Two-part slang request. I'm looking for: 1. Colloquial terms for Southern gentlemen types, of the mint julep-sipping variety; and 2. Unique/interesting slang along the lines of, "will have my guts my for garters."
posted on Jul 22, 2008 - 28 answers

What's the (non-music-theory) significance of "Eight To The Bar"? [more inside]
posted on Jul 20, 2008 - 8 answers

Is or was the word "shonky" antisemitic? [more inside]
posted on Jul 15, 2008 - 13 answers

To bonzer or not to bonzer, that is the question for our Aussie MeFites. [more inside]
posted on May 13, 2008 - 31 answers

I do this menial task at work at least once, and usually several times a day, which involves running my scripts and then sending out a mass email. The body of my email currently consists of the word 'Done'. I'd like as many ways as possible to say 'the task is completed' and be generally silly. [more inside]
posted on May 12, 2008 - 78 answers

Pippa as a baby name. Does it really mean "blow job" in Greek slang? [more inside]
posted on May 2, 2008 - 26 answers

Is there an obscene pun on this Spanish-language t-shirt? (photo/nsfw language inside) [more inside]
posted on Apr 12, 2008 - 3 answers

what's the origin / meaning of the phrase "he's shooting [playing?] lights out"? [more inside]
posted on Mar 23, 2008 - 19 answers

Why are cheeseburgers called sliders?
posted on Feb 12, 2008 - 31 answers

I'm helping edit a dictionary, and I just got to the skirt entry, which contains the definition "informal: women regarded as sexually desirable." Now, I'm in my fifties and I think of that sense as "before my time," but before I go and tell them to add "dated" I want to double-check with the hip young MeFi crowd: do you know anybody younger than Grandpa Simpson who talks about "chasing skirt"?
posted on Feb 11, 2008 - 91 answers

"He's a dirty jade!" "Go ahead and sleep with him you dirty jade!" This insult was used repeatedly in the Zola book I was reading last night. When I searched for it this morning, Google returned results for other uses in at least three other Zola novels. What does it refer to? (As the more inside explains, I think it's actually an English-language insult, as the original contains something else.) [more inside]
posted on Jan 15, 2008 - 17 answers

Can anyone tell me the etymology of the term "lunch out," meaning 'to freak out'? [more inside]
posted on Jan 9, 2008 - 8 answers

Do you know a derogatory nickname for a town or city? [more inside]
posted on Dec 17, 2007 - 198 answers

Asking for my son: How and why did web abbreviation and web slang evolve the way it did? Was it just a matter of common acceptance, or was something bigger at work? [more inside]
posted on Nov 22, 2007 - 11 answers

The $hit... We know that 'the' makes it positive, but why? What is the origin 'the $hit' as a positive thing? [more inside]
posted on Nov 15, 2007 - 26 answers

What's the source of "a baby's arm holding an apple"? [more inside]
posted on Oct 16, 2007 - 9 answers

I need to know everything about marijuana. [more inside]
posted on Sep 4, 2007 - 29 answers

Contemporary pop culture term equivalent, in both meaning and ridiculousness, to "getting jiggy wit it"? [more inside]
posted on Aug 13, 2007 - 18 answers

The abbreviation "yr" as a substitute for "your": is this a feminist thing? Where did it come from? [more inside]
posted on Jul 23, 2007 - 52 answers

So, how does the Italian phrase "Si fa'icche si vole" translate into English..? [more inside]
posted on Jul 5, 2007 - 7 answers

please give me, all your Slang, Colloquial, Street terms for theft, shop lifting, pickpocking, general crime, the taking of property/ ownership, conartisty [more inside]
posted on Jun 6, 2007 - 60 answers

What term was used to describe a person with a photographic memory prior photography? [more inside]
posted on May 20, 2007 - 18 answers

How to determine which four letters will give the most anagrams, abbrs, slang, and internet/bb/txt slang/abbrs? [more inside]
posted on Apr 28, 2007 - 9 answers

Why do some people say "anyways"? I notice Mayor Bloomberg always says it. He may be the mayor of NYC and a billionaire media mogul, but he sounds like he never opened a book in his life. I know he's from Boston, but I don't believe this is a regional thing.
posted on Feb 9, 2007 - 32 answers

I think telling women to "get some balls" is offensive. Am I too sensitive? [more inside]
posted on Jan 21, 2007 - 116 answers

English slang expression that sounds like "CASE OH"? [more inside]
posted on Oct 28, 2006 - 33 answers

Here in the far-flung reaches of the English-speaking world, we're constantly being told our local language is being taken over by "American Slang". But does it go the other way? Are there any British / Australian / New Zealand or wherever phrases and words that have become commonly used by people in North America recently? Do Brooklynites ever exclaim "Crikey!" or "Bloody Hell!"?
posted on Oct 27, 2006 - 50 answers

Was Polari employed by gays in America during the 60's ? If not, what ? [more inside]
posted on Sep 17, 2006 - 9 answers

Where does the term "pissed off" come from? Doesn't seem to be related to being angry. You are more likely to piss your pants when you are scared.
posted on Aug 3, 2006 - 18 answers

Looking for slang words for a hangover. [more inside]
posted on Jul 19, 2006 - 43 answers

What's a "German Favor"? [more inside]
posted on Jul 16, 2006 - 13 answers

Slang term for statutory rape laws? [more inside]
posted on Jul 5, 2006 - 21 answers

What does "barnacle code" mean to programmers? [more inside]
posted on May 31, 2006 - 9 answers

Please help an American out with British slang: what is a flute shop? [more inside]
posted on May 26, 2006 - 19 answers

Explain to me the popularity of "moonbat." [more inside]
posted on May 24, 2006 - 20 answers

What's the origin of the phrase "For those of you [playing/following/scoring] along at home?" [more inside]
posted on Apr 28, 2006 - 23 answers

What's the new word for "cool"? [more inside]
posted on Apr 19, 2006 - 152 answers

Does anyone know a colloquial Spanish (/dialect irrelevant) term equivalent to 'Tripping," as in "being under the influence of a hallucinogenic drug?"
posted on Mar 16, 2006 - 17 answers

Is the phrase "Jive Turkey" offensive? [more inside]
posted on Mar 2, 2006 - 30 answers

I've noticed when reading European books translated into English, the turn of phrase "Do sex" or "sex each other" etc. Is this an accurate translation, or is it a watered down translation for the tradionial f-word in American English? British books sometimes feature it as well. Are both phrases used in Europe? Is there a difference in meaning?
posted on Feb 16, 2006 - 19 answers

Does anyone know any slang that waiters/waitresses use to refer to regular customers other than the obvious "regulars"?
posted on Jan 20, 2006 - 17 answers

What's a nickname for the speakers on a stereo? [more inside]
posted on Jan 12, 2006 - 21 answers

My grandfather was from the Deep South, and his speech was very colorful. He used the word "epizootics" to describe any kind of flu-like illness. I realize this is a real word, used to describe epidemics in the animal world. But he pronounced it differently, "eppa-zoo-tiks." Or sometimes he said "eppa-zoo-ti-kus." Has anyone else heard this before? Would this be considered slang, or an idiom, etc? [more inside]
posted on Jan 12, 2006 - 12 answers

We were discussing the source of playground rhymes/mythology/logic. Is there an example of a piece of nationally or internationally popular playground lore we can trace to a specific author?
posted on Jan 2, 2006 - 8 answers

Please help me find a print depicting idioms and slang. [more inside]
posted on Dec 13, 2005 - 2 answers

What's the etymology of "gully" (as in "street", "badass")? Thanks.
posted on Dec 4, 2005 - 11 answers

Is "Starlight" some form of British slang for "Medic"? [more inside]
posted on Nov 29, 2005 - 15 answers

My friend DJ just got a snowboard with a pretty girl painted on it, and she's named it "Betty" after the surfer slang for a good-looking woman. What's the equivalent to "Betty" in surfer lingo to describe a good-looking man?
posted on Nov 7, 2005 - 16 answers

I'm looking for a slang word/phrase used to describe a false bar in a prison cell. The idea is that when a prison was built/expanded by inmate labor, workers would loosen one bar before it'd set too solidly in cement to make a potential escape hatch. What would inmates call this? [more inside]
posted on Oct 18, 2005 - 6 answers

Identify that slang! "Gribnodes" used to refer to snackfoods, particularly snackfoods that one serves in small bowls at a party, like nuts or chexmix. [more inside]
posted on Sep 5, 2005 - 8 answers