Questions tagged [slang]
Slang is a type of language that consists of words and phrases that are regarded as very informal.
452 questions
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What does "my left a** cheek" mean?
I stumbled upon a YouTube video on language learning, describing why it ‘sucks’.
At 05:16 the speaker uses an expression I have never heard: "my left ass cheek". Only Urban Dictionary seems ...
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Why would you find "be clutch" useful or not and is there another slang/informal phrase with a similar meaning?
Someone used (might have been here and here)1 the phrase be clutch ("it's clutch") in its pure extended meaning (excellent/effective) and I didn't understand. It generally applies to ...
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Phrasal verb "roll up" in context
The video (Ronnie Coleman's MOST Shocking Comeback..) is here
2002, Ronnie obviously won. It was questionable, right? And then
Gunter beats him two weeks later at the GNC. So, either he rolled up
and ...
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Does 'get hyped' carry a meaning of 'get recognized/appreciated'?
I came across a song and it has a line of lyrics like this
This is for all my ladies Who don't get hyped enough (Hey, ladies) If
you've been done wrong Then this your song, so turn it up (Turn it up
...
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What does the phrase 'on the lowks' mean?
Could you please tell me is there a phrase 'on the lowks' in the English language? And if there is, what does it mean? As I understand it refers to some American slang. If it doesn't, please correct ...
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"That's the Percodan talking ..."
Percodan is a drug. But I've no idea what Percodan talking means. My supposition is that it's about side effects of Percodan. Maybe the speaker has taken some of this drug, so now he's under Percodan'...
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Who (what) is a rounder, in Memphis Rounders Blues (1929 song)?
According to the definition I've read, a rounder is a player of a sport similar to baseball.
But when I hear Memphis Rounders Blues from Frank Strokes (1929), it doesn't seem to me that this word ...
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Dropping "been" in the present Prefect
The quoted sentence was spoken by an AAVE speaker. Thus, I suppose that it's just the dialectal usage of the present perfect with dropped "been". On the other hand, I've not found that it's ...
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What does "cut value" mean here?
I've got a problem with understanding the usage of the word "cut" in this passage from "The Girl Who Played With Fire" by Stieg Larsson. It's a conversation between two underworld ...
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Possible interpretations of the phrase "Yeah, right"
I've recently encountered an interesting dialog in which use of the phrase "yeah, right" is really ambiguous. As far as i know, this phrase can be used only sarcastically. But here it seems ...
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What does “-ass” mean as a suffix?
I can understand phrases like “bitch-ass punk”. I’m just not completely sure what exactly “-ass” means as a suffix. I’m watching Anora now and I just heard this:
The boss is old as fuck, and he’s, ...
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What does the author implies by saying "by way of being a hint"?
I tried to find the accurate phrase but unfortunately, I could not. This is the whole context:
That does not mean, however, that the bond market rules the world in the sense that James Carville meant....
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What does 'everyone turns up one sooner or later' mean?
I was watching Prison Break and in one scene Scofield tells the Pope that 'everyone turns up one sooner or later' I googled it and I couldn't find a coherent meaning for this particular context, I ...
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"Padded and trussed"?
Padded and trussed, his face smeared with Vaseline, a rubber
mouthpiece between his teeth, he stood waiting while two squat men
punched and grappled in the ring.
It is an excerpt from the novel Fat ...
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What's the meaning of " another got steel"?
said Earl. “I don’t claim to be nothing more than I am. You maybe can
fight, I’m an upholsterer.” “That’s the way it goes.” “One man got
muscles, another got steel. It all come out the same.” They ...
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You’re a couple of real winners?
You’re a couple of real winners. I mean, we don’t hoard what we have.
Room in the car—fine. But then to sit right back and give us this crap
while my brother has to deliver laundry, well, it just ...
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What's the meaning of "he can score" here?
From the the novel "Fat City":
“That’s right, sure, they won’t go for just anybody.”
“If the right guy comes along he can score.”
“Everybody’s got a mate somewhere.”
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Understanding the Meaning of “No Thing”
In the lyric “It wasn’t no thing to give you up,” should it be understood as “It wasn’t difficult to give you up” or “It wasn’t easy to give you up”? I’m confused about the meaning of “no thing” here.
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Is the term "gaffer" used incorrectly and should "coordinator" be used instead?
This context comes from the movie "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" It's a conversation between an actor Rick Dalton and his personal stunt double Cliff Booth who also doubles as his errand ...
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Slang word for 'inactive', 'lazy', 'sleepy',
What is a slang word for "inactive", "lazy", "abnormally slow-thinking"?
Please look at this situation.
A friend (A) is teaching English to his friend (B). B is usually ...
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What does "off the bench" mean?
https://nypost.com/2024/05/12/sports/pacers-t-j-mcconnell-continues-to-be-a-pest-for-knicks/
Pacers' pest T. J. McConnell played another effective game off the bench with 15 points and 22 assists in ...
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What is the meaning of "in the knee of somewhere"? Is it a common phrase in English?
I'm reading an article on Wikipedia and saw a sentence "Martigny-Ville in the knee of Valais". I understand every single word in this sentence, but just can't understand the whole sentence.
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“May your success offend the s*** out of people…”? How can poo be offended?
Edit: What is the grammatical role of "the shit" in this sentence? Is it the direct object of the verb "offend", understood transitively? I think shit can't feel hurt, or dislike.
...
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"An a hundred millilitre bottle"
After searching online for some time, I still haven't found anything quite like my question (which probably indicates that I'm wrong). Even though English is my native language I just found out that I'...
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What does "idle dog" mean - is it slang or just a regional expression?
I'm reading the book The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, and I read this about a Mole:
And instead of having an uneasy conscience pricking him and whispering ‘whitewash!’
he somehow could ...
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Understanding the Phrase "What It Do": Its Meaning and Usage
I've encountered the phrase "what it do" in various contexts, and I'm trying to understand its meaning and how it's used in conversation.
Could someone explain the significance of this ...
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What Does 'It's on' Mean When Used in Anger?
I often hear the phrase "It's on" in conversations, particularly in situations filled with anger or confrontation.
Could someone explain what this phrase means in such contexts? Is it always ...
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What's the meaning of "Fire up the 50" and "Give 'em a soup tour"?
They are two quotes of the Riptide Air-cushion Vehicle in the video game "Red Alert 3".
source: https://cnc.fandom.com/wiki/Riptide_ACV
These words are quite simple, but I don't understand ...
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"brother," "brotha," or "bro" when I just want to sound good and sociable and don't want to be associated with cowboys, etc
I know young English speakers like to use "bro" to refer to their good friends.
I think "bro" is too casual; I would use it only when the friends are close and I know them well, so ...
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What does "up" mean in "Up the Terriers"?
I notice the sports writer say “Up the Terriers” for a British football team. What does "up" exactly mean?
Hull City 0-0 Huddersfield Town
Town get things going. Up the Terriers.
Twitter
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What do nasty kids call their mother/father?
I'm wondering what kids use to call their parents when they are quarrelling with them.
I assume the common rude way to call women is bitch. But is it something kids use even when they are very nasty? ...
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Meaning of "I don't deny but what some of them are soft"
(From The Wrecker by Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne, Chapter XII, published 1892)
You don't know; you haven't a guess. How would you like to go on deck for your middle watch, fourteen ...
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The slang term for books made of paper
What is slang for a book that has pages made of paper; the opposite of an ebook? I used to know. It's something like "tree book", which I know is wrong, but I can't come up with anything ...
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What does "for him" mean in this context?
(From The Wrecker by Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne, Chapter XI, published 1892)
Passage 186
His tone was no more gracious than his language; but when Mamie had turned upon him the soft ...
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What does "a bean" mean in this context? [closed]
Here is a comic with "a bean" written on the head of the ENFP character. What does it mean?
[Image Description: A two-panel comic drawn in a quickly sketched style. The first panel shows a ...
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If someone is using slang words and phrases when talking to me, would that be disrespectful and I should be offended?
Currently I am reading a book entitled "Conversational American English expressions". I found this book very interesting because the author elaborates the level of decency of each phrase ...
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What are the synonyms to the phrase "balls to bones" from Matrix movie?
That's a part of Oracle and Neo dialogue from Matrix:
Oracle: So, what do you think? You think you're the one?
Neo: I don't know.
Oracle: You know what that means? It’s Latin. Means “Know thyself”. I’...
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Adding "s" to the verbs it doesn't belong to
Just curious about this thing, some people add -s in sentences like here: "I keeps my promises"
and I've also seen people both adding it and using it the normal way in the same paragraph of ...
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What does this phrase mean? "free me swag out."
This is from a native Australian English speaker Australian accent (see: 3:46-3:55)
Free me swag out, camped under the stars, and I was healed up.
I couldn't understand "free me swag out."....
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What does "goddamn" mean exactly?
I thought it means "damned by God" until I read that Christians may find it offensive, hence I thought it may mean cursing G*d (God forbid) not God cursing! Which is it?
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"Dont make it weird" - What does it mean?
In the bathroom there is a sign "Get naked unless you are just visiting. Dont make it weird!". What does the last part ("Dont make it weird") mean? Dont act like it is weird ? ...
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can someone please explain me the meaning of "It's not cut" in this context
I've playing a game called gta san andreas and there's a phrase that i'm no understanding at all the context is:
the character called CJ and the other called big smoke have to go to cj's mom funeral ...
curiousUser
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What does it mean that "a woman's egg dropped"?
This context comes from the show "Euphoria"
"I was shooting dope before your mama's egg dropped."
My research:
1)drop an egg (Urban Dictionary definition)
To become aroused to the ...
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How "to cook" is used in British slang? [closed]
stuck on silly ideas 'cause it's all you can cook
It's a quote from a British rap song. I understand that "cook" here means "do" or "think of", am I right?
The aspect ...
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What does "ship ship ship ship" mean as a comment on a webtoon? [duplicate]
This is a brief description of an episode of a webtoon.
A boy, who seems to be very indifferent all about things around him.
And a girl (or a young woman), whose job is to take care of the boy.
(the ...
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Is it correct to use only "no is not" in this case?
Is it correct to reply with just "no is not" as an answer to some statement, without "it".
For example:
— It is easy.
— No, is not.
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Title for the player that's trying to get others talking in " silence game"
I play the "silence game" with my kids, in which you win if you remain silent the longest, while a player is trying to get others talking. As we take turn playing; what term best describes ...
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What does 'screams' mean in this video?
A fan asked the youtuber a question, then the youtuber made up a story.
The question:
What screams "I Have A Crush On You" ?
The story:
When the girl turns her head to you, sees you're ...
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What do "At the top" and "With the letter U" mean in this reddit poll?
The Poll asks:
In a list of countries, where do you think the United States should go?
With only two options:
At the top
With the letter "U"
What do the two options mean?
There are 300 ...
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What is the meaning of "pretty decent" in terms of level of quality?
I have heard this idiom/phrase in various contexts over the last few decades. Yet, it has been difficult to establish an appropriate meaning to it corresponding to more formal language. Probably ...
