as dance, techno or RnB. “Come out clubbing with us tonight?”

coupledom

noun. The state of being in a monogamous relationship.

confuzzled

adjective. Confused and puzzled. “That was a guy? I’m confuzzled.”

cracking, crackalacking

verb. Happening, being done by someone. “What’s cracking?”

control-alt-delete

imperative verb. Shut up. “I’m not listening to your rubbish anymore. Control-alt-delete!” A computer term for the function that forces a program to quit.

cranking

verb. Going very well. “This party is cranking.”

control-z

crib

imperative verb. Undo. A computer term for the function that forces a program to undo the previous action.

noun. House, flat, dwelling. “Come over to my new crib some time.”

182


credlocks

D

noun. Dreadlocks that have been grafted so as to increase one’s street credibility. “Check out that dude’s credlocks.”

dad joke

Sort of witticism affected by one’s father, which may have been slightly funny in a previous era, and keeps on amusing him through countless repetitions. “How could you, Em? That’s such a dad joke.”

cretin

noun. Sleazy male; creep. “I wouldn’t go near him if I were you, he is such a cretin!”

cruisy

daddy

adjective. 1. Going well, without problems. “Life’s pretty cruisy at the moment.” 2. Easy going, relaxed, laid back. “Won’t Pete mind if I stay over again?” “Don’t worry, he’s cruisy.”

noun. 1. Older, rich boyfriend. 2. Boyfriend. “Come here, daddy. I have a surprise for you.” Originally African American, from sugar daddy.

da bomb, da bom, the bomb

crunk

The best. “That song is da bomb.” A nineties term.

adjective. Drunk and a bit crazy. “He’s so crunk. Better call him a taxi.” 2. Very good. “That burnout was crunk.”

da hood

noun. The neighbourbood, a certain part of town. “Meet me in da hood at nine thirty.”

CUL8TR

Phonetic contraction of “see you later”. Usually used in SMS and online communication.

dang

Expression indicating disappointment or surprise. “Dang Richie, you said you’d be there man!”

cuz

noun. Close friend. Usually used as a term of address between male friends. “How are things goin’, cuz?” From cousin.

dapadan

noun. The leader, the man.

cyberloafing

noun. Using the internet at work for non-work purposes – at the boss’s expense. “Guess what? I was caught cyberloafing the other day. So embarrassing!”

dart

noun. A cigarette. “Let’s go for a dart.”

dash

verb. Pass, give. “Hey, can you dash me my iPad?”

cyberslacking – cyberloafing

183

C D

T he Y outh L anguage L exicon D

dat

devon, dev

pronoun. That.

adjective. Bad, unfortunate, gross. “It was devon.” Possibly derived from the soft meat which has the same name in some regions.

dawg – dogg deck

adjective. Cool, impressive. “That stunt was deck!” Still also in use as a verb in the old sense of knock someone down. “Leave, or I’ll deck you.”

dip out

deep

noun. Someone who is inept and makes a nuisance or spectacle of himself. “What a diptron!”

verb. Leave, quit. “Hey Baz, I’m gonna dip out.”

diptron

adjective. 1. Unpleasant and inferior. 2. Impressive and attractive. “That chick is deep.” The meaning depends on the context.

dirt

adjective. Ugly. “He’s dirt, I can’t believe you hit that.”

defs

adverb. Definitely. “Yeah, I would defs tell her about it.”

dis

verb. Disparage, disrespect, insult. “Yo, why you dissing me?” From disrespect, or according to some, dismiss.

defriend

verb. End a friendship with. From social networking websites such as Facebook, where you can “friend” or “defriend” people.

DL – down low dodge, dodgy

delishes

adjective. Cool, awesome. “I went back there last night and it was delishes!”

adjective. Unreliable, dishonest. “Don’t eat that, it’s dodge.” “Don’t give him your number. He’s a bit dodgy.”

dero

dogg

1. adjective. Old and broken down. “Their school is dero.” 2. noun. Lame, unfashionable person. “Dude, Alyssa is such a dero.” From derelict.

noun. Friend, accomplice. Used like homie and bro. “Hey dogg – good to see you!”

dogged

dev, devvo

verb. Abandoned.“We dogged him.”

adjective. Devastated. “I’m so dev I failed English.” Australian slang. 2. devon.

dogger

noun. Police officer. “Oh no, it’s a dogger. Better pull over.” 184


don’t go there

“Dave just broke up with Shazza . . . keep it on the DL.” 2. Phrase accompanied by gesture, inviting someone to join in a high-five salutation with arms extended downwards. 3. Knowledgeable, informed.

imperative verb. Avoid that subject because it’s touchy. “Guess what your ex got up to the other day?” “Please, don’t go there!”

donut, doughie

noun. Car stunt, involving driving in a tight circle with loss of traction to the tyres. “That donut was awesome. Wanna go again?”

drank

1. adjective. Very drunk. “He was so drank he fell off the chair.” 2. noun. Another word for drink. “Pass me that drank.”

doof

dred

(Rhymes with hoof) noun. Dance party held outdoors or in a warehouse, but usually in the bush. “I went to the best doof on the weekend!”

adjective. Dreadful, terrible. “That car is dope.” “Nah it’s not, you have dred taste.”

dude

noun. Friend, person. A retro term, yet still commonly used to address someone. Much like mate, refers to a friend or a person in general. A dude is notionally male, but the term can be used to refer to a male or female, like the word guys.

doof-doof

(Rhymes with hoof) noun. Usually techno or electronically produced music.

door bitch

noun. Discriminating person on the entrance of a nightclub or licensed premises who permits or denies patrons. “That munter door bitch wouldn’t let me in!”

durri, durry

noun. Cigarette. “Got a spare durri on you, bro?” E

dope

adjective. Good, appealing. “Check out his dope ride!” A nineties term still in use.

e-class

noun. A really expensive car. “Smithy is ridin e-class”. From the Mercedes E-class range.

down

1. verb. Happening. “What’s down with Wil? He’s been real strange lately.” 2. adjective. In agreement. “Man, I’m down wit whatever you decide.”

emo

noun, adjective. Emotional person, someone into emo (emotional) music or the emo subculture itself, charaterised by black clothes, black hair and a focus on depression.

down low, DL

1. Secret, not public information. 185

D


epic

adjective. Incredible, big, massive. “It’s been an epic day.”

feral.” 2. adjective. Gross, disgusting. “Man, lunch was pretty feral.” 3. noun. An unkempt or daggy person. “Did you see what he was wearing?” “Yeah, what a feral!”

F

ferosh

adjective. Appealing or desirable, relating to fashion. “That coat is ferosh!” Derived from ferocious.

fail

1. interjection. Used to declare that someone has done something that doesn’t work or is stupid. 2. noun. Used like a suffix after a word that specifies the kind of failure or scale of failure that has been observed. “Epic fail.” Fail is taken from “fail posters”: labels appearing on the internet over material they condemn as failures.

fetch

adjective. Cool or stylish. “The shoes are fetch. Where did you get them?” Popularised by the movie Mean Girls; probably short for fetching.

fine

adjective. Beautiful, said of a girl or woman. “She’s fine – and out of my league.”

fang

verb. 1. Go somewhere. “I’m going to fang over to Amy’s.” 2. Travel in a hurry, with great speed. “I’m gonna have to fang it home.”

fit

adjective. Very attractive. British slang used jokingly.

fap

fitty

adjective. Drunk and confused. “Check out Davo. He’s fap! Totally off his face!”

noun. Fifty dollars. “Hey, you got fitty on you?”

f-bomb

noun. Taboo word starting with f, dropped into dialogue unexpectedly, with the effect of startling or embarrassing listeners.

flaky

feel me

flamed

adjective. Unreliable. Off with the fairies. “I can’t believe Rani ditched your party. She’s so flaky.” verb. Victimised in a cyber-bullying attack; digitally dissed (see dis, burn) – usually in an online chat room. It can lead to a “flame war”.

verb. Understand me. “If you don’t stop buggin, I’ll bust your grill, do you feel me?”

feral

1. adjective. In reference to someone who has let their appearance and/ or behaviour go wild. “That girl’s gone

flip ya

See you later, catch you. 186


frothing

flog

verb. Drive a car hard. “He won’t lend it because he knows you’ll flog it.” 2. Assault physically. “Seen Mitch? That scum flogged him real bad.” Flog still also has meanings given it by older generations, including steal and sell and defeat.

verb. Cheering, stoked. “Corynne was frothing after catching that epic wave.”

FTW

acronym. For the win. Used in electronic communication to indicate support or high expectations for a person, team, horse, etc.

flow

noun. Rhythm, concentration. “Shut up! You’re disturbing my flow.”

fudge

1. noun. Very stupid person. “That guy is such a fudge.” 2. adjective. Fake, artificial. “She always looks fudge to me.”

fly

adjective. Cool, hip, attractive. “Girl, you look fly tonight.”

fugly

foo

adjective. Very ugly. “Look at that bloke. Talk about fugly!”

Term of address. 1. Used insultingly. “What you lookin at foo?” 2. Used to address a friend. “Whassup foo?” From fool.

fully

intensifying adverb. Very, extremely. Often used in response to signify agreement with a statement, typically compounded with an adjective. “That’s fully sick.”

fo shiz, fo shizzle, fo sheezy, fo sho For sure.

freak 1. noun. Amazing athlete. 2. noun. Very good looking person. 3. verb.

funked up

“Don’t freak! It’s a fake spider!”

funky

All dressed up and ready to go out. “Wow, look atchoo, all funked up.”

Become frightened, upset or angry.

adjective. Cool. “Your new hair style is funky. Where did you get it done?”

freestyle

noun, verb. Behaviour practised without regard for structure or established procedure. A term associated with the rap subculture.

G

G

fresh

1. Address used when greeting a friend. “Whassup G?” From gangster. 2. noun. Someone you associate with.

adjective. 1. Mad, cool, awesome. “Those shoes are fresh!” 2. Newly hooked up with someone. 187

F G

T he Y outh L anguage L exicon G

gaming

get go

verb, noun. Playing computer games at a high level, as if they were an art or sport.

noun. Starting time. Starting point. “Jay was winning from the get go.”

get over it

gammin

adjective. Silly, stupid, ridiculous. “This class is gammin.”

Stop over-reacting, stop going on about it. “I can’t believe I spilled coke on my new shirt!” “Get over it.”

gang banger

get your swerve on

noun. Someone who is in a gang. “Stay away from him. He’s a gang banger.”

(Often pronounced shwerve). Get into a rhythm, achieve a positive momentum. When playing a sport, if your team does well you can say “Now we got our swerve on!”

ganga

(Rhymes with banger) noun. Promiscuous woman.

ghetto

ganja

1. adjective. Undesirable. “That place is ghetto”. 2. adverb. Out of control or vying for attention. “Mel, stop acting ghetto!”

noun. Marijuana.

gaper

noun. Beginner skier or snowboarder who has little or no idea of local snow sport style and etiquette. “That gaper is wearing a one-piece.”

ghetto booty

noun. Appealing curves on an attractive female. “That girl’s got ghetto booty!”

gay

girlfriend, girlfren

1. Uncool, inferior. “That shirt you’ve got on is so gay.” 2. Undesirable. “She’s making us do work over the holidays.” “That’s gay.”

noun. Term of address, usually used by one female to refer to another, often a close friend. “Whatcha doin, girlfriend?”

glitched

g-daddy

verb. Coming down off alcohol or drugs in a bad way. “She’s been completely glitched all morning.”

noun. Grandfather. More flattering or inclusive way of saying it. “So, you’ll be a g-daddy by the end of the month, Dad?”

gnarly

get down

adjective. Cool, awesome.

verb. Execute something with skill. “Look at her get down on that dance floor!”

goon

noun. Cask wine.

188


grunger

goonbag

noun. Devotee of grunge culture, who typically wears a flannelette shirt and long hair, washes infrequently and likes grunge music like Nirvana, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains.

noun. Cask wine container.

goth

noun. Member of the goth subculture who typically appears pale, wears black attire and avoids exuberance; someone who imitates the style of a character from a Gothic novel. “What’s with the black clothes? You look like a goth.”

acronym. Got to go. Mostly used when signing off from text messages and online chat.

grain

gump

GTG, G2G

noun. Clumsy, goofy person. “Ash, you big gump.”

noun. Money.

grill

noun. Someone’s teeth or smile. “He better shut up or I’ll bust his grill!”

H

hack

grimy

verb. Speak badly of someone or something. “Don’t hack on him like that. He’s trying his best.”

adjective. Impressive, excellent. “Check out those grimy wheels.”

grip

hainess

adjective. Large quantity, pile. “He’s got a grip of cheddar.”

adjective. Yuck, disgusting, dirty. Seemingly a respelling of heinous.

grommet, grommie, gremmie

handbag

noun. Wine cask. Often paired with the name of a residential area where drinking sessions around a wine cask are de rigueur. “Dubbo handbag”. See briefcase.

noun. Child; child surfer, skater or snowboarder.

gronk

noun. Loser, idiot. “Stop acting like a gronk, Jase!”

hard-case

gronk out

adjective. 1. Very funny, funny as. “That was hard-case, bro.” 2. Horrible and unexpected. “That accident back there was hard-case.” A term of Kiwi origin.

verb. Go home to bed, to “crash”. “Sorry guys, but I’m going to gronk out.”

grunge

adjective, noun. See grunger. 189

G H

T he Y outh L anguage L exicon H

hard-core

hek

adjective. 1. Intense, extreme. “That bikkie was hard-core.” or “Dude, that’s so unfair, your Mum is hard-core.” 2. Feared or fearless. “Those lads are hard-core.” 3. Fantastic, great. “That band is hardcore.” All meanings have a sense of awe-inspiring intensity.

adjective. Cool, awesome.

hell good

(Pronounced with emphasis on hell). Very, very good. “That curry was hell good.”

hilare

hard out

Really cool.

adjective. Hilarious. “That movie was hilare.”

harvey norman

ho

haten

hold up

adjective. Mainstream, uninteresting. “That’s a bit harvey norman.” From the retail chain, Harvey Norman.

noun. Derogatory word directed at a woman. “Lisa’s a nasty ho.” Derived from whore.

verb. Do or say unkind things, express dislike. “Why you gotta be haten on Bec like that? She’s a cool chick.” Derived from hating.

(Often pronounced hole up) verb. Wait, hold on one second.

holla

noun. Head start, inside information. Often expressed as a warning.“Heads up Molly, your Dad’s on his way over.”

imperative verb. Make noise to show your approval or support. “Holla if you’re with me!” 2. verb. Understand, comprehend. Originates from rap subculture.

heavy

holla at ya girl

hecka

holly

heads up

adjective. Intense or depressing. “I’ve got to go to a funeral today.” “Heavy, man.”

I agree/sympathise with what you’re saying.

1. Prefix used as an intensifier. “Heckacool”, “hecka-stupid”, “hecka-crazy”, “hecka-funny”. 2. Adjective. Many, lots of, much. “He dissed me a hecka times.”

adverb. Overly dramatic. “No need to be all holly about it.”

homie

noun. Friend, companion. “Whassup homie?” From home-boy.

hectic

adjective. Crazy, full on. “Josh smashed my car up!” “That’s hectic.”

190


iced out

hood

noun. Contraction of neighbourhood and used in the same sense. “Yo G, I’m in your hood, what’s doin?”

adjective. Wearing a lot of bling. “Check out all that bling, you’re iced out!”

ignoranus

noun. Ignoramus. “I’m not an ignoranus, Brett!” Malapropism popularised by Kath and Kim.

hook up

verb. 1. Get intimate, start a relationship. “Hey, did you hear Mel hooked up with that hottie from the club?” 2. Kiss passionately.

ill, illin

noun, adjective. Cool, relaxed, in style. “Dazza’s lookin ill tonight – totally sick!”, “I’m just illin with my friends.”

hooptie

noun. Large, seventies style American car. Big, old, beat up car. “Check it out, there’s Brendan in his hooptie!”

I’m out, I’m outtie

I am leaving, I’m off. “I’m out – This place is bunk.” Derived from I’m out of here.

horse

adjective. Cool.

I’m straight

hottie

I’m cool, no I’m alright, I’m good. Used instead of, or with no thankyou.

noun. Good looking male or female. “Check out that new guy, he’s a hottie!”

in da house – in the house

howling adjective. Ugly.

indie

adjective. Anti-commercial, anti-establishment – or at least pretending to be. From independent. Originally limited to “indie band” but now can describe anything.

hussy

noun. Mate or friend. “My hussy and I are chillin.”

hydro

innit

noun. Marijuana that’s grown indoors. “That was some good hydro, mate.” Derived from hydroponics.

Meaningless conclusion to a statement. “I went down the shops init.” Innit is a contraction of isn’t it? used by British people at the end of sentences, mimicked by young Australians who are amused by British inarticulateness.

I

ice

insane

noun. 1. bling, jewellery. “Check out the ice on that dude.” 2. The toxic drug, crystal methamphetamine.

adjective. Crazy, great or both. “That ride was insane.” 191

H I

T he Y outh L anguage L exicon I J K L

in the house, in da house

jiggy

it’s all good

jock

Present at a gathering or location. “My man Will’s in da house!”

noun. Nerd. “That jiggy is studying again.”

Everything is under control and fine. Usually rebutting an accusation. “Justin, are you trying to thieve some of my CDs?” “No man . . . quit trippin! It’s all good!”

noun. Male who is into sports, especially footy, typically at the expense of other concerns. This word originates from “jock strap”, an American term for protective underwear generally worn by football players. “Check out the legs on that jock.”

izzle

suffix. Decorative sound used to replace the middle and end of words starting with consonants. E.g. “I twisted my leg” can become “I twizzled my lizzle.” Popularised by American rap artist, Snoop Dogg.

joshing

verb. Joking. “Stop joshing around and get on with it.”

juicer

noun. Obsessive gym junkie on steroids. “Look at the muscles on that juicer, he looks like a freak!”

J

jacked

K

verb. 1. Thoroughly annihilated, ruined. “Look’s like the barber jacked up your hair.” 2. Stolen. “What happened to your car Alex, did it get jacked?”

keep it real

Stay cool, be true to yourself.

kickin it

jawsin

verb. Chilling, usually with friends. “Where are you going Nath?” “Just kickin it with my mates.”

verb. Lying, exaggerating. “Shut up Lucy . . . you be jawsin.”

jigga

knacking

noun. Someone who’s got a way with the ladies. “Yo, whassup jigga?” From gigolo.

verb. Snacking. L

jiggin

verb. 1. Dancing. 2. Doing something. “I’m just jiggin it here with my friends!” 3. Truanting or wagging. “Whatcha doing in town? Are you jiggin?” From jigging.

label whore

noun. Someone who only wears brand name clothes, often with the label 192


LOL, lolz, lulz

displayed. “Jen, you’re such a label whore. Who’s going to care what brand names you’re wearing?”

acronym. Laughing out loud, laugh out loud. The variant spellings of LOL can be found on the internet.

lad

noun. 1. One of the boys – in a male bonding sort of way. “Hey bra, where are the rest of the lads?” 2. Member of the lad sub-culture, affecting aggressiveness and indifference to authority.

lolcat

noun. Photo of a cat accompanied by a humorous caption. A popular distraction amongst cyberslackers. “The lolcats on that website are hilarious.” The “lol” is from lol.

ladette

noun. Rowdy, rude, boisterous, beerloving and frequently obnoxious young lady. lad + ette. Popularised by British TV series Ladette to Lady.

look atchoo

lamo

adjective. 1. Not inhibited by morals or self restraint, open minded, outgoing. “That chick is loose.” One of the old meanings of the word, with a positive spin on it. 2. To get drunk. “Let’s get loose!”

Look at you.

loose

(Pronounced lay mo) adjective. Lame, done with minimal effort (to the aggravation of the person who hurls the insult); pathetic, try-hard.

later

lush

verb. See you later, I’m going. Something to say when leaving, and you want to sound cool. Instead of saying, “Dad wants me home by 11pm, so I have to go now”, you can simply say, “Later”.

adjective. Nice, cute, adorable. “That guy is lush.” M

lifer

machine

noun. Someone suspiciously enthusiastic about working in a dead-end job.

noun. 1. Very pretty girl. 2. Someone who is solid, well built.

let’s roll

mac, mack

verb. Let’s go, it’s time to leave, it’s time to act.

noun. Guy that others want to be like, a smooth operator. Derived from Mac-10, a powerful machine gun.

lick, the

adjective. The best. “Man, those new jeans are the lick!”

mack daddy

noun. Top pimp, number one player.

193

L

T he Y outh L anguage L exicon M

macked

meathead

verb. blinged out, dressed up to the hilt. “Where are you going, all macked out like that?”

noun. Stupid person, boofhead.

meh

verb. Flirting with, pursuing or chasing. “You were macking on him, girlfriend.”

1. adjective. Expression signifying an unenthusiastic response. “What do you think of my new band?” “Meh.” 2. whatever.

mad

messed up

macking

adjective. 1. Good, cool. 2. Plentiful, extreme. “Check out Jai, he’s got mad skills!”

adjective. 1. Badly hurt. “It was a bad accident – Tim was messed up!” 2. Awesome, good, cool. So, “that was some messed up party” is a compliment.

mad dogg

minger

adjective. Cool. “Those jeans are mad dogg.”

noun. 1. Uncouth person from a low socioeconomic background. 2. Ugly person.

maggot, maggotted

adjective. Extremely intoxicated. “Luke goes hard – he got so maggotted last night” .

mint

adjective. 1. Cool. “That’s mint – in fact, it’s the bomb!” 2. Hot (attractive). “Damn, that girl is mint.”

maguar

(Pronounced magwa) adjective. Drunk in a stylish way. Probably a compound of maggot and Jaguar.

monged

majorly

adjective, verb. Wrecked, damaged.

adverb. Extremely, totally. “It was a majorly weird experience!”

moo

adjective. Bored.

mam

adjective. 1. Mammoth. 2. Hugely muscular. “Wow, that dude is mam.” 3. Built up from working out. “I’m going to the gym to get mam.”

moolard

man girl

moshing

verb. Incapacitated from the intake of alcohol. “I was totally moolard after 12 pints.”

noun. Athlete whose claim to be female is unconvincing, due to the influence of steroids.

verb, noun. Jumping up and down and head-banging to music in the “moshpit” at a rock concert. “Everyone was moshing like crazy at the festival.” 194


mosh pit

N

noun. 1. Large area where crowd of people dance at the front of the stage at a rock concert. “Come on, let’s get right up the front of the mosh pit!” 2. The crowd of people at a rock concert dancing at the front of the stage. “Farout, that mosh pit was off the chain!”

1. Exclamation of resistance. “Pick up garbage? Nah-uh! Not me!” 2. Expression of amazement or awe used when learning of something incredible. “Matto won $1,000? Nah-uh!”

mother, mutha

nailing it – sticking it

nah-uh!

noun. Difficult dilemma, hard task. “That job was a mother!”

nang

1. adjective. Cool. 2. noun. Nitrous oxide bulb inhaled for euphoric feeling.

munchies

noun. 1. Sudden appetite or craving for junk food. A term used by earlier generations for the food craving brought on by drugs, usually marijuana, now used more generally, “I’ve got the munchies.” 2. Junk food or snacks. “Do you have any munchies?”

natch

adjective. Naturally irritating. “Man, Ryan’s always talking so much crap, he’s so natch.”

netiquette

noun. The unwritten etiquette of the internet.

munt

verb. Vomit. “She munted in the gutter in front of everyone!”

newb – noob

munted

ninja’d verb. Furtively stolen. “Carly, some guy just ninja’d your drink.”

adjective. 1. Feeling the effects of drugs or alcohol. “I am utterly munted.” 2. Hurt, damaged, even tired. “My leg is munted after that stack.” 3. Ugly. “His face is heaps munted.”

no diggity

1. Definitely yes. 2. No way, definitely not. Derived from no doubt.

munter

noun. Aesthetically challenged person, hecka ugly dude. From monster.

noob, newb, n00b

noun. Inexperienced person, newcomer. Originating in gaming communities. “He doesn’t know anything, he’s a noob.”

my bad

noun. 1. Sorry, my fault. 2. Expression admitting to miscomprehension. “Sorry, my bad. Can you repeat that?”

195

M N

T he Y outh L anguage L exicon N O

not

ollie

adverb. Negative. Used at the end of a statement to reverse its meaning. “That band was great . . . not.” Popularised by the film Wayne’s World.

noun. Aerial skateboarding manoeuvre, in which board and skater lift off the ground together.

OMG

acronym for “Oh, my god!” and oshmagod.

O

off chops

ooft

Peaking on drugs; intoxicated. “Check out Lochie, he’s off chops.”

exclamation. Used to emphasise a feeling, or denote that something is impressive. When waking after a big night one could say: “Ooft! I have a serious headache.”

off your (his/her) face/head

verb. 1. Drunk or high on drugs. 2. Lost to reason or good sense, as when doing something very foolish or crazy. “You told the cops about Robbo? Are you off your face or something?”

OP

acronym. Other people’s, meaning other people’s alcohol or drugs. “So what did you drink the other night?” “OP.”

off tap

orz – zorz

adjective. Awesome, unreal.

oshmagod

off the hook, off the chain

Exclamation. Oh my god. “Oshmagod, what is he doing here?”

Cool, crazy, appealing. “This party is off the hook!”

old school

out there

1. adjective, noun. Old, classic, vintage. “I’m cool with Bob Marley – ’cause old school’s tight” 2. adjective. Old, outdated, obsolete. “He’s so old school”. Context is everything with Gen Y.

Unabashed, unashamed of loopiness.

own

one’s

verb. Dominate, win convincingly. Used mainly in the gaming community. “Dude, I totally owned that guy.”

olds

noun. Parents. See rents.

oh shut up!

interjection. Exclamation of surprise. “We won? Oh shut up!”

196


pill

P

noun. 1. Ball, football, basketball. 2. Illegal drug.

peace out

expression. Goodbye. Sometimes accompanied by a hand gesture where you pound your chest with your fist twice, then give the peace sign at a horizontal angle (with your elbow up). “Right, I’m off. Peace out.”

pillin

verb. Peaking on drugs. “Look at Gemma, she’s pillin off her head!”

pimp

1. adjective. Something very admirable or desirable. “Check out his pimp ride!” 2. noun. Man who is popular with the ladies, and has a lot of girlfriends.

peg

verb. Throw. “He just pegged a rock at our letterbox.”

play, played

pez out

verb. 1. String someone along by pretending to have a genuine serious interest in them, but with ulterior motives. “I am sorry to say this sweetie, but he played you.” 2. Deceived, hoodwinked, misled. “He played you, man. You fell for it.”

verb. Hang out with friends. Interestingly, over a dozen youth terms have been identified which mean “hang out”, but so far none meaning “work with diligence and commitment”.

phat

(Pronounced fat.) 1. adjective. Very good, cool, top notch. “His Beemer is phat!” 2. adverb. Acronym for “pretty hot and tempting”.

player

noun. 1. Someone who plays the field. Derogatory or complimentary, depending on context and who is using it. Said by one male about another, it is generally complimentary. “What did you get up to last night, you player, huh?” Said by a female to another about a male, it is derogatory, even a warning. “Don’t go near him girl, he’s a player.” 2. Man who misleads or deceives. Used by both sexes. “Don’t trust him, he’s a player.”

phatty

adjective. Incredibly good. Usually said by someone who is in admiration of a feat or trick. “That 360 was phatty!”

piece

noun. Mobile phone. “Check out that mad piece.”

pike it

porridge

verb. Let someone down; go home early. “You wanna come clubbing with us?” “Nah, I might just pike it guys.”

adjective. 1. Boring, dull. “This class is porridge.” 2. False or nonsense. “What porridge!”

197

P

T he Y outh L anguage L exicon P Q R

pov, povvo

put that on

adjective. 1. Undesirable, unhip. “See Sophie’s shoes?” “Yeah, talk about pov!” 2. Unable or unwillingly to part with money. Australian slang word derived from poverty.

verb. Please confirm. A way of verifying authenticity, like asking “you swear?” “Tim got a new car? Put that on?” “I put that on!”

putting me on blast

prank

Scolding me publicly, yelling at me. “Why was Mrs Ryan putting me on blast?”

verb. Call someone’s mobile phone so they will have your phone number.

pwn

prang

(Pronounced as pown) verb. Dominate, beat convincingly. Used as an alternative to own in the computer gaming community. “Dude, I totally pwned that guy.” Came about due to regular mistyping, since the “p” and “o” keys are adjacent on the computer keyboard.

adjective. Scared.

probs

adverb. Probably. “Will Nat be allowed to come?” “Probs not.”

puff

adjective. 1. Good, excellent, appealing. 2. Solid and lasting (in contrast with something which dissipates quickly or is light and fluffy like puff).

pwnage

noun. Act of dominating or convincingly beating someone, a computer gaming term. “There was some awesome pwnage in that fight.”

pump

adjective. Cool, as in appealing. “That chick’s pump.”

Q

punch on

Exclamation signalling to opponents who are confronting each other that they must start punching each other. “It wasn’t even a rough game till some diptron yelled out ‘punch on!’”

QP

noun. Quarter pound of marijuana. “How much, bra?” “A QP.” R

punk’d

verb. Embarrassed or surprised by someone. Caught out by a practical joke. “Ha, ha, you got punk’d!” From the American television show of the same name where practical jokes are played on unsuspecting celebrities.

random

1. adjective. Unrelated to the situation or context; totally out there. “I didn’t expect you to say that. That was so random.” 2. noun. Stranger. “This total random just came up to me and said ‘hi’.” 198


represent

rang, ranga

verb. To claim belonging, earn respect for yourself and/or your associates. “West Wollongong, represent!”

noun. Redhead. From orangutan.

rasta

noun. Non-complying, independent type (who wears dreadlocks under his large yellow, green and red hat, like every other rasta). From Rastafarian.

retro

adjective. 1. Old hat, out of date. 2. Classic, stylishly old-fashioned. “I love your outfit. It’s so retro.”

rat

retrosexual

adjective. Ugly, dirty, cheap, no class. “He’s rat.”

noun. Person with traditional ideas about sex and sexuality. “Loosen up a bit, you sound like a retrosexual.”

rate

verb. Like, approve of, value. “I rate that.”

ride

noun. Mode of transportation, usually a car. “Check out his mad ride!”

rave

noun. Dance party (often illegal) held in a large space such as a clearing or warehouse. “I had so much fun at that rave on Saturday.”

rig

noun. Body. “Check that girl out. Smokin’ rig, man.”

rock up

real

verb. Arrive. “Gee, you’ve rocked up early.”

adjective. Honest, down-to-earth, unaffected. “That girl is real.”

roids

recognise

noun. Steroids. “Jake’s really bulked up – we reckon it’s gotta be roids.”

verb. Respect. “Boy you better recognise!” Sometimes pronounced recugnise in imitation of Kim in Kath and Kim.

roll with

Hang out with. “I roll with Jamie and them.”

regulate

verb. Take enforcement action. Punish or hurt. “Man, if you don’t stop buggin I’m gonna have to regulate!”

rollin

verb. Chilling, hanging out, relaxing. “I’m rollin wit da boyz.”

rents

rough

noun. Parents, old folks. “My rents went feral when they found out I wagged.”

adjective. Good, well done, venturesome. “Those moves are heaps rough!”

199

R

T he Y outh L anguage L exicon R S

rude dude

careers expo was great! There was heaps of stuff to scam.”

noun. Someone who mistakenly thinks he or she is cool.

score

verb. Get something free or for a small charge. “Look what I just scored!”

S

scrap

safe

adjective. Cool, all good, under control. “Need a hand?” “Na man, it’s safe.”

verb. Fight.

saffa

1. noun. Someone undesirable. “Man, I ain’t hangin out with them scrubs!” 2. verb. Trip over or fall down, usually hurting oneself. “Didja see Steve scrub when he was trying to hop that rail?”

scrub

adjective. Coolest of the cool.

sally

noun. Fight. “Oshmagod! Did you hear about that sally between Mick and Jason?”

secks

adjective. Desirable. “Check out my pokemons!” “Secks.”

salty

adjective. Exhibiting a bad attitude towards someone or something. “Don’t be gettin salty with me.”

shabby

adjective. In fact the opposite of shabby – cool, smart, da bomb. “That outfit is totes shabby.”

say my name!

Exclamation used to intimidate or in celebration. If your team just scored you might yell, “Say my name, gronk!”. Alternatively you could just cheer.

shallow

adjective. Unfunny. “Man, that was shallow.”

scab

shame on your name

1. verb. Ask for something that belongs to someone else, cadge, bludge off someone. “Hey man, can I scab a smoke?” 2. noun. Someone who begs and borrows as a way of life, takes what is rightfully another’s. “She just went to my wardrobe and picked out an outfit to wear.” “What a scab!”

Shame on you. A cheeky phrase used to accuse people of humiliating themselves or doing something selfish. “I can’t believe you got with that sluzza. Shame on your name!” Originally a Kiwi expression.

shawty – shorty sherbet

scam

adjective. Excellent or pleasing. Why say “that’s good” when you can

verb. Get freebies or discounts – a key ambition of Generation Y! “The 200


shut up!

demonstrate just how cool you are by saying “that’s sherbet”?

Expression of incredulity. As if to say, “Really?” “Rach is going out with your brother.” “Shut up!”

shevel

noun. Article that enables a person to become “shevelled”, the opposite of dishevelled. Classic example is a scarf or sarong, for protection from sun, dust, etc. “Where’s my shevel?”

sick, sik

adjective. 1. Cool, awesome. 2. Extremely good – used to describe a manoeuvre, such as in an extreme sport. “That was a sick ollie, braw!” (You could also say “that was some ill ollie” but don’t say it was an “unwell ollie”.)

shindig

noun. Party. “Let’s go to that shindig on Saturday night.” Its meaning has become less specific and is no longer limited to dances.

skag

noun. Ugly girl or young woman. Sometimes used to insult a woman without implying she is ugly or disreputable. “Get over it, skag!”

shorty, shawty

noun. Good looking woman. “See that shorty over there? I’m gonna make her mine.”

skank, skanky

shorty snap

adjective. 1. Promiscuous yet undesirable. An insult usually directed at women. 2. Trashy – typically referring to an article of revealing clothing. “It’s a bit skanky. I wouldn’t wear it.” A sixties youth word that has later spread internationally.

noun. Someone who is hot or attractive.

shot

adjective. That was right; that was hot. Used positively to acknowledge something good.

skeg

shotgun

noun. Skater, someone who is involved in the skateboarding subculture. “Check out that skeg’s moves!”

verb. I bags the front seat. Nobody is allowed to deny the first person who calls “Shotgun!” Evolved from the American coaching practice of riding shotgun – travelling armed in the seat beside the coachman.

adjective. Dodgy, sinister. “What are they up to? Looks a bit sketchy.”

shotty

skippin

sketchy

verb. Wagging, deliberately avoiding school. “Are you skippin school?”

exclamation. Bags, I claim. “One of them’s got a walnut on top.” “Shotty!” “Shotty front!” means “I bags the front seat!” From shotgun. 201

S

T he Y outh L anguage L exicon S

skirt

snap

1. Exclamation used by someone shocked or scared by another who randomly grabs attention. “Boo!” “Oh snap!” 2. Exclamation conceding that someone has scored a point or established a position; touché.

noun. Effeminate male. “You are such a skirt, man!”

slag

1. noun. Unattractive or disreputable female. Like skag, sometimes used to insult a woman without implying she is ugly or disreputable. 2. verb. Insult. “Gabe was slagging you off behind your back the whole time.”

snide

verb. Obtain goods or services by eloquent dishonesty, or underhand means. “While my mate was checking out that bird at the bar, I totally snided his pie from his plate and scoffed it.”

slammin

adjective. Awesome, outrageous. “That’s a slammin outfit.”

so

slap up

adverb. Very much. Traditionally used as an intensifying adverb for lone adjectives, so has become an intensifier for whole clauses, predicates, phrases, etc. Usage may have gained popularity from TV’s Friends. Chandler: “That is so not the opposite of taking somebody’s underwear!” Joey: “So didn’t know that, but you should have seen your faces.”

verb. Beat up. “Did you see those two girls slap up each other?”

sluzza

noun. Loose person. From slut.

skux

noun. Someone who is on top of things.

smak

solid

noun. An untruth, usually a negative or derogatory comment or conversation about (or to) another person. “He be talking smak ’bout me.”

1. adjective. Reliable, genuine. “He’s really solid.” 2. noun. Favour. “Hey man, can you do me a solid?”

sound

smackety smack

adjective. Cool, great, well liked. Nothing to do with a logical argument! “Sure Tony’s flaky – but at least he’s sound”.

noun. Good mate. “What’s up smackety smack?”

smashed

adjective. Drunk.

soz

Sorry. “Soz babe, I couldn’t help it.”

smokin

spade work, spading

adjective. Hot, impressive. “That car is smokin!”

noun, verb. Flirting, pursuing, laying 202


stinger

the groundwork for a relationship with another person.

noun. Attractive girl. Opposite to stanger. “Straight up, she’s a stinger, dawg.”

spent

adjective. Tired. “Man, I’m spent.”

stingers

spenk

Nice work.

adjective. Gorgeous, pleasing to the eye. “Wow! Your top is so spenk.”

stoked

adjective. Extremely happy. Originally a skater and grunge term. “I’m so stoked I passed that test.”

sprung

adjective. Obsessed with, usually in a romantic way. “She’s so sprung on that guy, it’s pathetic.”

straight up

1. adjective. Honestly; I’m being straight with you. “Straight up, I swear.” 2. adverb. Totally, simply. Uttered mid-sentence when no other cool sounding words come to mind. “He just straight up told me that he liked me!” “Oh, straight up!”

s’righ

adjective. All good, everything’s okay. “Dude, you want a hand with that?” “S’righ.” From it’s alright.

standard adjective, noun. Goes without saying.

stralia, straya

“I’m sprung on her.” “Yeah, standard.”

adjective. Cool, great. “We’re going to Libby’s party tonight!” “Stralia!”

stanger

(Rhymes with banger) noun. Very unattractive girl. “His sister’s such a stanger!”

studged

verb. Stood up or forgotten about. “Will studged me last night so that he could hang out with his mates.”

step off

verb. Back off. A warning.

sup

sticking it

whassup. “Sup dude?”

verb. Pulling off a feat or trick; landing a trick on a board, motocross bike, etc. “Did you see Nathan sticking it out there on the wake board?”

swag

adjective. Frightening, thrilling. “That jump was swag.”

stiff

swarve

adjective. Unlucky. “I missed out on tickets to Pyramid Rock this year.” “Ohhh, stiff !”

adjective. Cool. “Look at my new mobile.” “Swarve.” Most likely from suave.

203

S

T he Y outh L anguage L exicon S T

sweet

tomato

(Can be pronounced as saw-wheat.) 1. adjective, adverb. Very good, excellent, often followed by the ubiquitous “as”. “His ride is sweet as!” A nineties term still widely used. 2. sentence substitute. Expressing approval. Okay, sure thing. “I’ve just uploaded that pic of you from the party.” “Sweet.”

adjective. Shy.

tomoz

noun, adverb. Tomorrow.

tool

noun. Someone who is socially inept or doesn’t fit in, a loser. “You can be such a tool sometimes.”

T

tosser

noun. Untrustworthy person, someone who says one thing and does another. “You can’t trust that guy. He’s a tosser.”

tax

verb. Borrow or steal. “I taxed my brother’s iPod.”

totes

that bites

adverb. Totally. “Blake is such a try-hard.” “Totes.”

That’s unfair and unfavourable. A phrase acknowledging that circumstances are unfair and unfavourable. “After all that driving, the beach was closed and we didn’t get a surf.” “That bites!”

touch down

exclamation. Excellent, top job. Mark Holden’s signature catch phrase made popular by the reality TV series, Australian Idol.

the man

noun. A guy who is extremely cool. “Hey, you the man!”

trap

noun. Very pretty girl.

thrash

verb. Wear out. “I totally thrashed that board, need a new one now.”

tribe – virtual tribe

ticket

verb. Doing something others find strange or bizarre, going over the top. “Girl, why you trippin . . . he ain’t all that!” Derived from tripping on a hallucinogenic drug.

trippin

noun. Party pill. “Got any tickets on you tonight?”

tight

adjective. Good, very nice. “See that burnout?” “Tight!”

trippy

adjective. Strange, unexpected, surreal. “Man, that movie was trippy.”

toasted

adjective. baked. 204


true

V

adjective. Awesome, cool.

vaycay

try-hard

noun. Vacation. “So, did you have a good vaycay?”

1. adjective. Uncool, pathetic; trying to seem cool with the opposite effect. An old person moshing at The Big Day Out, embarrassing his or her teenage children – that’s “try-hard”. 2. noun. Person who tries to seem cool with no prospect of success. “He just looks like a try-hard to me.”

vintage

noun. Old-fashioned but stylish. Said of clothing and accessories. “That dress is very vintage.”

virtual tribe

noun. Online gang or group of users who go by or are known by a name, such as “the goths” or “the smart kids”.

U

uber

prefix. Ultra, extra, very. “That game is uber-cool.” German for over.

W

uberise

wacked, wack

verb. Prefix an English word with uber to make it sexy or cool. “Monica uberises all her words. It’s so annoying!”

adjective. No good. A bad situation. “It’s wack you can’t get fireworks in Canberra anymore.”

ubertosser

waggin

noun. A person who overuses the term “uber”. “Man, you’re such an ubertosser!”

verb. Ditching or skipping school.

wally

uggers

noun. Unattractive or awkward male. “I reckon Tom’s kind of cute.” “Cute? I reckon he’s a wally.”

adjective. Unattractive, hideous. From ugly.

unf-unf – doof-doof

wasted

adjective. Intoxicated – yet another word for it. “You were so wasted last night.”

unit

noun. Person with an admirable physique. “Hey, check out that unit.”

watta – what the

205

T U V W

T he Y outh L anguage L exicon W

we’re up

what up? – whassup?

verb. 1. Time for us to go, “let’s roll”. “Hey, we’re up!” 2. It’s our turn, “Who’s gunna play pool next?” “We’re up.”

whitebread

adjective. Plain, traditional, nondiverse. To a global generation that has known nothing but cultural and gender diversity, something that is too “vanilla” or whitebread can appear boring and mundane.

westie

noun. Someone who is uncouth. “Did you hear the way she spoke to her toddler?” “Yeah, I know, what a westie!” Originally reserved for residents of Sydney’s western suburbs, now used more generally, though mainly in Sydney.

whoop

verb. 1. To beat up. “You mad doggin me? I’ll whoop you so bad your cousin will cry!” 2. To beat someone in a sport. “We whooped their team 16 to 6!”

whassup? what up? sup? wha up?

interrogative. What’s up? How are you going? Good to see you.

who’s your daddy!

Exclamation of victory or retort. Not a question of paternity, but a cry bellowed straight after a triumph. After scoring a goal, you might yell “Who’s your daddy!”

whatever

Rejoinder intended to show that the speaker is unimpressed, not interested, or regards what has been said as unimportant. “Yeah, like whatever!”

wigger

whatevs

noun. White person who imitates American “ghetto” ways. Eminem has acquired wealth and fame as one of a handful of “white boys” who have made it big in the world of rap. They are the few successful “wiggers”. For others it is an insult.

Whatever you like is fine.

what’s doin? What’s up?

what the, watta

interjection. What’s going on? What’s that all about? It can be asked about anything which is seemingly absurd, or very puzzling. Shortened from “what the (expletive)”, this phrase now suffices on its own thanks to Rove’s usage of the phrase on Rove Live. See wtf.

wig out

verb. Become fearful, lose control of one’s emotions. “He lost the plot, did you see him at Kate’s? He totally wigged out!”

wit

preposition. With.

206


yo, yo

wobble roo

Phrase used to grab somebody’s attention, like “hey”. Sometimes shortened to “yo”. “Yo, yo, whatcha up to mate?”

noun. Road kill. “Man, did you see that wobble roo? That’s wacked!”

word, word up

you go

Amen. “That’s the truth.” Used to endorse a statement or opinion, as in church they say “Amen”.

Good for you, more power to you. Usually used with “girl”. “You go, girl!”

work it

you killed it!

Said when someone says something that isn’t funny and, consequently, “kills” the joke.

verb. Show the world whatcha got. “Yeah, you work it, girlfriend!”

WTF

Acronym for “What the (expletive).” See what the.

Z

zorz, orz

wump

Suffix used by computer nerds to intensify the meaning of the preceding word. “This place is totes lamezorz.”

noun. White male. From the 90s movie White Man Can’t Jump. Wump is a compound of white and jump (from the movie title) and is more of a cheeky term used to generate laughter than a derogatory word. “What up, wump?” Y

y’all

All of you, yous. From you all, originating in America’s Deep South. “Y’all coming with me to the beach?”

y’mum

Comeback used in general conversation. Often used in a comical, rather than an offensive way. “You’re the one who got us lost!” “Y’mum!”

207

W Y Z

Have you got a word? As researchers we are always keen to hear from you. As we have discussed, the English language is changing, and there are always new words and new generations coming to be, so please let us know for future updates. Go to www.wordup.net.au or contact us by email, post or phone (see page 2). Other publications by Mark McCrindle

The ABC of XYZ: Understanding the Global Generations Based on more than a decade of research, The ABC of XYZ is designed for educators, business managers and parents who want a short and lively introduction to Australia’s living generations. The book explores what a generation is and the trends that are emerging for the future. It examines generational conflicts in the school, home and workplace, and the ways in which they can be understood and resolved. Visit www.theABCofXYZ.com to order your copy now. The Power of Good: True Stories of Great Kindness from Total Strangers Seventy short, heart-warming stories of acts of kindness by strangers, with contributions by prominent Australians, including Tracey Spicer (former Channel 10 News Presenter), Morris Iemma (former Premier of NSW), Professor David de Kretser (Governor of Victoria), Father Chris Riley (Youth Off the Streets), David Richardson (Today Tonight), Reverend Graham Long (Wayside Chapel), Tim Fischer (former Deputy Prime Minister), Geraldine Brooks (Pulitzer Prize winner), Justine Davies (The Australian), Peter FitzSimons (best-selling author), Sara Groen (Seven News) and many others. Go to www.mccrindle.com.au to order your copy. The Power of Good is available in all good bookstores.

208

Word-Up.pdf

Recommend Documents