The Youth Language Lexicon

Transcription

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
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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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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

The Youth Language Lexicon

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