"spares and L______s?"

February 16, 2022 4:43 AM

A few days ago a guy on the subway walked by selling "spares and louds." (loads? lots? lodge? louts? lofts?) I know what a spare is, but what is the second thing? It definitely had an L at the start, an TS/DS/TZ/DG/similar at the end, and an o/ou/au sound in the middle. This was in the industrial US midwest.

My first guess was that "loads" was unfamiliar slang for spliffs. But, the guy was really open about it in a way that would be surprising. (Having a spliff in your pocket is legal here. Selling them on the subway still means significant jail time.) "Lots" makes sense, but surely every English speaking person would say "packs" or "cases." The guy had no obvious non-local accent in the seven words I heard, six of which I understood. He seemed to expect everyone would know what he was saying.

To be clear, I'm unlikely to buy whatever it is and I'm definitely not going to mess with this guy's business. I'm just curious what it is I turned down.

posted by eotvos to Writing & Language (10 answers total)

Best answer: “Loud” is slang for marijuana. Also it’s possible he was saying “squares,” which is loose cigarettes.
posted by mai at 5:12 AM on February 16, 2022 [3 favorites]

Loosies.
posted by miles per flower at 5:13 AM on February 16, 2022 [6 favorites]

Came here to say loosies, but you are in Chicago so who the heck knows
posted by goingonit at 6:02 AM on February 16, 2022 [1 favorite]

“Loose squares” is what I normally hear.
posted by jeweled accumulation at 6:03 AM on February 16, 2022 [2 favorites]

Best answer: I understand "loud" as slang for particularly stinky marijuana, such that it's difficult to conceal that you're carrying it, i.e., "damn dude that's some loud, I can smell it all the way over here."
posted by jordemort at 6:09 AM on February 16, 2022 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: Thanks all. Is the word for single cigarettes really squares and not spares? I'm embarrassed. I've been hearing it wrong for 30 years. (I also don't smoke, still it's never really been important.)
posted by eotvos at 6:11 AM on February 16, 2022

Yeah, I'm in Chicago too, and on the south side it's "loose squares" or sometimes just "squares."
posted by goatdog at 7:19 AM on February 16, 2022 [1 favorite]

Could also be spare as in "spare change" like asking for a spare square because you're selling loosies. Might not be a bad gig. Homeless and almost and others along that line of living tend to work on the barter system. If you smoke and have a spare, gimme that, I'll sell it to the next person who'll give me $ or something else for it.
posted by zengargoyle at 9:27 AM on February 16, 2022 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: The internet confirms "squares" is the word. Thanks! I'm astonished. "spares" made so much sense I've always just assumed that was the word.
posted by eotvos at 10:14 AM on February 16, 2022 [1 favorite]

Loud also can refer to the strength of the marijuana--loud is stronger than "mid."
posted by purple_bird at 10:58 AM on February 16, 2022 [2 favorites]