Dictionary of Contemporary Slang (158 page)

excellent, exceptional, outstanding. A now dated usage which originated in the
jive talk
of pre-World War II jazz musicians in the USA and became a (sometimes derided) cliché expression of
hippy
enthusiasm.

toont
n American

the vagina. A variant form of
tuntun
, recorded in the Midwest in 2001.

toot
¹
vb

to take any inhaled drug, but especially cocaine or amphetamine crystals (
speed
). This word had existed in the drug users' lexicon since the mid-1960s, but became widespread in the late 1970s with the increased popularity of cocaine among otherwise ‘respectable' people. It employs the predictable simile (as in
bugle
,
hooter
) of the nose as a musical instrument.

toot
²
n

1a.
an inhalation or sniff of a crystalline drug

D'you want a toot of this?

1b.
a drug normally inhaled, particularly cocaine

This is grade A toot.

2.
Australian
a toilet. The word is pronounced to rhyme with ‘foot', and is used by middle-class speakers.

3.
a
fart

‘…there is no place, save my apartment, that is safe to let off a toot…'
(Internet chat room posting, July 2004)

tootin'
adv
,
adj American

absolutely (right). An adjective used to intensify, as in the cliché expression ‘damn/darn tootin' right', whence the shortened version ‘darned tootin'' or simply ‘tootin'', meaning correct. The word is ultimately derived from ‘rootin'-tootin'', originally meaning cheering and whistling.

top
¹
vb

to kill or execute (someone). The term, which is part of underworld jargon, has existed since the late 18th century when it referred to hanging.

top
²
adj British

excellent, fashionable. A vogue term of approbation among adolescents from the late 1980s. In this sense, the word was probably adopted first in the north of England, later spreading to all other regions.
Mint
and
fit
were other fashionable synonyms from the same period.

‘… do you enjoy being a pop star?
I think it's top, me.'
(Liam Gallagher of Oasis interviewed in
NME
, 30 September 1995)

top bollocks
n pl

female breasts. A vulgarism used by males in Britain and Australia since the early 1960s.

top shatter
n British
a leader, commanding male. An item of black street-talk used especially by males, recorded in 2003.

The top shatter is the number one bad boy.

torch
vb

to set fire to something, usually to get rid of incriminating evidence or as part of an insurance fraud

‘But torching the building made little difference to the neighbourhood. There are three other crack houses within easy walking distance.'
(
Sunday Times
, 10 September 1989)

torch job
n

an act or case of arson

torn up, to'up
adj American

drunk. An expression used on campus in the USA since around 2000.

tosh
n British

1.
a term of address to a stranger, invariably used by a man to another man. This working-class word, now obsolescent, was a favourite with
spivs
and young toughs in the 1950s and early 1960s. It can be used with bravado, in rough comradeship or provokingly. In this sense it possibly derives from Scottish or Cornish dialect, in which it meant smart or well-dressed.

2.
nonsense. A 19th-century public-school and university term that was obsolescent, except in affected usage, during the 1960s and 1970s, but was revived in the 1980s. It often forms part of phrases such as ‘tosh and tarradiddle' or ‘tosh and twaddle', equating with ‘stuff and nonsense'. The origin of this sense of the word is obscure; it may be an imitation of a snort of derision (as in ‘tish' or ‘bosh') or derive from ‘toshy', meaning over-dressed.

‘He gave me some sort of explanation, but it was basically a load of old tosh.'
(Recorded, film producer, London, 1986)

toss
¹
n British

1.
something futile, worthless or useless. A word usually found in the phrase ‘a load of old toss'. It denotes the semen ejaculated in masturbation, and is influenced also by
tosh
meaning nonsense.

2.
an obnoxious and/or foolish person. The term is a shortening of
tosser
or
toss-bag
.

toss
²
vb

1.
to deliberately lose a match, game or contest (usually as part of a gambling conspiracy). A racier version of ‘throw'.

2.
to search and/or ransack premises in pursuit of evidence of crime or of booty. An underworld and law enforcers' term.

3.
Australian
to defeat. A term used particularly in sport; it probably derives from the image of a wrestler or bull tossing an opponent, or simply from the standard sense of ‘toss aside'.

toss-bag
n

an idle, worthless, foolish and/or obnoxious person

tosser
n British

an idle, worthless and/or foolish person. A mainly working-class term of contempt which enjoyed a particular vogue in the
later 1970s. It is a synonym of
wanker
and derives from the verb
toss off
.

‘Yis wan to be different, isn't tha' it? Yis don't want to end like these tossers here. Amn't I righ'?'
(
The Commitments
, Roddy Doyle, 1988)

tossing
adj British

an intensifier for use with nouns in the same way as the more vulgar
frigging, fucking
, etc. The term is heard in working-class speech, especially in northern England

toss off
vb

to masturbate. This verb, used transitively or intransitively, has been in use since before its first recording in 1735 to refer to male masturbation. In modern English slang the word is restricted to British and Australian speech.

toss one's cookies/tacos
vb American

to vomit. Jocularisms popular among college students in particular.

toss-pot
n

1.
a drunkard or habitual heavy drinker. This term of disapproval or affectionate abuse has been a British colloquialism for hundreds of years. The pot in question is a jar of ale, which is tossed down the throat.

2.
a foolish, weak, unpleasant and/or incompetent person. Users of the term in this sense probably confuse it with
tosser
, falsely identifying the verb origin
toss off
with its sense of to masturbate. In Australia the expression toss-pot is sometimes used as a meaningless term of hearty address.

total
vb

to destroy completely. A widespread term, especially among teenagers, since the 1960s; it derives from the notion of a ‘total wreck' or a ‘total loss' in official accident reports. Originally an Americanism, it is now heard elsewhere.

‘I was so out of control I totalled the car, crashed it somehow into the side of the road.'
(John Philips,
Papa John
, 1986)

totally
adj

an allpurpose, deliberately ambivalent usage (in the same way as
very
), often heard as an exclamation by female adolescents in the US It frequently, but not necessarily, indicates approbation

It's, like, totally!

totes
adv
totally. The abbreviated, familiar form, typically used by teenagers, is used as a qualifier or an exclamation. There is a Facebook page called ‘I hate it when people say “totes” instead of “totally”.'

‘Totes sick innit blud.'
(Facetious posting on
Mumsnet
website, 12 May 2012)

to the max
adv American

to the greatest extent, utterly. A
Valley Girl
term typically occurring in exclamations such as ‘
grody
to the max' (utterly awful), but is sometimes used on its own to mean absolutely or completely.

Was it really awful? To the max!

toto
adj British

completely, totally. An item of
parlyaree
recorded in the TV documentary
Out
in July 1992. It is Italian for ‘all'.

Everyone could see she was toto blotto.

tottie, totty, totsie
n British

a girl or women in general, seen as potential sexual partners. The word meant a prostitute or woman of easy virtue in the 19th century and is probably an affectionate diminutive of Dorothy. It is still a fairly common term all over Britain, particularly among working-class males and servicemen.

a nice little tottie

touch
adj

good. The word, sometimes used in the 1990s as an exclamation of solidarity, affection, etc. (originally accompanying the literal touching or slapping of hands), has, since 2000, also been used adjectivally by UK teenagers and gang members.

touch blade
That new game is so touch.

touch (someone) for (something)
vb

to solicit, cadge. This colloquialism, used almost invariably in connection with a loan, has been recorded since 1760.
Touch up
is a less common alternative form, particularly in the USA.

touch-respect
exclamation British

an allpurpose greeting or indication of approval in use among teenage gangs. The term, an elaboration of the earlier
respect
, was recorded in use among North London schoolboys in the 1990s.

touch up
vb

1.
British
to caress sexually, grope. A phrase (often used derogatively) prevalent among adolescents.

2.
to
touch
(someone) for (something) (in the sense of solicit a loan from)

tough
adj

1.
excellent. A vogue term from the early 1990s, applied particularly to music.

tough sounds

2.
unpleasant, disgusting, ugly, etc. A vogue term of disapproval that originated in the language of black street gangs in the early 1990s and was adopted by other adolescents

‘He's well tough.'
(Recorded, London schoolboy, 1994)

tough bounce/buns
n

hard luck. These are rueful or, alternatively, unsympathetic versions of the colloquial ‘tough luck'. The expressions originated in American speech.

tough titty
n

hard luck, a raw deal. The expression is most often heard as an unsympathetic dismissal of another's complaint.

toup, toop
n American

a toupée or wig

tout
n British

an informer. A Northern Irish expression, used typically by the IRA or its supporters of a turncoat or
grass
.

towel-head
n

an Arab. A predictable pejorative term.
Rag-head
is a more widespread synonym.

‘Some towel-head from Hizbullah marched up and down the street twice.'
(
Republican Party Reptile
, P. J. O'Rourke, 1987)

town bike/pump
n

a local woman supposedly available for sex with all and sundry. A form of this masculine term of contempt occurs in all English-speaking countries; the first variant employs
ride
as a sexual metaphor; the second is American.

townie, towny
n British

a member of an urban underclass, working class or youth subculture characterised, e.g., by tattoos, jewellery, sports clothes, etc. Like its near-equivalent,
chav
, the term came to prominence in the UK media in 2004. It had previously been used by teenagers in distinguishing youth ‘tribes', also including goths, skaters, etc.

toyboy
n

a young male lover of an older woman. A vogue word from 1987 which started as a code term among sophisticates and was eventually popularised by the press.

trabs
n pl British

trainers, sports shoes. The term was in use among adolescents in Liverpool in 2003.

tracks, trackmarks
n pl

needle marks or scars on the limbs of addicts of hard drugs resulting from regular injections into the veins

‘You got more tracks on you baby than the tracks of this train.'
(Lyric from
Been on a Train
, Laura Nyro, 1970)

trade
n

a sexual partner or partners, particularly a paying customer of a prostitute. A generic term for custom or customers in the jargon of male and female streetwalkers, the word has sometimes been extended in the
gay
lexicon since the late 1960s to refer to any sexual partner.