Dictionary of Contemporary Slang (13 page)

3.
a large amount or number. The usage has become fashionable among young speakers of all ethnic backgrounds in the UK since 2000.

He's got bare magazines.

bareback riding
n

having sex without a condom. A phrase possibly originating among prostitutes and pornographers, now widespread in colloquial speech.

barf
vb American

to vomit. A popular student term dating from the 1950s. The word is imitative in origin and is sometimes used as an exclamation of disgust. It has recently been adopted by speakers in other anglophone areas.

barf bag
n American

a.
a disgusting or very unpleasant person. A teenagers' slightly less offensive version of
scumbag
.

‘Word on the street is that you barf bags are giving the kids in the 7th grade a hard time.'
(
Vice Versa
, US film, 1988)

b.
an airsickness bag. The term is rarely used in this sense, which derives from the verb
barf
meaning ‘to vomit'.

barf city
n
,
adj American

(a place that is) disgusting, revolting. The expression, from
barf
(‘to vomit'), is usually used as an exclamation of revulsion, typically by schoolchildren and teenagers.

barf (someone) out
vb American

to disgust, nauseate someone. A
Valley Girl
and teenagers' term, usually heard as an exclamation, as in ‘It totally barfs me out!'. It derives from
barf
meaning ‘to vomit'.

bark
¹
n British

cannabis. An item of prison slang based on the resemblance between hashish and tree-bark, and recorded in the early 1990s.

bark
²
vb Australian

to vomit. By extension from the earlier use of bark as a humorous synonym for ‘cough'.

barking
adj British

demented. A short form of ‘barking mad', evoking utter howling craziness, this expression is typically heard in upper- and middle-class speech, often preceded by ‘absolutely'.

‘A friend in the Business was hugely amused when told of a forthcoming interview with Carla Lane. “She's quite
barking, you know,” he warned cheerfully…'
(
Sunday Times
magazine, 4 March 1990)

barking moonbat
n

an uncontrolled, eccentric or erratic person. A term of mild disapproval or sometimes rueful affection in use among
hackers
from around 2004.

barking spider, the
n

the anus

barnet
n British

hair
, a head of hair. A rhyming-slang term (from ‘Barnet Fair'; both the event and the phrase in its full form were popular among Londoners in the second half of the 19th century) which is still widely used by working-class speakers and their imitators in and around London.

‘I'm stayin' in tonight and washin' me barnet.'
(Recorded, social worker, Willesden, London, 1987)

barney
n British

an argument, fight or disturbance. Perhaps surprisingly the origin of this common term is obscure. It is assumed to derive from the male forename, but the connection between Barnaby and brawl or scuffle is unclear.

I like a bit of a barney from time to time – it helps to clear the air.

Barney
n American

an unattractive male. This pejorative term for a boy who is not categorised as a
Baldwin
was featured in the 1994 US film
Clueless
. The reason for the choice of proper name is uncertain, but may be inspired by the character Barney Rubble in the cartoon series and film
The Flintstones
, hence a primitive person. The term was still in use in 2004.

baron
n British

a prisoner enjoying a degree of power and influence over his fellow inmates. The source of the power is usually economic, with the baron controlling trade in cigarettes (a ‘tobacco baron'), drugs or other prison currency.

barries
n British

fellatio. A term of unknown origin, heard since 2000 in black British usage and more recently among other young speakers.

She gave 'im barries.

Barry
n British

a boorish, vulgar or unsophisticated male. A social categorisation said by users to be the counterpart of a
Sharon
, recorded in 2004.

Compare
Kevin
;
Wayne

barse
n Australian, British

the perineum. It refers to the area between, and is a blend of, the words
balls
and
arse
.
Taint
is a synonym.

barsy, barzy
adj British

mad, lunatic. A blend of barmy and crazy favoured by some middle-class speakers since the mid-1970s.

base
¹
n

crack
. The term is a shortening of
freebase
, a system of smoking purified cocaine which pre-dated the use of the more refined and potent crack. The word ‘base' was in use among British users in 1989, together with many other nicknames.

base
²
vb American

to denigrate, criticise. A term from black street slang of the later 1990s used in the same way as
diss
.

base
³
adj American

unpleasant, disgusting, inferior. The standard term, as in ‘base behaviour', was appropriated, perhaps via black street slang, by high-school and college students in the 1980s. It is popular among female speakers.

That new diner in the mall is, like, so base!

basehead
n American

a drug-user who
freebases
cocaine or smokes
crack
. The term dates from the early 1980s, the practice from the 1970s.

basements
n pl South African

shoes. The term is usually applied to trainers as worn by young males and was recorded in 1994.

bash, bashy
adj British

exciting, lively, attractive. The terms originate in Jamaican patois.

‘She's goin' on like she thinks she's bashy.'
(Recorded, London student, 2002)

bashed
adj American

drunk. One of a large number of synonyms evoking the idea of the drunkard as damaged or chastised.

basher
n British

a shelter or shack made of cardboard, paper, plastic, etc. and lived in by a tramp or homeless person. The word is used by
the ‘gentlemen of the road' or
dossers
themselves.

‘Their “bashers” (shacks) will be forcibly removed by police to make way for developers who want to “yuppify” the Charing Cross area.'
(
Observer
, 16 August 1987)

bashment
¹
n

a party, dance,
rave
. The term originated in Caribbean speech and by 2003 was in general use among UK teenagers.

bashment
²
adj

lively, spirited (of a person or event)

bash the bishop
vb

(of a male) to masturbate. The phrase, recorded in the 19th century with its synonym ‘flog the bishop', was probably the precursor of many similar jocular euphemisms such as
box the jesuit
,
spank the monkey
, etc., heard in the 20th century.

basic B
n

an unpleasant female. The Americanism – the ‘b' is for
bitch
– was also adopted by UK teenagers of both sexes from around 2010.

basing
n See
freebasing

basket
n

1.
a
bastard
. A euphemism used in Britain and Australia, particularly in the 1950s and 1960s, and especially by middle-class speakers.

2.
American
the male genitals. A male homosexual term, heard in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

basket case
n

a helpless invalid, a person who is mentally and/or physically incapacitated. Originally an Americanism, this expression (a variant of
cot-case
) has become widespread in recent years. It is now often used in journalists' jargon to refer to an irrevocably ruined enterprise.

bassed
adj British

1.
beaten up. An item of black street-talk used especially by males, recorded in 2003.

2.
a variant form of
baffed

bastard
n

the standard term for an illegitimate person has been used as a term of abuse, disapproval, pity or even affection (particularly in British and Australian usage) since the early years of the 20th century

‘Targets: banks, shops, DHSS, cop-shops, Job Centres, rich bastards.'
(
Observer
, 3 April 1988)

batey
adj British

bad-tempered, irascible. A piece of dated, but not yet archaic public-school slang deriving from the obsolescent use of ‘bate' to mean strife or argument.

bath
n British

a girl. A term used by young street-gang members in London since around 2000.

bath bun
n British

1.
the
sun
. A less common alternative to
currant bun
.

‘All this bleedin' rain. I've forgotten what the old bath bun looks like.'
(Recorded, street trader, London, 1988)

2.
a
son

Both uses are London working-class rhyming slang from the sweet fruit bun originating in the city of Bath.

bath-dodger
n British

an unwashed or habitually dirty individual.
Soap-dodger
is a synonym.

batphone
n British

a.
a walkie-talkie

b.
a mobile telephone

The nickname, inspired by the gadget featured in the
Batman
TV series of the 1960s, was first recorded among police officers in the early 1990s.
Squawker
is a synonym.

batso
adj British

crazy. The word, used typically by middle-class schoolchildren and adults, is an elaboration of the colloquial ‘bats' or ‘batty', both based on the older expression ‘to have bats in one's belfry'.

‘It seemed to me to be a completely batso idea.'
(Recorded, London journalist, February 1995)

batter
n British See
on the batter

battered, batted
adj British

drunk. One of a host of synonyms employing the metaphor of (the drinker suffering) damage. An item of student slang in use in London and elsewhere since around 2000.

batties
n British

trousers, in youth slang of the noughties decade. Someone who wears his or her trousers too low down is doing a ‘batty ride'.

batting for the other side
adj British

homosexual. Invariably used of males, usually pejoratively or mockingly by males, the metaphor is from cricket. The expression has become widespread since the late 1990s.

battle-cruiser
n British

a
boozer
; the pub. This London rhyming-slang term originated, not surprisingly, in the 1940s, but is still heard, although
rub-a-dub
is probably more popular now.

battler
n Australian

a resolute, energetic or otherwise impressive person. The term (which used to denote a prostitute operating independently of a pimp) often applies to someone who is admired for triumphing over adversity. It also occurs in the form
bottler
.

batty
n Jamaican

the backside, buttocks. The word, usually used in a sexual context, is an item of patois based on ‘bottom' which has spread into white urban slang since the 1990s.

batty-boy, battyman
n British

a male homosexual. Nearly always used pejoratively, this is one of many terms from Jamaican patois using
batty
, a form of ‘bottom', to denote sexuality.

batty-riders
n pl British

extremely short shorts or
hot pants
worn by females. The term was associated with the ragga or dance-hall reggae movement of the early to mid-1990s whose female adherents wore provocative clothes reflecting the salacious lyrics of the music.

batty-seed
n British

a male homosexual. This term from Jamaican patois (one of many based on
batty
, meaning the ‘backside') was picked up, like the more common
batty-boy
, by London schoolchildren in the 1990s. The ‘seed' element probably refers to miso-placed semen.

baunch
n American