Dictionary of Contemporary Slang (136 page)

scuzzy
adj American

dirty, unpleasant, distasteful, shabby and disreputable. This word, which is used particularly by young people, may be a nursery version of ‘disgusting' or an invention influenced by ‘scum' and ‘fuzz'. Scuzzy has been heard in North America since the late 1960s but to date has not been adopted elsewhere, except by a handful of journalists.

seckle
vb British

to calm down. A childish pronunciation of ‘settle (down)' used in multiethnic youth slang in 2013.

See also
lickle

seeing-to
n British

a.
a beating-up, an assault. A typically understated, hence menacing euphemism in working-class, police and criminal usage.

He's asking for a seeing-to.

b.
a sexual act; specifically the sexual ‘possession' of a woman by a man. The word has simultaneous and revealing overtones of brusque, no-nonsense domination, of a duty accomplished and of an unaffectionate resolution.

Well, I gave her a good seeing-to, didn't I.

seen
exclamation British

an allpurpose expression of agreement, thanks, approval, solidarity, etc. The word began as part of the code of street gangs in the early 1990s (like
safe
), probably meaning something like ‘observed and noted' or ‘under surveillance'. It was still in use as a vogue term among teenagers in 2004.
Skeen
is a later version.

seized
adj British

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

selfie
n

a photographic self-portrait typically taken and sent by a mobile electronic device. The practice, emblematic of lighthearted narcissism and self-advertisement, and the term were both in vogue in 2013, though first recorded in Australia in 2002.

semi
n British

a partial erection.
Lob-on
is a contemporary synonym.

send
vb

to transport emotionally or intellectually. This supposed
beatnik
term of the late 1950s (originating among US jazz musicians in the 1940s) was used to characterise
hip
youth in various unhip media.

I just love Elvis. He sends me!

sent down
adj British

sentenced to imprisonment, imprisoned. This euphemism, also used to mean expelled from university, has been in currency since the 19th century. The phrase may originate in the image of the convict descending the steps from the dock.

sent up
adj American

imprisoned. The American version of
sent down
. Sent up has been in use since the late 19th century; it may be derived from the archaic slang sense of ‘upriver' as imprisoned. In Britain, to be ‘sent up' is to be imitated in a parodic manner.

septic
n

an American. A piece of rhyming slang, from ‘septic tank':
Yank
. The word was first recorded being applied by Australians to visiting American servicemen during World War II. It is in continued currency among the younger generation in Australia and the UK. (
Sherman (tank)
is a British synonym.)

serving up
n British

dealing drugs. An item of black street-talk used especially by males, recorded in 2003. Synonyms are
cutting
,
shotting
.

sesh
n British

1.
a drinking bout. A shortening of ‘(drinking) session' used typically by middle-class youths in Britain from the late 1980s.

We had a good sesh last night.

2.
romantic play or sexual petting. In this sense the abbreviation is typically used by teenage girls.

set
n

the fashionable word for gang in the 1990s argot of the Los Angeles
rap
and street-gang subcultures

‘I ain't nothing without my set. They the only ones who care.'
(
Grand Canyon
, US film, 1991)

severe
adj

impressive, excellent. An allpurpose vogue term of approval used first by British
mods
in 1963 and 1964 and later by American teenagers and their British imitators in the 1970s and 1980s.

‘How did she look?' ‘Severe, man!'
That's a really severe shirt.

sexing
vb British

having sex. A term used by young children.

‘Fraser said he saw someone in a car sexing.'
(Recorded, 8-year-old, London, 1988)

sh-
prefix

this form is generally preferred in this dictionary for the many words of Yiddish origin which exist in modern English slang. Certain terms are recorded under the alternative (German)
sch-
when there is evidence of their prevalence in that form.

shabby
adj

1.
bad

2.
good

The Kaiser Chiefs did a well shabby set.

The standard term has been used in these senses by adolescents in the UK and USA since around 2000.

shack
vb American

to stab (someone). The word was used by prison inmates and members of the underworld.

shackout
vb British

to run away, escape, leave hurriedly. A term used by young street-gang members in London since around 2000.

shack up
vb

to live with someone in a sexual relationship outside marriage. Such a relationship is sometimes known as a ‘shack-up'. The term was an Americanism first used by itinerants and marginals between the World Wars; it was adopted into World English during the 1960s.

shade
n American

a receiver of stolen goods,
fence
. The word, an item of slang from the police and underworld lexicon, in use since the 1920s may be derived from ‘shady' (dealing).

shades
n pl

sunglasses. The word was first used in this sense in the USA in the 1940s. (Shades are blinds in American English.)

shady
adj American

of dubious quality, potentially dangerous. A synonym of
sketch(y)
and
dodgy
.

shaft
¹
n

1.
the penis. A predictable but rare use of the standard term.

2a.
a sex partner

A good shaft.

These usages are back-formations from the verb.

2b.
an act of sexual intercourse

a quick shaft

3. the shaft
an alternative form of a
shafting
. It usually occurs in the form ‘get the shaft'.

shaft
²
vb

1.
to have sex with, penetrate. From the noun
shaft
, denoting the penis.

2.
to ruin, damage, destroy (someone). Most often heard in the form of the past participle ‘shafted', this term is another example of a slang word literally meaning to have sex with someone used metaphorically to mean humiliate or abase.

I tell you, we were well and truly shafted over that Abco deal.

Compare
fuck
;
bugger
;
roger
;
screw

shafting
n

an instance of extremely harsh, ruinous and/or unfair treatment. The term derives from the sexual senses of the verb to
shaft
.

shag
¹
vb

1.
to have sex (with). A common vulgarism in Britain and Australia which is unknown in this sense in the USA. The word is an archaic relative of ‘shake', which was used in a sexual sense from at least the 16th century. In Britain shag took over the taboo role in the 18th century. In modern usage the word is considered less offensive than
fuck
in male company, but more vulgar than other synonyms. Like ‘fuck' it occurs in other forms, such as the noun
shag
, the intensifying adjective ‘shagging' and phrases such as ‘shag off'.

‘When I was 17 I was obsessively in love with a girl who only liked me. It blighted my adolescence. I would have given anything to shag her.'
(Ben Elton, quoted in
NME
, March 1989)

2.
American
to depart, leave. The 1990s use of the term, which may be related to earlier uses of the word to denote a fast jitterbug-style dance or later a reluctant, shuffling walk, also occurs in the phrase ‘shag off/out'. By the 18th century shag had come to mean ‘move quickly' in American speech.

shag
²
n British

1.
a sexual act or a sexual partner. See the verb form for origins.

2.
a term of endearment in use among London financial traders in 2000, probably from earlier public-school usage

shagadelic
adj

excellent. A jocular coinage from the sexual sense of
shag
and ‘psychedelic' used, usually ironically, by US and UK teenagers since around 2000.

shagged out, shagged
adj British

exhausted, worn out. The vulgar origin of the phrase (tired out from sexual activity) is partially forgotten in the modern usage wherein the expression serves as a more robust version of
knackered
.

Listen. I really can't make it, I'm feeling absolutely shagged.

shaggin' wagon, shag-wagon
n

a more vulgar term for
passion wagon
or ‘draggin' wagon'. This form of the expression is heard in Britain and Australia.

Old Gregory turned up in a brand new shaggin' wagon.

shag-monster
n British

a promiscuous or sexually active person. The term can be used either pejoratively or appreciatively.

‘Lyrics like “We should both go to bed until we make each other sore”… have seen [singer Louise Wener] labelled a “sluttish shag-monster”…''
(
The Big Issue
, 6 March 1995)

shake down
vb American

1.
to extort money from (someone), either face-to-face (usually by threats) or by blackmail

2.
to search a person or premises. The phrase usually refers to an official search by police officers which may involve a degree of harassment or force.

shakedown
n American

1.
an act of extortion or blackmail

2.
a search of a person or premises, usually by police officers

shamed-up
adj British

humiliated, shamed. A ‘buzz-term' among teenagers in the 1980s, from the admoni-tory catchphrase ‘take the shame!'. This playground phrase is from black slang.

shampoo
n

champagne. A
Sloane ranger
and
yuppie
witticism of the 1980s. The word is often abbreviated to
poo
. In the USA
preppies
and others also use the terms.

shan
n
,
adj British

(something or someone) unfair, disappointing, embarrassing. The word is of uncertain origin, but may come from Scottish dialect. It is more common in the north of England than elsewhere and is used by e.g.
scallies
and
chavs
.

shandy
n British

a weakling, person unable or unwilling to take strong drink. Not to be confused with
hand shandy
.

shank
n American

a homemade knife. A term used in prisons and by the members of street gangs since the 1950s. In standard English shank denotes the shaft or connecting rod of a tool or instrument.

sharking
n British

pursuing members of the opposite sex. This item of Oxbridge slang of the 1990s often denotes aggressive or devious attempts at seduction, usually on the part of males. By 2004 it was heard across the UK.

sharkle
adj British

excellent, spectacular. An item of youth usage recorded in 2008.

Sharon
n British

the female equivalent of a
Kevin
or
Wayne
. The name is used to designate a supposedly typical (and by implication uncultured) working-class young woman. These generic epithets were coined in the 1970s for the purpose of social stereotyping. (In 1965 Sharon was the tenth most popular Christian name for newborn girls in Britain.) A quintessential ‘common' female, invariably with a cockney estuary English accent, typified by white trainers, loud clothing and much gold jewellery.

‘A thousand slavish Sharons copied Diana's wedding look, as they did her flicked 'n' sprayed hairstyle.'
(Judy Rumbold,
Guardian
, 11 December 1989)

shatter
n British See
top shatter

shat upon
adj