Are You Confused By Slang?

JaniceM said:
Very few kids in my high schools used that term. I was kinda surprised when I read a very old book awhile back, and learned 'party' (as a verb, to mean 'drink, drug, & get stupid') was actually in use in inner-city slums long before I was even born.
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:lol: the term 'kids' meaning children was considered slang when I was a teen and for some time after that.
 

I'm smiling looking at some of these slang words that I do remember. In junior college in the 70's in Northern California, "bitchin'" was the word for cool (HiDesertHal, I guess what goes around comes around - I had thought it was a new word then).

Just the other day I came across a word "baller," which cause me to call my daughter and ask her about it. Not five minutes later I received emails and texts from mutual friends using that word in a sentence. It means:

extremely good or impressive; excellent.
"he must have some pretty baller pick-up lines to be reeling in all those ladies"

I won't share my opinion, but..."baller?!??" I think I can safely say I will NEVER use that word. EVER.

I do use some slang, but I refuse to use abbreviations when texting. Thankfully my daughter doesn't either, otherwise we'd never text each other (which we do a lot). I can type whole words in the time it takes me to type unrelated letters.
 
What about "billies"? It was an old Val expression that I picked up, and when I happened to use it a few years ago my youngest didn't know what I was talking about- "I'd like to go to the mall, but I don't have any billies." :playful:
 
I'm glad the English language is continually changing.

Imagine if it wasn't.

We would all be talking like they did in "Beowulf".

We had to read that in High School.

It sucked.
 
JaniceM said:
What about "billies"? It was an old Val expression that I picked up, and when I happened to use it a few years ago my youngest didn't know what I was talking about- "I'd like to go to the mall, but I don't have any billies." :playful:
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I haven't heard that one. What I've have heard is the term "Three Bills" for someone who weighs 300 or more pounds. "That guy over there has got to go at least three bills"
 
I find slang--true slang as opposed to colloquialisms--entertaining unless it crops up in my students' writing. Even then, it serves as a good bridge to actual discussion, something they seem to have very little experience with. It's so effective I even "collect" various slang terms to ask my students about in class.
 


Here is some new slang. I find it funny how it changes so quickly:

Bae: Babe/ Before anything else
Dafuq: What the f***?
Facepalm: short for "Ugh. idiot!"
Lulz: Kicks, as in for the kicks- Lulz is an off-shoot of LOLs*. Lulz is usually used in the form of “For the lulz”, which would be just like saying “for the kicks” or “for the laughs”
TBT: Throwback Thursday- When you want to post an old photo, hold off till Thursday and tag it with #ThrowbackThursday or #TBT. It’s a sure-fire way to get more likes and comments on instagram. While TBT is used more on Instagram than anywhere else, it has become a central part of the Internet’s lexicon and is used everywhere.
Yolo: You Only Live Once- YOLO is a justification for doing something that you probably shouldn’t be doing, but want to do it anyway. It’s also used ironically as commentary on someone else doing something idiotic.
 
Ina said:
I love the way language is put together, but sometimes slang just confuses me. What slang gets to you? Here are just a few of mine. I always wonder how they came about.

1. Souped - as in he souped up his truck.
2. Copped - He copped an attitude.
3. Ditched - He ditched me!
4. Flacky - She is too flacky.
5. Gig - I have a gig tonight.
6. Bananas - They went bananas.
7. Hang Loose - Just hang loose for awhile.
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I recognize all the ones you mention although I didn't personally use them. The slang that confuses me most is computer-related. I think that "Do you dig?" is still around.
But I have to be constantly going to the special dictionary on-line to really know what's going on sometimes. Imagine how English will sound five hundred years from now. I don't thin it will be completely unintelligible but maybe just maybe different enough to cause confusion every fifty words or so?
 
Aniri said:


Here is some new slang. I find it funny how it changes so quickly:

Bae: Babe/ Before anything else
Dafuq: What the f***?
Facepalm: short for "Ugh. idiot!"
Lulz: Kicks, as in for the kicks- Lulz is an off-shoot of LOLs*. Lulz is usually used in the form of “For the lulz”, which would be just like saying “for the kicks” or “for the laughs”
TBT: Throwback Thursday- When you want to post an old photo, hold off till Thursday and tag it with #ThrowbackThursday or #TBT. It’s a sure-fire way to get more likes and comments on instagram. While TBT is used more on Instagram than anywhere else, it has become a central part of the Internet’s lexicon and is used everywhere.
Yolo: You Only Live Once- YOLO is a justification for doing something that you probably shouldn’t be doing, but want to do it anyway. It’s also used ironically as commentary on someone else doing something idiotic.
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How about "fugly"? Ever come across that one?
 

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