English Department

at the University of Michigan-Flint

Students in Linguistics 346 – Linguistic Analysis worked on slang dictionary entries this fall semester. Below are their abbreviated entries. Enjoy!


amazeballs  [əˈmeɪzˌbɔːlz] (adj.): 1. Beyond amazing; something or someone that is so amazing that a regular word could not suffice. (That concert I went to last night was amazeballs.) 2. Superlative used when someone shares exciting news with you that no other word will amount to the excitement you have over it. (Oh my god, that is so amazeballs! I’m so happy for you!) 3. Term that was supposedly made famous my celebrity blogger Perez Hilton

bro  [brəʊ] (n.): 1. A shortening of the word brother, used between siblings. My older bro took me shopping.  2. Slang. A shortening of the word brother, used between alpha males to refer to a male who is not related, but is so emotionally close to you, that he could be a brother. Often referred to as a ‘soul brother’. “It meant you wore a backward hat, maybe waxed your chest, used the word “bro” a lot, drank Red Bull and vodkas, had a name for both your car and your penis, felt a reflexive need to high-five after sex, and would someday either work as a trader or just act like you did.”

"Ovechkin and Knuble About to Hug" by clydeorama, on Flickr

CC BY-NC 2.0 photo by Flickr user, clydeorama

celly  [sel-li] (n.) 1. Hockey slang, short for celebrate. Often taking place after a sick goal, as a reward for the player. A brief expression of elation, rather than a gathering or festivity. (Ex: Number 23 scored a goal, in which the puck bounced off the side of the net, tying up the game, and proceeded with a celly.)  2. Usually performed by one player, but can also include the whole team. (Ex: The whole Capitals Hockey Team, participated in a celly when they made it through the playoff games.)  3. Overdone cellys can become a target for trash talk amongst players.(Ex: The bender league hockey players scrutinized the amateur hockey player for swimming across the ice in a celly after a goal.)

"Gauges" by K. Cleveland

gauge  [ɡeɪdʒ] (n): 1) a piercing of large relative diameter obtained through stretching, punching, scalpelling, or other means, usually in reference to earlobe piercings.  2) jewelry worn in a large piercing, i.e. plugs, tunnels, weights, etc.   plural- ‘gauges’

Synonyms: plugs, stretches, stretched piercings

Examples:“Is that a gauge in your lip?”

                              “I love your gauges!”

gauge [ɡeɪdʒ] (v, inf): 1) to stretch a piercing.

            Synonyms: stretch, stretching, stretched

            Examples:  “Did he gauge his septum?”

“That dirty hipster started gauging his gauges.”

gauged  [ɡeɪdʒd] (adj):  1) used to describe a piercing that has been stretched, punched, scalpelled, or otherwise enlarged.

Synonyms: stretched, enlarged

Examples:  “Sammy loves her gauged labret.”

“Jean-Pierre continued gauging his gauged gauges.”

jelly (adj.) Internet slang. jealous (U jelly?)

minger [mɪŋə] (n.):  A derogatory term used to describe a person who is not attractive, or is dirty, unclean, smelly. (My brother’s new girlfriend is a minger and hasn’t showered in three days!).

"Panda" by George Lu, on Flickr

CC BY 2.0 Photo Flickr User George Lu

Sad Panda (n.): A third person reference to oneself as sad, but panda can be combined with other emotions such as “happy.” Can be considered a type of verbal “smiley face” i.e. 🙂 or 🙁 Also used to reference situations, as in “I was along with Ally and Erica and it was very awkward panda.” In this case the word acts as an adjective.

 

 

"Strong Man Bot" by Jenn and Tony Bott, on Flickr

CC BY-NC 2.0 Photo by Jenn and Tony Bot

stronk  [strɒŋk]  (adj.): 1. Unjustly or unfairly having too much might and power; being overpowered or unbalanced; unable to be defied or challenged.

“Dictators are stronk.”

“Wow, did you see that team fight?  They’re stronk!”

 2. Sarcastic usage: polar opposite of strong, sufficient, or skilled; often used to make fun of or ridicule someone, something, or some idea that is defective, grievous, or awful; extremely inadequate or incompetent.  This can also be used to point out the failures of the opposing person, object, or idea that is not mentioned.

“Man, my eyes are horrible.  Carrots too stronk.”

“SORAKA TOO STRONK!”

 
swag (n.): 1. Promotional merchandise for a band, record label, or other entity in the music business, usually distributed at concerts.  Acronym-Something We All Get. 2. Slang. cool dress or attitude.
"Yoopers Tap Da Sap" by yooperann, on Flickr

CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Photo by Flickr user yooperann

 

Yooper [juʹpɚ] (n.)  1.A person from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. <That Yooper has never been farther south than St. Ignace.> 2. A dialect of English spoken in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. <He speaks Yooper when he visits his family.>

adj. Of, relating to, derived from, or typical of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, its people, or its culture. <A Chevy with no rust holes? That’s a Yooper Cadillac!>