Dictionary of Contemporary Slang (162 page)

‘The drummer went to help and he got twatted as well.'
(
Fresh Pop
, Channel 4 TV, 17 December 1996)

twatted
adj British

a.
drunk

b.
tired

c.
destroyed Originally meaning ‘struck' or ‘cuffed', the term has been extended to cover other senses of ‘damaged'.
Cunted
is a more offensive version.

tweak
vb

1.
American
to suffer physical symptoms of drug withdrawal. This 1980s term evokes the irritation and spasmodic nature of drug-induced distress, as well as recalling words such as ‘twitch' and ‘weak'.

2.
to adjust or fine-tune. A piece of jargon applied to motor mechanics and computers, for instance.

tweaked
adj

1.
American
eccentric, deranged. An adolescent vogue term of the 1990s.

2.
under the influence of a drug such as crystal meth
twerp, twirp
n
an insignificant, silly and/or obnoxious person. An invented word which appeared in the 1930s and gained widespread currency in the 1950s.

‘My stuff is outrageously conceived and devastatingly realised.
Oh do shut up you boring little twerp!'
(
Biff
cartoon, 1986)

twig
¹
vb British

to understand, ‘catch on'. A formerly raffish term which, since the late 1960s, has become a fairly common colloquialism. This usage has been recorded since the 18th century and derives either from ‘tweak' in the sense of snatch or grasp or from a Gaelic verb meaning to comprehend.

twig
²
n See
drop off the twig

twig and berries
n American
the male genitals. An expression used on campus in the USA since around 2000.

twillie, twilly
n British

a foolish, clumsy or stupid person. An adolescent term in use since the early 1970s. It is a blend of ‘twit' and ‘silly'.

a complete twillie

twimp
n American

a foolish and/or insignificant individual. A high-school term of mild abuse from the late 1980s, blending ‘twit',
twerp
and
wimp
.

twimpoid, twimpo
n British

a silly, foolish person. These teenage and pre-teenage vogue terms of disapproval or insult from the 1990s are British versions of the American
twimp
.

twinkie, twinky, twink
n American

1a.
a male homosexual or effete, fey or eccentric man

1b.
a cute, attractive person Both senses of the words derive from the trademark snack food
Twinkies
, a sort of cupcake. The word has echoes of ‘twinkle-toes', ‘twinkling' and ‘Tinkerbelle'. Twink is sometimes used as a (usually male) nickname in Britain for someone with sparkle or vim.

2.
a $20 bill. 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.

twirl
n British

a prison officer. An item of prisoners' jargon recorded in the 1990s. ‘Twirl' in the sense of a (skeleton) key is an archaic piece of underworld argot dating back to the 19th century.

twirp
n

an alternative spelling of
twerp twist
n American
a girl or attractive young woman. This term, used typically by underworld or working-class speakers, is a rare example of American rhyming slang, from ‘twist and twirl':
girl
.

‘M-m-m – good looking twist!'
(
Panic on the 5.22
, US film, 1974)

twisted
adj American

intoxicated by drink or drugs. An expression used on campus in the USA since around 2000.

twister
n American

a person with supposedly perverted sexual taste or preferences
twist on
vb British
to insist, pontificate, talk at length

‘Isn't it annoying when celebrities twist on about the charitable work they do? Alexandra Burke seems to think so.'
(Popbitch online gossip newsletter, 9 February 2012)

twitch
n British See
get a twitch on

two and eight
n British

a.
a fit of agitation

‘What with coming home to find the place burgled, then all these bills arriving, I was in a right two and eight.'
(Recorded, middle-aged woman, London, 1988)

b.
a dishevelled, disorganised or grotesque person

Look at 'er, she's a right two and eight.

Both senses of the term are London working-class rhyming slang for a
state
.

two-bit
adj American

cheap, penny-pinching, worthless. This Americanism of the mid-19th century is now occasionally used even in countries where ‘two bits' does not signify 25 cents (a ‘bit' is one-eighth of a dollar).

twoccer, twocker
n British

a joy-rider, car-thief. This term of criminal slang comes from the offence recorded on charge sheets as ‘taken without owner's consent', and refers to the culture of
hotting
which grew up in working-class areas in the 1990s.

twonk
n British

a foolish and/or unpleasant person. A term of abuse employed by adolescent males around 2000.

two-pot screamer
n Australian

a person more than usually unable to cope with the effects of strong drink. A term of disapproval used by hearty males in particular.

‘Hi! My husband's pissed again – he's always been a two-pot screamer.'
(
The Wonderful World of Barry McKenzie
, Barry Humphries and Nicholas Garland, cartoon strip in
Private Eye
magazine, 1968)

twos
vb British

to split 50–50, share (with). Typically in the injunction ‘twos me', the item of youth slang, recorded in 2013, can be spelled
2s
.

two stops short of Dagenham
adj British

deranged, eccentric. A pun recorded in 2002, Dagenham in East London is ‘two stops short of
Barking
' on the underground line.

I tell you, she's two stops short of Dagenham, that one!
Compare
Upton Park

twot
n British

an alternative spelling of
twat

TYFS
phrase
‘Thank you for sharing'. When written or said by younger speakers the usage is typically ironic.

über
prefix

the German affix meaning ‘super-' or ‘over' is used in colloquial English to indicate a supreme, quintessential or defining example of something or someone, as in
übernerd
,
über-bore
,
übersexual
, originally by analogy with Nietzsche's Übermensch, ‘superman'

U.B.I.
n British

‘unexplained beer injury'. An item of jocular medical shorthand, as supposedly written on a patient's notes.

See also
N.F.N
.

Uganda
n See
discuss Uganda

uggers
adj British

ugly. A term popular with adolescents since the late 1990s using the long-established familiarizing suffix
-ers
.

ugly pills, ugly stick
n

an imagined source of repellent physical characteristics, manners or behaviour. The words usually form part of a sardonic speculation that the person in question has been ‘taking ugly pills' or has been ‘hit with the ugly stick'. An alternative suggestion is that the person has ‘fallen out of the ugly tree'.

u-ie
n

a U-turn. The expression is used by skate-boarders as well as drivers, usually in the form ‘do a u-ie' or ‘hang a u-ie'.

See also
hang a louie
;
hang a ralph

unass
vb

1.
to reject, rebuff, dismiss

2.
to release, give up

3.
to depart, abandon

The term, originating in the USA, was adopted, in all senses, by UK youth in the 2000s decade. It comes from armed forces slang in which it means dismount, disembark or depart (i.e. remove one's
ass
). Younger speakers have interpreted it as meaning to rid oneself of a nuisance or burden that is figuratively ‘on one's
ass
'.

uncle
¹
n

1.
British
a pawnbroker. A use of the word which arose in the 18th century, referring (probably ironically) to the moneylender's avuncular assistance. The term was still heard in London in the 1950s and may survive. From the 1980s it was heard in the British TV soap opera
EastEnders
.

2.
American
a cry of concession. To ‘say uncle' or ‘cry uncle' is to surrender or admit defeat, in playground games for instance. The reason for this choice of word is obscure.

3.
American
the law-enforcement establishment when seen as benevolent, protective or rewarding by crooks All three main senses of the word derive from the notion of an uncle as a potential protector or provider of funds (in the third case perhaps reinforced by ‘Uncle Sam'). There are many other examples of this, for instance in theatrical jargon where the word equates with ‘angel'.

uncle
²
,
Uncle Dick
adj British

sick
. One of many rhyming-slang expressions using ‘uncle' and a convenient rhyming Christian name.

‘You look a bit uncle to me.'
(
Minder
, British TV series, 1984)

Uncle Mac
n British

heroin. London drug-users' rhyming slang for
smack
. ‘Uncle Mac' was a presenter of children's radio programmes from the 1930s to the 1960s. This sinister borrowing dates from the late 1970s.

uncool
adj

unacceptably or unfashionably intrusive, assertive, dull, reckless, conventional, etc. A generic negative complement to the allpurpose term of approbation,
cool

‘Weekend hippies and the like who think “what a groovy joy-ride” and are very, very uncool.'
(
International Times
, April 1968)

underarm
adj British

a.
underhand,
dodgy

b.
illegal, illicit

The use of underarm in these senses stems from the literal sense of passing or carrying something concealed under the arm, reinforced by the supposed offensive nature of the armpit. (‘Under the arm' is an archaic expression, once used by vagrants and marginals and meaning bad or inferior.)

underchunders
n pl Australian

male or female underpants. A humorous vulgarism which employs
chunder
(vomit) as a rhyme, rather than for sense (unless the original image was of a sickening item of clothing).

undercrackers
n pl British

male or female underpants

‘The problem with Carole Caplin…is not…that she may or may not have an inside track on the PM's undercrackers.'
(
Guardian
, 9 March 2004)

underdaks
n pl Australian

male underpants. The Australian equivalent of the north of England expression
underkecks
, from
daks
, the trade name of a popular brand of casual trousers.

under heavy manners
adj
,
adv

in a state of oppression. A phrase from the counterculture patois of Jamaica which became known in Britain and elsewhere due to its use by reggae musicians in the early 1970s.

underkecks
n pl British

male underpants. An extension of the (mainly northern English) use of
kecks
to mean trousers.

underware
n

personal files in a computing system. A piece of jargon in use among computer specialists in the mid-1990s.

undie-grundie
n American

the grabbing and twisting of a victim's underwear. A form of jocular attack used by school and college students in the US.

unforch
adv British

unfortunately. Described in 2003 by a London student as ‘used by muppets who mean unfortunately'.

Compare
obv

unglued
adj

an alternative version of
untied

uniform carrier
n

an idle, ineffective colleague. The item of police slang suggests someone who merely wears uniform or plain clothes, but does nothing else.
BONGO
,
clothes hanger
and
FLUB
are synonyms.