Dictionary of Contemporary Slang (140 page)

‘I am so out of here! Sianara, suckers!'
(Posting at
www.livejournal.com
, March 2004)

sick
adj

1.
American
amusing, funny. An item of black street-talk which was included in so-called
Ebonics
, recognised as a legitimate language variety by school officials in Oakland, California, in late 1996.

He's such a sick dude when he's tellin' all those stories!
That's so sick!

2.
excellent. Used as a vogue expression of enthusiasm by e.g. skateboarders, and usually self-consciously or ironically by students since the 1990s.

sicko
n

a pervert or mentally disturbed person. The word generally denotes a sexual deviant and is now heard in Britain as well as the USA, where it originated.

sighted!
exclamation British

an allpurpose exclamation of solidarity which ranges in meaning from ‘thank you' to ‘beware'. Synonyms from the same period are
seen
and
safe
. The term, which probably originated as a warning or shout of recognition by a gang lookout, was recorded in use among North London schoolboys in 1993 and 1994.

silky
adj

skilful, suave, excellent. The term, which was earlier heard in US street slang, was in use among UK schoolchildren in 2010 as an allpurpose term of approval.

simoleons
n American

coins, cash, dollars, money. This archaic term (a blend of ‘Simon': obsolete slang for dollar. and ‘Napoleon': a 20 franc gold coin) is occasionally revived in the same way as similar British words such as
rhino
or
pelf
.

Simon Cowell, Simon
n British

a
towel
. The rhyming slang, recorded in 2013, plays on the name of the TV talent contest impresario.

simp
n

a dim-witted individual. The word, originating in the USA early in the 20th century, was a shortening of ‘simpleton'. More recently it has sometimes acquired connotations suggested by ‘simper' and
wimp
.

‘Some guest and some employer – the simp and the blimp.'
(
Honeymooners
, US TV comedy series, 1951)

simpatico
adj

agreeable, pleasant, friendly. The Spanish and Italian word has been adopted by certain English speakers.

sing
vb

to inform, confess, give information to the authorities. This underworld term, originating in the USA before World War II, is often embellished as ‘sing like a bird' or ‘sing like a canary'.

‘Last month the alleged cocaine importer from America was driven north to a secure house where he is said by detectives to be “singing like a bird”.'
(
Observer
, 16 August 1987)

sink
vb

to drink, down (alcohol). This drinkers' euphemism usually occurs in such phrases as the invitation to ‘sink a few (jars)'.

sink the sausage
vb Australian

a version of
hide the sausage

siphon/syphon the python
vb

to urinate. A humorous vulgarism introduced to a British audience via the Australian character
Barry McKenzie
in Barry Humphries' and Nicholas Garland's cartoon strip in
Private Eye
magazine in the late 1960s.
Drain the lizard/dragon/snake
are alternatives.

‘Hang on a jiff, though, will you? I've just got to nip into the dunnee to syphon the python.'
(
Bazza Pulls It Off
, cartoon strip by Barry Humphries and Nicholas Garland, 1988)

sitch
n American

a situation. An abbreviated form of the word in use in adolescent speech.

So what's the latest sitch?

sit down
vb

to acquiesce, submit or suffer in silence. The opposite to ‘standing up for oneself', sit down is a synonym for the probably more widespread
lie down
. The phrase has become a vogue term and a business-jargon
expression rather than a mere metaphor.

There's no way I'm going to sit down for this one. We've taken enough!

sit off
vb British

a.
to relax

b.
to act in a lazy, disinterested way

The term was in use among adolescents, especially in the Liverpool area, in 2003. The noun ‘sit-off' denotes a party or gathering at which participants are inert, e.g. after drug use.

six-pack
n

a.
the male abdomen showing the stomach muscles

He's got a great six-pack.

b.
a powerful and/or attractive male

The beach was covered with six-packs.

These uses of the term, based on a comparison with a row of beer cans, arose in the US in the early 1990s and by the end of the decade were also heard (especially in the second sense) in the UK.

sixty-nine
n

simultaneous and mutual oral sex. The term, originating in the French
soixanteneuf
(suggested by the shape of bodies engaged in cunnilingus and fellatio), is from the jargon of pornography and prostitution. The expression also occurs as a verb.

size queen
n

a male homosexual who favours sexual partners according to the size of their genitals. The expression is part of the post-1960s
gay
lexicon and is generally used to indicate disapproval. The term is occasionally applied to women adopting the same criterion.

skadoosh
vb
,
exclamation American

(to say) goodbye, depart. The word, used by ‘Po', the hero of the cartoon movie
Kung Fu Panda
in 2008, probably predated the film, having been used to accompany a sudden exit or other violent action.

skag
n

an alternative spelling of
scag

skagger
n British

a handicapped or slow-witted person. The term has been in playground usage since 2000.

skanger
n British

a synonym of
chav
, in vogue in 2004. It is probably related to
skagger
and/or
skank
.

skangey
adj American

an alternative spelling of
scangey

skank
¹
n

a trick, neat manoeuvre. An item of jargon originating in Nintendo
Game Boy
usage.

skank
²
n
,
adj American

(something or someone) unpleasant or disgusting. The word seems to have arisen in black speech, but its etymology is uncertain. Skank is sometimes used specifically to denote an immoral woman or a prostitute.

skank
³
vb

a.
to abandon, betray
Skank your mates to go out with your girl.

b.
to cheat or rob

skanker
n

1.
British
a synonym for
chav
, recorded in 2005

2.
an unpleasant, untrustworthy individual. A variant form of
skank
recorded in 2004.

skanking
n

a swinging and jerking style of dancing characteristic of reggae and the ‘two-tone' music of 1977 to 1980. The word originally means stealing, and hence behaving disreputably or moving stealthily, in Jamaican patois.

skanky
adj

a.
unpleasant, disreputable, dishonest, repellent

That was a skanky trick to pull.

b.
inelegant, unfashionable, vulgar

Did you clock those skanky shorts she was half-wearing?

A vogue term in
hip hop
and R 'n' B milieus since the 1990s, the word originated in Jamaican speech in the 1970s or earlier.

skat
adj

fashionable. A vogue word from 1985 and 1986, of unknown origin. The word was used by adolescents in the fashion, music and club milieus of New York and London.

skate
n American

a pushover, an easy task, a ‘smooth ride'. A 1980s usage, from the image of skating across a surface or between obstacles.

Relax, it's going to be a skate.

skate it
vb British

to succeed easily or effortlessly. The term is heard particularly in the Scottish Lowlands and the north of England.

skattie
n

a.
South African
a girlfriend

b.
British
a promiscuous woman or prostitute. The term, of obscure origin, was in use among young adult and teenage black males in the late 1990s.

skeen
exclamation
,
adj British

an allpurpose term of approval, agreement, solidarity, etc. This version of the earlier
seen
was described on the internet in 2003 as ‘used by junior wannabe gang-stas' and ‘the proper hardcore way to say
seen
'

skeet
vb American

to achieve male orgasm,
come
. This item of black slang is of uncertain provenance but is presumably related to
skeeze
.

skeeze
vb American

to have sex. The word has been common in black speech since the late 1980s, but its exact etymology is unknown.

skeezer, skeeze
n American

a.
a promiscuous and/or disreputable person. The term is almost invariably pejorative.

b.
a
groupie
or ardent fan of hip hop or
rap
performers

The words appeared in the 1980s.

skeezy
adj American

dissolute, disreputable. The term of disapproval is typically used of a promiscuous person.

‘I'm a crack-whore who should have made my skeezy boyfriend wear a condom.'
(
10 Things I Hate About You
, US film, 1999)

skeg
n

an unfashionable, badly-dressed and/or irritating person. The term, heard in the UK and Australia, is typically used disapprovingly of members of skateboarding subcultures.

skell
n American

a homeless person. The origin of the term, heard in the 1990s, is uncertain.

skeng
n British

a knife. The term was in use among youth gang members in 2009.

sket(s)
n British

a promiscuous and/or disreputable female. A term used by young street-gang members in London since around 2000. It may also designate a
chav
of either gender.

‘They scare the other passengers – meek, tired and irritated – and use a secret language punctuated with words such as “sket” and “nang” and “buff” and “bredren”, which mean whore, cool, good-looking and mate, in that order.'
(
The Times
, 30 January 2006)

sketch, sketchy
adj American

of dubious quality, potentially dangerous. A synonym of
shady
and
dodgy
in widespread use among younger speakers since around 2000. The terms were defined by one user as ‘shady, illicit, weird'.

sketchmaster, sketchmeister
n American

a male who is socially inept, off-putting. An elaboration from the adjective
sketch(y)
.

skettle
n

an alternative spelling of
skittel

-ski, -sky
suffix American

a humorous ending added, usually to slang terms, by teenagers and students. Examples are
finski
and
buttinsky
. The termination indicates friendship, respect, acceptance into the group when attached to a proper name, e.g. ‘Normski' (a black UK TV presenter). When terminating the name of an object, e.g.
brewski
, it denotes affectionate familiarity. The suffix occurs in Slavonic languages and in many Yiddish surnames.

skid
¹
vb

1.
to leave, go away. A usage which was fashionable among adolescents in Britain in the late 1980s.

2.
British
to ‘slum', make do with little money, secondhand clothes, etc. This student term of the 1980s is probably inspired by ‘skid row'

skid
²
n American

a scruffy, disreputable individual. The term, used in the USA and Canada since the 1990s, is probably based on ‘skid row'.

skid-lid
n British

a crash helmet

skid-marks
n pl

traces of excrement on underwear

‘Hand-me downs – me first nappy had your skid-marks on it!'
(
Birds of a Feather
, British TV comedy series, October 1989)

skidoo, skiddoo
vb