Read Dictionary of Contemporary Slang Online
Authors: Tony Thorne
Dictionary of Contemporary Slang (97 page)
to
fart
. The first variant is a common schoolchildren's term, the other forms tend to be used by adults.
Blow off
is one synonym among many.
lettuce
n
1.
money. Another term like
long green, cabbage
, etc. that makes the connection between green banknotes and succulent vegetation. The word was probably first heard in raffish use in the USA, where banknotes of all denominations are, and were, predominantly green.
2.
the female genitals, from the supposed resemblance
lez, lezz, lezzie, lezzo
n
an alternative spelling of
les
lick
1
1.
vb American
to smoke
crack
by sucking the smoke from a burning pellet of the
drug through a glass pipe or tube. The term is from the users' own jargon.
2.
vb
to beat up. Probably a back-formation from the earlier colloquial noun form â(to give someone) a licking'.
3.
n
the lick
a superlative person, thing or situation. This term, meaning âthe (very) best', probably originated in black American speech but by the mid-1990s was in use among adolescents in Britain, too. It may be related to
lickin' stick
.
lick
2
n American
an illicit drug, particularly cocaine
licked
adj British
drunk or under the influence of a drug or drugs. The word was popular among schoolchildren in the noughties decade. It is probably a shortening of
likkered
.
licker
n British
a
swot
, sycophant. This abbreviated form of
arse-licker
is in use among schoolchildren together with its synonym,
boff
.
â“Licker”, says Jonathon Angel, 13. “That's what you get called if you have your hand up all the time; licker or swot”.'
(
Independent
, 17 October 1996)
lickin' stick
n American
a sweetheart, favourite friend. This item of black slang (the item referred to is a licorice-stick or popsicle) was used by the feminist writer Mtozke Shange.
lick it
vb British
to steal. A term used by young street-gang members in London since around 2000.
lickle, likkle
adj British
little. The usage is an imitation of a childish or patois pronunciation and features in rap lyrics and teenage speech.
cuz i hate it wen the likkle manz like / im chip diddy chip im fire alie
licks
n pl
plangent sequences of notes played on the electric guitar, short improvised musical solos. The term was adopted by rock guitarists from earlier jazz musicians who had adapted the colloquial âlick', meaning both a stroke or hit and an attempt. The word is part of the terminology which includes
chops
and
riff
.
âJimi [Hendrix] has got some licks that none of us can match.'
(Eric Clapton, speaking in 1970)
lid
n British
1.
money
got any lid?
2.
a uniformed police officer
liddy
adj American
crazy, eccentric. A term deriving from the expression âto flip one's lid'.
Wiggy
is a word of similar provenance.
lie down, lay down
vb
to surrender, abase oneself. A fashionable euphemism in the late 1980s, particularly in the contexts of business and politics. It normally had the sense of giving up without a struggle in an adversarial situation.
Sit down
and
bend over
are used similarly.
I'm damned if I'm going to lie down for them
.
Liffey water
n Irish and British
Guinness. The Liffey is the river flowing through Dublin, where Guinness is brewed, and Liffey water is an archaic rhyming-term for porter, of which Guinness is an example.
lift
vb
1.
to arrest or capture, in police jargon and a sanitised euphemism of Vietnam-era military parlance
2.
to steal. Lift has been used euphemistically in this sense since the 16th century.
3.
to drink (alcohol). A beer-drinkers' euphemism inspired by the raising of glasses;
hoist
is an American synonym.
What say we go and lift a few?
lifted
adj British
intoxicated by drugs or alcohol,
high
. A term used by young street-gang members in London since around 2000.
lift-off
n American
an erection
âShe doesn't give you a boner? â because I definitely have lift-off.'
(
Disclosure
, US film, 1995)
lig
1
vb British
to freeload, enjoy oneself at someone else's expense. The word, coined in Britain in the early 1970s, refers to the activities of hangers-on,
groupies
, music journalists, etc., who attend receptions, parties, concerts, and other functions, usually financed by record companies. The origin of the word is obscure, it has been suggested that it is made up of the initials of âleast important guest' or is a blend of âlinger' and
gig
. Alternatively it may be an obscure vagrants' term from a dialect survival of the Anglo-Saxon
liegan
, meaning âto lie'.
lig
2
n British
an opportunity for freeloading, a party, reception or other occasion when it is possible to enjoy oneself at someone else's
expense. The word refers to the rock and pop-music world, and probably postdates the verb form
lig
and the noun
ligger
.
ligger
n British
a freeloader, hanger-on or gatecrasher at concerts, receptions, parties, etc., in the rock and pop-music milieus. The word is part of rock music's jargon and was adopted enthusiastically by journalists in such publications as
New Musical Express
in the 1970s to describe those enjoying themselves at the expense of record companies.
âJulia Riddiough, 27 “going on 180”, is a world-class ligger who could club for Britain.'
(
Observer
, Section 5 magazine, 7 May 1989)
liggeratti
n British
a journalese blend of
ligger
and âglitteratti'
â“The club animals” own Johnny Morris, Caris Davis, who wrote about clubland's scenestealers, wimp-bods and ligeratti in his novel, “Stealth”.'
(
Observer
, Section 5 magazine, 7 May 1989)
Compare
digerati
lighten up
vb
to relax or take things less seriously, calm down and/or cheer up. This expression moved from US parlance into the rest of the English-speaking world in the early 1980s.
âLighten up will ya â do you have to take the fun out of everything?'
(
Cheers
, US TV comedy series, 1985)
lightning
n American
1.
another name for the drug
crack
2.
See
white lightning
lightweight
adj British
insufficiently daring, outrageous, excessive. In the fashionable adolescent vocabulary of the late 1990s this was the opposite of
hardcore
.
like
1.
similar to, comparable with
2.
a conversational filler or hesitation device
I was, like, trying to explain things to him
.
3.
a quotative (verbal device used to introduce a quote)
She was like âI've had enough'
.
4.
an emphatic
We were like, totally wasted
.
The seemingly inoffensive word âlike' is a linguistic multitasker
par excellence
, functioning at different times as adjective, noun, verb, adverb, conjunction and preposition. It is an ancient feature of our language, originating as a shortening of the Anglo Saxon
gelic
, its more modern form perhaps influenced by its Old Norse synonyms
glikr
and
likr
, as used by Viking neighbours. For a thousand years the four-letter combination has done good service, but two recent shifts in usage mean that it symbolises wider and deeper cultural changes. The first and better known mutation of like has been into what is called a âparenthetical filler', a piece of meaningless verbal punctuation, much mocked when it issues from the mouths of seemingly vacuous teenage girls: âI was, like, what does he want, and he was, like, look at you.' In fact statistics show that adults are now just as likely as adolescents to employ this device, although they tend to use it fewer times in any given sentence. Nor is this latest upsurge â certainly this time under the influence of American speech â unprecedented, witness the terminal âloik' that has long supposedly been characteristic of âyokel' usage in rural England (âshe were pregnant, loik'). Back in the days of âproper English' the role of like was covered by the more elegant locutions âas it were' or âso to speak': more recently, in the 1960s âsort of' and âkind of' were equally damned as vulgar imports from the USA. Is this ubiquitous âlike' really quite devoid of meaning? It may function as a hesitation marker, granting us an instant longer to formulate our ideas, or as a hedging device, adding a
soupçon
of uncertainty, or to introduce a quote, or to emphasise what follows. In its second recent incarnation âlike' is a nonstandard conjunction, replacing âas if', âas though', as in (in the words of the University Vice-Chancellor's report) âIt looks like we are failing to address the real issues.' In this case it is a flattening out, the removal of a distinction in meaning, the end of yet another of the nuances that English English, as opposed to some other varieties, delighted inâ¦
like a big dog
adj, adv American
extremely, excessively. The phrase, heard on campus since the 1990s, is a euphemism for
like a bitch
.
âHe's been prepping for these tests like a big dog.'
(Recorded, US student, London, April 2005)
like a bitch
adj, adv
extremely, excessively. The term is in use in the USA and the UK.
Man, I was sweating like a bitch
.
likely lad
n British
an alert, smart and/or cheeky youth. A colloquial working-class phrase used particularly in the north of England to describe a young man who shows promise or self-confidence. The expression was adopted as the title of a popular
Newcastle-based TV comedy series in the 1960s.
like the pies
vb British
to be greedy and/or obese. A humorous euphemism favoured by students among others since 2000.
That Monica Lewinsky likes the pies these days, doesn't she?
likkered (up)
adj
drunk. The re-spelling of the old colloquial âliquored' marks its mutation into youth slang for the noughties decade. The term occurs in black and provincial speech, for instance.
lilac
adj
(of a male) homosexual or effeminate. A rarer synonym for
lavender
.
lils
n pl British
female breasts. A vulgar schoolchildren's word of the 1950s and 1960s, which may be a shortening of an earlier term, âlilywhites', or an invention, possibly influenced by âloll' and âspill'. The term was still in use in 2004.
lime
n
a casual gathering of friends and family. A Caribbean usage later adopted by black speakers in the USA. The term is probably a back-formation from the noun
limer
and verb lime.
This lime has no juice! [This gathering is dull.]
limer
n Caribbean
a hanger-on. A back-formed verb, âto lime', is also heard. Both are inspired by the adhesive qualities of birdlime or quicklime. The word was adopted by some white speakers in London from the later 1980s.
limey
n, adj
(an) English (person). The word, used mostly in North America, is a shortening of âlime-juicer', a usually pejorative term applied originally to British sailors who were issued with rations of lime juice as a protection against scurvy. The word limey is now rather dated; âBrit' is increasingly taking its place.
limo
n
a limousine, luxury car. An American abbreviation, employed by chauffeurs, then showbiz journalists among others, in the early 1970s and now widely used.
limp-dick
n, adj
(someone who is) weak, ineffectual, irresolute. The metaphor is one of impotence, but the term is invariably used to express generalised rather than sexual contempt. The phrase probably originated in the USA as a harsher version of âlimp-wristed'.
line
n