Dictionary of Contemporary Slang (5 page)

-age
suffix American

a termination that became popular amongst older adolescents in the early 1990s in creating mock-serious nouns from existing slang and standard bases.
Buffage, grindage
and
tuneage
are examples. The tendency was popularised by its use in such films as
Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey
,
Wayne's World
and
California Man
.

ag-fay
n American

a male homosexual. Usually used pejoratively and almost always by heterosexuals, this example of
pig Latin
is based on
fag
. Unlike the superficially similar
ofay
, this expression is predominantly used by white speakers.

aggers
n British

the backside, buttocks. An item of provincial slang recorded in the
Observer
newspaper, 23 July 1994. Its derivation is uncertain.

aggie
n British

a marble (as used in children's games). An old term, usually for a striped marble, still heard in the 1950s. From agate, the banded stone from which marbles were originally made.

See also
alley

aggravation
n British

serious trouble, victimisation or mutual harassment. A colloquial extension of the standard meaning of the word, used by police and the underworld. Aggravation is, like
bother
and
seeing-to
, a typical example of menacing understatement as practised in London working-class speech.

aggro
¹
, agro
n British and Australian

aggravation
. Originally the slang term was a euphemism for threatened or actual violence, offered typically by
skinheads
, although it is not clear whether they or their (typically
hippy
) victims first adopted the shortened form at the end of the 1960s. (Whichever is the case, the word is a derivation of aggravation in its colloquial sense as used by police officers and criminals since the 1950s.) Aggro, like
bother
, is a typical example of the use of menacing understatement in British working-class slang. The word was soon taken up by other users and, in informal English, has now reverted to something like its original unspecific meaning of annoyance or trouble. In Australian usage aggro can be used as an adjective, as in ‘I guess I was a bit aggro last night'.

‘He's steaming drunk and well up for some agro.'
(Recorded, London student, 2001)

aggro
²
adj American

wonderful, excellent. This probably ephemeral term was recorded among teenagers in New York and California in the late 1980s. It is probably based on a misunderstanding or deliberate shifting in the meaning of the earlier British term.

A.H.
n American

asshole
(usually in the metaphorical rather than literal sense). A euphemistic abbreviation.

Compare
a-hole

ah-eet
adj American

‘doing OK, feeling good' (recorded, US student, April 2002). The term, which can be used as an exclamation or greeting, is probably a humorous or mock-dialect deformation of
all right
or
awright
.

ahlie, alie
exclamation British

a.
defined by a user as ‘said when you want someone to agree with what you are saying'. Pronounced ‘ah-lee' or sometimes ‘ah-lie', the expression is probably an alteration of a phrase such as ‘Is that truth or a lie?' or ‘Would I lie (to you)?'.

b.
an expression of agreement or affirmation. In both senses the term, popularised by
grime
rapper Chipmunk in his 2008 song
Fire Alie
, has been used in street-gang code and its imitations since around 2005.

Yo i fire alie
league of ma own that fire alie

ah nam
vb British

defined by a user as ‘to tell on someone, to rat on them'. The expression, of uncertain derivation, has been used in street-gang code and by some teenagers since around 2005.

a-hole
n American

a euphemism for
asshole
, usually in the literal rather than metaphorical sense

aiit!, ite!
exclamation American

contracted alterations of
all right
or
awright
, fashionable since 2000

aim archie at the armitage
vb Australian
(of a male) to urinate. A later version of the widely known
point percy at the porcelain
, popularised in Barry Humphries'
Barry
McKenzie
cartoon series. (‘Armitage Ware' is a brand name of toilet bowls.)

aimed
adj American

identified, singled out and/or victimised. A slang version of ‘targeted' which probably originated in the argot of black street gangs. It is now used in milder contexts by teenagers.

There's no way we'll get out of this; we've been aimed
…

airbags
n pl

female breasts, especially large ones. A male vulgarism heard across the anglo-sphere.

airball
n American

a dim-witted, eccentric or unpleasant person. This mildly pejorative term, originating in the 1980s, is a combination of
airhead
and the more offensive
hairball
.

airbrained
adj American

silly, frivolous, empty-headed. Slightly less derogatory than the noun
airhead
, this term has not been imported into Britain to any significant extent, perhaps because of possible confusion with ‘hare-brained' which is still in widespread use.

She's not just some airbrained bimbo, you know
.

aired
adj British

ignored, snubbed,
blanked
. In use among South London schoolchildren in 2010, the term is related to the phrase
giving air
.

totally aired
She woz aired.
Della got aired
.

airhead
n

a fool; a silly, empty-headed person. An American teenager's term heard since the mid-1970s, used for instance by
Valley Girls
; it has been adopted by British teenagers since the 1980s.

‘The usual crowd of airheads, phonies, deadlegs, posers, bimbos, wallies, wannabees, hangers-on and gate-crashers…'
(Christena Appleyard,
Daily Mirror
, 11 May 1989)

airlocked
adj British
drunk. The term occurs especially in Northern Irish use and it is possibly an inoffensive form of ‘bollocked' or evoking a loss of faculties as if from oxygen deprivation.

airs
n pl American

trainers. The word is a shortening of the trademark label
Air Jordans
which was generalised to denote any sports shoes and widely heard in 1991 and 1992. (The rare use of ‘airing' in black speech to mean walking or leaving is an unconnected earlier usage, probably based on ‘open air'.)

Alabama
n See
'bama

Alan Whickers, Alans
n pl British

knickers
, panties. The terms are non-working-class rhyming slang, heard among young people, particularly students, in the 1970s and 1980s. The reference was to Alan Whicker, a well-known punctilious and dapper television interviewer.

There was this huge pair of Alan Whickers hanging on the line
.

a laugh and a joke
n British

a
smoke
. The rhyming-slang phrase generally refers to tobacco smoking. It was recorded in London in 2002.

alec, aleck
n

a swindler's victim, dupe. This term from the early 20th century is still heard in the USA and Australia. It is not clear whether alec derives from ‘smart alec' or vice versa. The word was used for instance in the film
House of Games
(1987, David Mamet), which dramatises the world of small-time American gamblers.

aled, aled-up
adj British

drunk. A mild and acceptable term which, although short and to-the-point, can be used in polite company or family newspapers. The expressions probably originated in the north of England where ale has been, and remains, a common allpurpose word for beer.

He's aled again
.

alert
adj British

(of a male) slightly sexually aroused. Related terms, also in use since 2000, include
lob-on
and
semi
. ‘It means to be a bit turned on (i.e. having a slight erection)'. (Recorded, London student, May 2003).

alf
n Australian

a common, foolish person. In the 1960s this term briefly vied with
ocker
as the generic term for uncouth manhood.

alie
See
ahlie

all about (it)
adj American

enthusiastic, keen. In use among adolescents and college students since 2000.

I asked her if she wanted to hang with us
and she was all about it.
I'm all about some basketball
.

alley, allie
n British

a marble (as used in children's games). Like
aggie
, the word is approximately a hundred years old and refers to a pale or
white marble. Although rarely heard today, these terms probably survive where the traditional game is still played. The most likely origin of the term is a shortening of ‘alabaster', from which some Victorian marbles were made.

alleycat
vb

to prowl the streets, particularly late at night

‘There's Arthur Smith alleycatting around, trying to pick up chicks.'
(Kit Hollerbach,
The 39,000 Steps
, Channel 4 documentary on the Edinburgh Festival, July 1989)

all mouth and trousers
adj British

blustering and boastful, showing off without having the qualities to justify it. A commonly heard dismissive phrase, typically said by women about a loud or assertive man. There is a suggestion that this is a corruption of the more logical, but rarely heard expression, ‘all mouth and no trousers', meaning full of talk but deficient in the sexual area. A less racy version is ‘all talk and no action'. There is an analogy with other colourful expressions, now mostly archaic, such as ‘all my eye and Betty Martin', meaning nonsense, and more abusive versions such as
all piss and wind
.

Oh him! He's all mouth and trousers, that one.

all over the shop/show/gaff/lot/ballpark
adj
,
adv

disorganised, in chaos or disarray. The first three versions are British, the last two American. This is a more colourful extension into slang of the colloquial phrase ‘all over the place', and the first version at least dates from the 19th century. (‘Shop' is a working-class catch-all for any workplace.)

allow it, 'low it, allow that
vb British

to let (something) pass, leave alone, ignore. A key item of multiethnic youth slang, in use, e.g., among South London schoolchildren in 2010, who use it as an injunction to mean ‘stop whatever you are doing' or ‘no way will I/we do that'.
Allow him/her
are rarer alternatives.

all piss and wind
adj

full of bluster and noise, but without real substance. This expression can have a similar meaning to
all mouth and trousers
, but can be applied for instance to a politician's speech or a theatrical performance, as well as to an individual. ‘All piss and vinegar' is a rarer synonym.

all right!, awright!
exclamation American

an exclamation of recognition, greeting, approval or admiration. The ‘right' is emphasised, high-pitched and elongated when shouted. Used in this way the phrase was originally black American; it was picked up by whites, especially
hippies
, in the late 1960s.

alls-bay
n pl American

the testicles. An item of
pig Latin
based on
balls
.

all that
n
,
adj American

(a person who is) exceptional, admirable. The phrase is almost invariably used dismissively or to express derision, as in ‘She thinks that she's all that'. It occurs in black working-class speech and in black and white campus usage, and is probably a shortening of ‘(not) all that much' or ‘all that great'.

all up in someone's business/biznezz/grill/the kool-aid
phrase American

meddling in another's affairs, interfering, behaving importunately. The phrase, in its first incarnation, has recently been adopted by some British users, too.

Quit hassling me for information… why you all up in my grill?
‘It took several confrontations… to realise that getting all up in people's business is not a wise move if you're soft as fuck.'
(Posting by resident of Middlesbrough, UK, on B3ta website, March 2013)

almonds, almond rocks
n pl British

socks
. A London rhyming-slang term which is still in use. (Almond rock cakes were a popular working-class treat early in the 20th century.)