American Slang (use Delta Ebonics commercial and TSOE e5/p6 5:30-8:40)
7/1 History of the Study of English Slang
7/2 The Emergence of American Slang
7/3 Sources of American Slang
7/4 The Subject Matters of American Slang
7/5 Distinctive Properties of American Slang
7/6 American Attitude to American Slang
7/7 Impact of American Slang on Other Varieties of English
7/8 Slang Glossaries/Collections/Lists
(Start with a ref to DYSA3 excerpt on Chicano slang 6:00-8:28)
7/1
History of the Study of English Slang
1785—The Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (Francis Grose, soldier & drinker)
1890-1904—Slang and Its Analogues Past and Present (John S. Farmer & William E. Henley, >
seven volumes w close to a thousand pages—the first comprehensive slang dictionary)
1937—A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (Eric Partridge, eight editions)
1939—Hepster’s Dictionary (Cab Calloway’s Revised 1939 Edition) TSOE e5/p5 -5:30
1942—The American Thesaurus of Slang (L.V. Berrey & M. Van den Bark)
1960—The Dictionary of American Slang (Harold Wentworth & Stuart Berg Flexner)
1994—Historical Dictionary of American Slang (J.E. Lighter) >>show amazon.com pages
7/2
The Emergence of American Slang
1619-1772—limited to anatomical terms used by the 20,000 felons transported from England;
Civil War (middle of the 19th c.): a stage when “literate, complex, heterogeneous culture(s)
recognizing a standard usage whose primacy is upheld by a strong pedagogical tradition.”
Working definition: Slang is a variety of lg which is used by its speakers to differentiate themselves
from or go against existing norms of the standard variety and the corresponding dominant
mainstream culture. (101, Lighter) >>introduce def-s and classifications page
SLANG (DEFINITIONS AND CLASSIFICATIONS)
The American Heritage Dictionary (printed version)
The nonstandard vocabulary of a given culture or subculture, consisting typically of
arbitrary and often ephemeral coinages and figures of speech characterized by
spontaneity and sometimes by raciness.
The American Heritage Dictionary (electronic version)
1. A kind of language occurring chiefly in casual and playful speech, made up typically
of short-lived coinages and figures of speech that are deliberately used in place of
standard terms for added raciness, humor, irreverence, or other effect. 2. Language
peculiar to a group; argot or jargon.
Collins English Dictionary (electronic version)
1. vocabulary, idiom, etc. that is not appropriate to the standard form of a language or to
formal contexts, may be restricted as to social status or distribution, and is
characteristically more metaphorical and transitory than standard language
2. another word for jargon.
American English: An Introduction
General slang: is used or at least understood by most native speakers of a language; arises
in part from the creative use of language by speakers of the standard; also draws on
specialized slang for its words and expressions
Specialized slang: is restricted to particular groups or subcultures; often called cant or
jargon; produces some words and idioms that are taken up by most speakers of the
language who in turn use these with the purpose of showing differences with or explicitly
denying values and norms of the mainstream
The Oxford English Dictionary
identifies three types of slang:
1. (mid-18th century) the special vocabulary used by any sets of persons of a low and
disreputable character (thriving today in the vocabulary of the underworld, street gangs,
drug-trafficking)
2. (soon afterwards the meaning broadened to include) the special vocabulary or
phraseology of a particular calling or profession (printers’ ~, doctors’ ~)
3. (from the early years of the 19th century) any language of a highly colloquial type,
considered as below the level of standard educated speech, and consisting either of new
words or of current words employed in some new special sense
Today slang covers all of these areas: not all colloquial or informal vocabulary is slang, but
all slang is colloquial or informal.
7/3
Sources of American Slang
Criminal underworld (godfather, hitman, contract) Armed forces (dog tag, hit the sack, snafu)
>> The Sopranos: Mobspeak page (http://www.sopranofamily.com/sopranos_slang.html)
The frontier Gambling (you bet, big deal, up one’s sleeve) gold diggers (lucky strike, to pan out)
cowboys (to bite the dust, to die w one’s boots on, etc.)
Black English (to badmouth, brother, sister, to dig sg, to dis sy, bad, cool, groovy, square, etc.)
>> Airplane: Jive scene******
Yiddish (sch-words: schmaltz, schlemiel, schmuck; kibitzer, kosher) German (nix, scram, and how)
Subcultures Surftalk and Valleytalk (awesome, for sure, vicious) homosexuals (drag queen, closet)
More recent jargons Sports (first base, score) showbiz (turkey, dj, mc) drugs (stoned/twisted, reefer)
Computers (mode, ROM, interface w/ sy)
7/4
The Subject Matters of American Slang (the two most productive domains)
Drinking/Drugs (plastered, bombed, pissed, booze) sex (get laid, dick, beaver) see list (111)
>>illustrate with The Alternative English Dictionary http://members.tripod.com/~nelson_g/english.html
+ (http://mnytud.arts.klte.hu/szleng/egyeb/alter_hungarian.pdf)
A
arse bandit
HomoSexual John is an arse bandit
Arsehole
anus British equivalent of asshole
arvo
afternoon This word is used extensively in Australia and also in England in some places.
ass boy (noun)
Derogatory term for male homosexual. "Whatever you say, ass boy."
ass
buttocks Now acceptable term on US television. 'John has a big ass.'
assfuck
asshole, shithead Adj; Said in place of saying no, or when someone says something stupid and a
smart retort is needed. Usage: Not quite, assfuck.
asshole
anus; detrimental person second meaning very common nowadays. 'Mary thinks that John is an
asshole.'
asswipe (compound noun)
human male Used detrimentally. 'Hey, asswipe, when are you going to give me back the five bucks
you borrowed from me?'
toilet paper Not commonly used today.
asswipe
Worthless piece of paper, like a parking ticket
aunty (noun)
likable older gay male, not necessarily effeminate
7/5
Distinctive Properties of American Slang
Productivity Compounding (gate crasher, short change artist) derivation (freebie, mobster)
functional shift (ditch, break) borrowings (loco, boss) acronyms (PDA, BS) >> Street Talk
Imaginativeness Metaphor (humor + hyperbole: crap <> knockout) Metonymy (brew, vicious)
>>illustrate with Brief Sports Terminology Reference *
Slang as Male Lg “direct” and “straightforward” >> macho lg
Action/Violence-orientation images of activity & dynamism (hit the road, push up daisies)
Lack of certain kinds of slang Rhyming slang (titf’r, trouble) & back slang (yob) >> ~ that rhymes
Cultural knowledge (to bogart a joint, chip)
>>illustrate with Street Talk4, “At the Mall” (audio 1 side 1 24:30- + transcript)**
7/6
American Attitude to American Slang
Ambivalence (at least 10% of the vocabulary, BUT officially it is discouraged)
>>illustrate with DYSA3 excerpts and transcripts, (+ Student Slang Examples) 16:00-22:30
(+ Surfer Dude, etc.) 24:00-33:30 ***
7/7
Impact of American Slang on Other Varieties of English
Am. slang >> the slang of the E. lg
>>illustrate with The Power of Slang (http://www.pbs.org/speak/words/sezwho/slang/) ****
7/8
Slang Glossaries/Collections/Lists
>>illustrate with Cal Poly Pomona List, Butler University, Group Slang, etc.
(http://duermueller.tripod.com/groupslang.html) *****
+ The Most Ridiculous… at http://gawker.com/5667748/the-most-ridiculous-edited+for+tv-movie-lines
*
Brief Sports Terminology Reference
A Guide to Political, Sexual and Social Connotations
FAST-US-8 'Power, Pride & Politics in American English'
Department of Translation Studies, University of Tampere
GENERAL SPORTS AND BASEBALL REFERENCES
To Play Ball (with)
To cooperate with, deal with
Ball park figures
Within acceptable limits, rough estimate
II. AMERICAN FOOTBALL REFERENCES
Take the ball and run
Make the most of your opportunities; to with
it, capitalize on options when offered
The clock's run out
no time left
III. BOXING REFERENCES
Knockout (boxing)
Used as a compliment for a good-looking woman
Below the belt
Being unfair, unjust, in a destructive way,
unethical, illegal (boxing)
Saved by the bell
getting out of a bad situation just in time by
something out of your control
IV. HORSES AND HORSE-RACING
Wasn't up to scratch
Wasn't of the quality expected to even start
competing in something
To jockey for positon
Maneuver for tactical advantage
V. REFERENCES FROM OTHER SPORTS
Your serve (tennis)
Your turn to lead, take the initiative
Dealt a poor hand (Cards):
fate was against someone
TV Sports Announcer Lingo

CURTAIN TIME: Pick up the hymn books, it's all over.

DYNAMITE: Out of sight. Top shelf.

THREE O'CLOCK SHOOTER: Great practice player, zero in game.

THOROUGHBRED: God given athlete or a Final Four team.
**
At the Mall… Debbie and Alicia are out shopping. (Street Talk 1 side 1 24:30)
Debbie: Oh, brother! Get a load of that number she’s wearing. I wouldn’t be caught dead in that. What a
scream!
Alicia: I forgot you always get the kick out of trashing everyone in the mall. I think that’s the only reason you drag me
here.
Debbie: Okay, okay. I’ll behave. Let’s go hit the stores but I can only window shop ‘cause I’m broke… unless you let
me sponge a few bucks off you.
Alicia: Sure, What do I care? I’m rolling in it.
Debbie: Great, then let’s shop till we drop!
Alicia: Gee, look at that blouse in the window. It’s drop-dead gorgeous! I’ve got to have it. Holy cow! 200 bucks?
Talk about a rip-off! Like I’m really going to fork out that kind of dough for a blouse…
Debbie: Hold it down! Let’s just get going. This joint’s a little too rich for my blood.
Alicia: That really bugs me. That thing had my name on it. Come on, I wanna go drown my sorrows in a vat of ice cream.
Debbie: Now you’re talkin’!
***
STUDENT SLANG EXAMPLES:
do the whatevers… (Whatever, moron, get the picture, you’re a total loser.) (From the movie Clueless)
Tight (Tiiiight)
Uber. (uber-nerd, or super nerd. Or, uber-anything)
Fob. (Asians who came to America not too recently. “Fresh Off the Boat/Boeing”)
Like, when you speak and you still have an accent and like your English is still kind of fobby.
Word (Like I Agree): “That test was so hard. Word.” (the other person says ‘word’)
What’s up? / Whatsup girl? : Guys always like they’re walking and they see another guy and they’re like hey “’sup.”
the bitch seat, dude,
“You nailed that test, and like you aced it or yeah, you did really well on it.”
SURF SLANG EXAMPLES:
He’s gonna set up for a little barrel on the inside.
Well, like, you, know I got this new stick and I was like cranking on some radical tubes…
Oh yeah, sure, how big was it? < It was like radically overhead…
So check it out dude, like, you know, I was cruising the beach yesterday
it’s pretty off the wall
when the wave curls over, that’s like the tube, or the pocket, so if you’re in the tube, you’re taking the highest risk
and you’re very rad.
I saw this chick and she had a totally tight bod and she was totally buff
wearing some rad outfit and just go wow, that’s rad, that’s pretty gnarly. Cookin’.
the same watches, they’re totally rad, right? Way rad. Way rad. Fully rad.
Full on, Off the wall, Right on, or like That was phat, like a phat air, It’s phat like with a ph.
GEORGE DESCRIBES THE PERFECT “RIDE”:
“You know, waves break in sections, so you can talk about like – wow you know that first section was sick, you
know, that drop was really heavy, it made that bottom turn came around, went through that mushy part and then it just
jacked on that second bowl, got that floater, came into the inside and just cracked that lip as hard as I could, set up
for that barrel and just – right on into the green room man - sick.”
SKATEBOARDING SLANG EXAMPLES:
goofy foot, regular foot, switch, going fakey.
Rippers, you know ripping are just, adjectives to describe kids or skaters that are just ripping, tearing it up.
blast the biggest airs you can, and do the longest grinds you can.
One little false move, one little thing off and you're, you're slamming. But I like blasting airs, for sure.
a front side air over the gap,
Coping is basically the steel pipe or plastic PVC that's on the tops of the lip of the ramps, we call it coping.
That's what you grind on.
Street skating, vert skating, pool skating ---- “And downhill bombing, which you know most skaters love just the
basic natural form of just going down a hill and going as fast as you can and carving it up and eh, and having fun with
it.”
SNOWBOARDING SLANG EXAMPLES:
Sticking it clean means pulling off a trick to perfection.
If you can repeat that trick again and again, you’ve got it dialed in.
That’s sick. That’s the super-like super sick stuff.
Like, someone goes off and does something and stomps it clean than that’s you’re gonna like give him props and
that’s gonna be something sick. And that’s what you’re gonna like, it’s gonna raise the level of riding and
everybody’s just gonna, like just get everybody amped up.
USING LIKE FOR UM OR ER OR TO MEAN “QUOTE – UNQUOTE”.
Yeah like I like what I say like sometimes people just don't understand it like I, like my terminology for certain
things which is like, like whom I clique, my group, like my friends, like nobody else understands it so if I go
someplace else, or some place new they are like, they don't know it so like and they are like, they are like what are
you talking about?
****
The Power of Slang by Tom Dalzell (http://www.pbs.org/speak/words/sezwho/slang/)
Slang is everywhere — and youth slang, in particular, exerts enormous power.
Slang is to a large extent ephemeral, and so to survive it must constantly regenerate; both the
ephemeral and regenerative traits are nowhere more apparent than in the slang of American youth.
Slang pervades American speech to a startling degree.
By design, slang is wittier and cleverer than Standard English.
With slang, each generation or subculture/counterculture group has the chance to shape and
propagate its own lexicon, and in so doing to exercise originality and imagination.
Slang establishes a sense of commonality.
In a society preoccupied with status, slang’s varied and explicit vocabulary addressing the nuances
of status guarantees its widespread use. Slang plays a critical role whether it delineates
winner (top dog) from loser (toast),
in-crowd (BMOC) from outcast (dweeb),
or oppressor (the Man) from oppressed (doormat),
providing catchy and memorable labels for us versus them.
Slang is also much more effective than standard or conventional English when it comes to describing
sports, sex and intoxication.
American slang is also known for its fertility; it reproduces itself in abundance with each new
generation.
The four factors that are the most likely to produce slang are youth, oppression, sports and vice.
Of these four factors, youth is the most powerful stimulus for the creation and distribution of
slang, as we are all young once.
Youth slang derives some of its power from its willingness to borrow from other bodies of slang.
Despite its seeming mandate of creativity and originality, slang is blatantly predatory, borrowing
without shame from possible sources: the African-American vernacular or the slang graveyard of
generations past.
Whatever its source, youth slang is a core element of youth culture, as a defiant gesture of
resistance and an emblem of tribe identity.
As we move into our twenties, we gradually stop acquiring new slang and then ultimately just stop;
we also slowly stop using our existing slang vocabulary. For most of our adult lives, we use the core
slang vocabulary acquired in our youth.
*****
Definitions
A USA Today article says, "...Take words already in use, imbue them with new connotations that have
meaning for you and a circle of like-minded or like-aged acquaintances, and you have codes that signal you
are part of a group."
„Slang is a complex and lively form of language, interesting to linguists not only for its forms but for the
reactions people have in both embracing and rejecting slang. Slang often arises as a form of in-group
communication, and attempt to identify with one‘s friends, family, social class, occupation, ethnic group, or
age mates. It can be a kind of private language, devised to keep out the uninitiated or to test just who is a
member of a particular group. It can also be a kind of shorthand, an informal style of speaking (or writing)
that evokes a feeling about how things are being said. Most slang is short-lived. As a term makes its way into
the larger language, it loses its special slang flavor and may be replaced by a new term. But a few slang
terms may persist for generations, though not in the original group. Boss is slang today only for very few
speakers, booze for many more. Dennis Baron, in Ask a Linguist (linguist.org/~ask~ling/msg01021.html),
7/97
„(The word slang ) refers to words and phrases peculiar to a particular group and often regarded as nonstandard and inferior.“ Todd&Hancock, International English Usage, 1986
I find it incredibly ironic that parents in the 90‘s (who grew up in the 60‘s) would be complaining about the
slang that kids speak nowadays, and that it is just another sign that their values are deteriorating. Ironic, since
the parents of the teenagers in the 60‘s said exactly the same thing. John O‘Neil, Harvard on Ask a Linguist,
7/97
Although the phenomenon has frequently been discussed, the term SLANG has rarely been defined in a way
that is useful to linguists. Annoyance and frustration await anyone who searches the professional literature
for a definition or even a conception of SLANG that can stand up to scrutiny. Instead one finds
impressionism, much of it of a dismaying kind. Dumas, Bethany K. and J. Lighter, „Is Slang a Word for
Linguists?“, American Speech, 1978, 1-2: 5
Slang "consists basically of unconventional words and phrases that express either something new or
something old in a new way." Encyclopedia Britannica
The Importance of Informal Language and Slang in TESOL: A Survey
of Thanet.
Over a four year period the researcher became increasingly aware that many EFL students who were
reasonably proficient in English and who had been studying in the UK for three months or more strangely
seemed to have little understanding of may common items of everyday informal language. This in itself was
an interesting phenomenon, but there were other implications, namely that acquisition of informal language
was not taking place, perhaps due to a lack of interaction with native speakers. The researcher socialised
regularly with many students over an eighteen-month period and found that students invariably socialised
with their peers rather than with native speakers. Given that informal language is invariably acquired rather
than learned, this seemed particularly significant. Initial enquiries revealed an apparent absence of previously
documented research on the acquisition of informal language, which highlights the novelty of the subject.
The extent of students' knowledge of informal language was tested using data obtained by means of
questionnaires to native speakers living in the Thanet area (Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate). Local EFL
teachers were also asked to complete a questionnaire relating to informal language, as were the students
themselves. The most significant factors revealed were a distinct lack of interaction between students and
native speakers, which may be a contributory factor to the lack of acquisition, and the relative unimportance
attached to slang by the students. More than half had "neutral" feelings about it. Furthermore, the fact that
the mean score on the test was 48% is particularly significant. It is important to stress that this research was
intended to be open-ended. Beyond the initial supposition that in general informal language was not acquired
by students, it was very much a grey area. Hopefully, this research has gone some way towards making the
whole issue a great deal clearer.
Questions on Slang
Is it true that the slang that kids speak nowadays is just another sign that their values are deteriorating?
Of course not. It's an example of false reasoning. Parents assume that kid's values are deteriorating (whether
or not it's true isn't important), and we can hear kids using words parents don't know (which, parents assume,
shows language deterioration). Therefore, their values and their language must be connected in this supposed
"deterioration."
I read somewhere that parents and teachers are trying to find a cure for slang--evidently to keep their kids
from talking in a language other than what they can under- stand. Is there really a "cure" for it?
No -- language changes, and people have been bemoaning the fact probably since people evolved to use
language. Certainly the Sumerians complained about it in the first written documents five thousand years
ago. It's like the weather -- people complain bitterly about language change, but no one has ever been able to
do anything about it.
I find it incredibly ironic that parents in the 90's (who grew up in the 60's) would be complaining about "the
slang that kids speak nowadays," and that it is "just another sign that their values are deteriorating." Ironic,
since the parents of teenagers in the 60's said exactly the same thing.
John O'Neil
Slang research
A pump and a quiver, ace, aggro, airhead, airtight, all (as in be all, be all like etc.) and all-nighter.
Are you down with that? Because these are the first seven words found in "U.C.L.A. Slang 2 ," a dictionary
written by 25 students from UCLA. But it's OK if you don't understand, the book was published in 1993,
and, like, for sure, the slang has changed since then.
UCLA Professor of Linguistics Pamela Munro is familiar with the ephemeral-nature of today's college slang
- she teaches Linguistics 88A, a lower division seminar dedicated to the study of slang. She has taught the
course twice before, once in 1988 and also in 1992, which resulted in dictionaries with full entries of slang
words, including parts of speech, and many even with an example of its use in a sentence.
"It could be as much as one week that a slang word is used, up to a hundred years," said Munro, a graduate
of Stanford University and UCSD. "Some say they change really fast, and some words people were using
before your parents were your age."
Using the slang word "cool" as an example, Munro says it is still used today, despite it's fluctuating
popularity. It began as a common slang term in the 1950s.
Munro isn't all slang however. She spends much of her time concentrating on American Indian languages.
Her mentor is Edward Sapir, who she says is one of the greatest American linguists of the 20th century.
An enlarged black-and-white photo of Sapir hangs in Munro's office. Her faculty advisor in college was one
of Sapir's students.
"Linguistics is a weird, in-groupy field," Munro said. "We like to trace our ancestry, he's like my greatgrandfather."
Munro began her interest in studying slang when she met Connie Eble, a professor at the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill at a linguistics conference. Eble publishes a new paper almost every year, discussing
slang used by students at U.N.C.
Eble's work interested Munro, and from there, she began a project in which she asks students in Linguistics
110A to submit slang expressions. The first time she intensively looked at the words was in 1988.
"We pushed at finding a good, exact definition," she said. "You get a clearer definition of the word if you
talk about it," she said. Her Linguistics 88A seminar has only met twice so far this quarter, and yesterday,
students submitted four or five slang expressions to discuss later in class.
"Most of the definitions of the words will change (when they talk about it)," she said. "Other people have
different things to contribute."
Munro makes note of the backgrounds of the students in her class, since each student has a different angle to
offer.
"Slang is so neat because people use slang expressions to define who they are ... how they feel about
themselves."
One of the obstacles Munro has faced in approaching a subject like slang is that often the words used in class
discussions are offensive. She makes the first move in helping students to open up.
Today, she brought up the slang term "bitch," a word that many people are offended by and disagree upon its
meaning.
"I brought it up, and I knew it would get people talking ... It happens naturally, eventually people will want
to talk about (controversial words)," she said.
The actual definition of slang, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica is, "consisting basically of
unconventional words and phrases that express either something new or something old in a new way."
However, Munro says that everyone has an idea of what slang is, but still it is difficult to define. She didn't
want to reveal her definition, since that will be a future assignment for her students to discover on their own.
New words come about in various ways, says Case Western Reserve University's Associate Professor
Emeritus of English Prosanta Saha. There are a "dozen ways" slang words originate, he said. In the
dictionary "Slang and Euphemism," by Northwestern University Associate Professor of Linguistics Richard
A. Spears, he describes the increase of slang use as a product of the 60s free speech movement. But Munro is
emphatic that slang use is not increasing. "Everybody always feels there is more slang," she said. "If that
were the case, nobody would be using the standard English language now." In the first study done by her and
her students in 1988, the terms that generated the most slang terms were the actions of throwing up, being
drunk, and having sex. "Barfing, boozing and boffing," respectively, was what the media then referred to as
the lifestyle of UCLA students after the first publication of UCLA Slang , which was then turned into a
commercial publication called "Slang U." The publication received media attention from Rolling Stone,
Newsweek and USA Today. Despite some individual's sensitivity to slang, Munro thinks slang is only rude
when hoarded to oneself. "It may be rude if it excludes the other person," she said. "If you were using terms
that they couldn't understand, then it might be inappropriate."
About the College Slang
Research Project
The Nature of the Project:
The College Slang Research Project centers around the use of slang as a communication means by college
students. The project considers the nature of slang, its usage and the effects of its usage. The project is
directed by: Judi Sanders, Department of Communication, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.
.
Project History:
How did this all get started? I'm not completely certain . . . but I think that what happened was this: One day
I was listening to speeches in class and a student was talking about someone bagging on her and I wasn't
quite certain what that meant. I thought I knew from the context, but I had some doubt. Then the obvious
dawned on me: I was no longer hip enough to speak the lingua franca of the pancake steps even though I
spent much of my time talking with college students. Suddenly I felt like an outsider; I experienced the
boundary of a speech community. I'd had similar experiences before but this one seemed like it might give
rise to interesting teaching and learning possibilities because college students experience this (and a kind of
bilingualism) everyday. Thus, slang could serve as a site to study the relationship between communication
and culture and be relevant to the experiences of students. As a result, the examination of slang became a
project in my intercultural communication classes.
Students in my intercultural communication classes at Cal Poly Pomona have been collecting and recording
college slang since 1990. Slang terms are collected by having college students listen to other college students
speak in natural environments. Thus, the terms recorded are those that are currently in use by college
students. We have produced dictionary collections of this slang in 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1997. I also
spent a term at Iowa State University in 1994 where another dictionary was produced.
The project has now expanded to seek submission of slang from college and university campuses worldwide
through this web site. Data collected here are archived to a database and the edited collection appears here.
Data are also used as one means of teaching some forms of social science research.
The Cal Poly Dictionaries:
The current dictionary, Da Bomb. Dis is Dope, Dude. Dig it! was compiled during Winter Quarter 1997. It
contains over 800 terms. Due to good fortune, we were also able to produce a Summer Supplement to Da
Bomb with data gathered during Summer Quarter 1997 (including over 300 terms). You may obtain a copy
of the dictionary and the supplement by sending $4.00 (for shipping and handling) with a note of request to:
Department of Communication
Slang Dictionary
Cal Poly Pomona
3801 West Temple Blvd.
Pomona, CA 91768
You may also request these by telephone at: (909) 869-3522. Or you may print out and mail a written order
form .
Prior dictionary editions are available from the same address at the cost of $5.00 per edition.
1994: Mashing and Munching in Ames
1993: Faced and Faded, Hanging to Hurl
1992: Kickin' Like Chicken with the Couch Commander
1991: Don't Dog My Do, Dude!
1990: The Cal Poly Slang Dictionary
Look for the next dictionary in July, 1998!
Savvy Reading on College Slang:
Get a clue! Not many books have been written about college slang in modern times (though there are several
old ones). Here are some recent books that are relevant to understanding college slang:
 Dalzell, T. (1996). Flappers 2 rappers: American youth slang. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster. [Visit
their page.]
 Eble, C. (1996). Slang and sociability: In-group language among college students. Chapel Hill, NC: The
University of North Carolina Press. [Visit their page.]
 Eble, C. (1989). College slang 101. Georgetown, CT: Spectacle Lane Press.
Other college slang dictionary collections include:
 Munro, P. (1989). Slang u. New York, NY: Harmony Books.
 Munro, P. (1993). U.C.L.A. slang 2. Westwood, CA: Department of Linguistics, UCLA.
 Munro, P. (1997). U.C.L.A. slang 3. Westwood, CA: Department of Linguistics, UCLA. [Visit their page.]
General slang references include:
 Chapman, R. (1986). American Slang. New York, NY: HarperPaperbacks.
 Dickson, P. (1990). Slang! New York, NY: Pocket Books.
 Lighter, J. (1994). The Historical Dictionary of American Slang. Volume 1. A-G. New York, NY:
Random House.
 Lighter, J. (1997). The Historical Dictionary of American Slang. Volume 2. H-O. New York, NY:
Random House.
 Spears, R. (1997). Slang American Style. Lincolnwood, IL: NTC Publishing.
 Watts, K. (1994). 21st Century Dictionary of Slang. New York, NY: Dell.
Surfing for Slang:
The web is ever-expanding. Some fun places to look for slang are:
College Slang Sites:
The CyberDorktionary
DePauw University Slang
Hep Cat Central
Jennifer Doyle's 1989 Usenet College Slang Dictionary
The Maryland Academic Quiz Team Lexicon
U.C.L.A. Slang Excerpts
Williamette University Slang
General Slang Sites:
The Alternative Dictionaries
Chocolate City: Gay Slang Archives
Cribbage Inc. Cribbage Glossary
The Devil's Dictionary
Disco Slang!
Drug Related Slang
Emergency Room Slang
Gay-MART - Queer Slang in the Gay 90's
IPRC: Drug Street Terms Database
IRC Slang Dictionary
Jargon File Resources
The Jive Page
Maledicta Links
Masato Takano's (Japanese) Collection of American Slang
Matt Lerner's Slang Dictionary
NetLingo: The Internet Language Dictionary
The Online Slang Dictionary
The Totally Unofficial Rap Dictionary
Truckers' Dictionary of CB Slang
Twists, Slugs and Roscoes: A Glossary of Hardboiled Slang
United T's Homeboyz Guide to Street Slang
Urban slang
Web Surfing Lingo
Weird Trucker CB Jargon
The Word Detective
Geographically-based sites for U.S. Slang:
The American·British - British·American Dictionary
American Slanguages
AmeriSpeak: expressions of our American ancestors
Bay Area Slang
Bayou Slang
Beach Speak Lexicon
Las Vegas Lingo
Louisiana Lingo
Monk: How to Talk Portland
Monk: How to Talk San Franciscan
The Old West Slang
Seattle Lexicon: Lingo from the Far Corner
Speak 'Scansin
Steve's Silicon Valley Slang
Geographically-based sites for International Slang:
The Alternative Dictionaries
The American·British - British·American Dictionary
Aussie Slang Dictionary
BritSpeak
Koala Net's glossary of Australian slang
London slang: Mad Land Guide To Slang
Outrageous Aussie Sayings
Sinhala Slang
South Pole Lingo
Swearing in Many Languages
Ye Olde English Sayings
Sports Slang sites:
BodyBoarding-Lingo
The Climbing Dictionary
Dictionary of Mountain Bike Slang
Dictionary of Roadie Slang
In-Line Skater: Hockey Lingo 1:2:2
Waco Wizards hockey lingo
Assignments: rhyming slang
Fill in the missing words:
to be drunk as a -- [extremely intoxicated];
to get into a fender- -- [a small car accident];
to belong to the jet -- [group of wealthy individuals];
lovey- -- [extremely affectionate];
to get down to the nitty- -- [to discuss the most important elements];
hocus- -- [magic tricks]
Translate into English:
I went up the apples and pears, opened the Rory O’Moore, looked out of the burned cinder and saw oats
and barley in the Dolly Varden. Then I lay on the Uncle Ned and went to Bo-Peep.
Read the poem in (“proper”) English:
I was sitting in front of the Jeremiah
A-warming me plates of meat
When there comes a knock at the Rory O’More
That made me raspberry beat
I opened the Rory and standing there
Was me one and t’other--Ted
Who says, “I’m back from foreign parts.”
Says I, “We thought you ‘brahn bread’.”
“It’s Ted,” I cried, “(or his pillar and post.)”
I was in a two and eight
So I slammed the Rory in his Jem
And I left him to his fate
A grasshopper was passing by
And saw me look unwell
So he picked up Ted and took him off
To be locked in a flowery dell.
The next day said the Garden Gate,
“You’ll have to do some bird,
And when you come out you’ll take my tip
And ‘scarper’ like bloody hell!”
Cockney Rhyming Slang
Adam and Eve
Alligator
Apples and Pears
Army and Navy
Bacon and Eggs
Barnet Fair
Bees and Honey
Biscuits and Cheese
Bull and Cow
Butcher's Hook
Cobbler's Awls
Crust of Bread
Daffadown Dilly
Hampton Wick
Khyber Pass
Loaf of Bread
Believe
Later
Stairs
Gravy
Legs
Hair
Money
Knees
Row
Look
Balls
Head
Silly
Prick
Arse
Head
Would you Adam and Eve it?
See you later alligator.
Get up those apples to bed!
Pass the army, will you?
She has such long bacons.
I'm going to have my barnet cut.
Hand over the bees.
Ooh! What knobbly biscuits!
We don't have to have a bull about it.
I had a butchers at it through the window.
You're talking cobblers!
Use your crust, lad.
She's a bit daffy.
You're getting on my wick!
Stick that up your Khyber.
Think about it; use your loaf.
Mince Pies
Oxford Scholar
Pen and Ink
Rabbit and Pork
Raspberry Tart
Scarpa Flow
Trouble and Strife
Uncle Bert
Weasel and Stoat
Eyes
Dollar
Stink
Talk
Fart
Go
Wife
Shirt
Coat
What beautiful minces.
Could you lend me an Oxford?
Pooh! It pens a bit in here.
I don't know what she's rabbiting about.
I can smell a raspberry.
Scarpa! The police are coming!
The trouble's been shopping again.
I'm ironing my Uncle.
Where's my weasel?
******
Jive talk transcript from Airplane (translation/subtitles in parentheses)
Jiveman #1: Sheeeet, man, that honkey mus' be messin' my old lady got to be runnin' col' upsihd down his
head! (Golly, that white fellow should stay away from my wife or I will punch him.)
Jiveman #2: Hey Holm, I can dig it! You know he ain't gonna lay no mo' big rap upon you man! (Yes, he is
wrong for doing that.)
Jiveman #1: I say hey sky, s'other say I won say I pray to J I get the same ol' same ol. (I knew a man in a
similar predicament, and he ended up being sorry.)
Jiveman #2: Knock yourself a pro slick. Gray matter back got perform' us' down I take TCBin, man'. (Don't
be naive Arthur. Each of us faces a clear moral choice.)
Jiveman #1: You know wha' they say: See a broad to get that booty action lay'er down an' smack 'em yack
'em. (Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.)
Together: Col' got to be! Yo! (How true!)
Together: Sheeeeet! (Golly!)
**********************************
Elaine: Would you gentleman care to order your dinners?
Jiveman #1: Bet babe, slide a piece a da porter, drink si' run th' java. (I would like the steak please.)
Jiveman #2: Lookie here, I can dig grease and butter on some draggin' fruit garden. (I'll have the fish.)
*************************************
Attendant: Can I get you something?
Jiveman #2: S'mo fo butter layin' to the bone. Jackin' me up. Tightly.
Attendant: I'm sorry I don't understand.
Jiveman #1: Cutty say he cant hang.
Woman : Oh stewardess, I speak jive.
Attendant: Ohhhh, good.
Woman : He said that he's in great pain and he wants to know if you can help him.
Attendant: Would you tell him to just relax and I'll be back as soon as I can with some medicine.
Woman : Jus' hang loose blooood. She goonna catch up on the`rebound a de medcide.
Jiveman #2: What it is big mamma, my mamma didn't raise no dummy, I dug her rap.
Woman : Cut me som' slac' jak! Chump don wan no help, chump don git no help. Jive asss dude don got no
brains anyhow.