Dictionary of Contemporary Slang (164 page)

vamp
vb
,
n

(to behave as) a seductress. The word is usually employed only semi-seriously to denote an individual (usually, but not invariably, female) affecting a languid, mysterious and predatory air. The term arose in 1918, inspired by the vampire legend as interpreted by such film stars as Theda Bara.

vamping
n

showing off, behaving ostentatiously. A key term in the lexicon of club culture,
hip hop
, street gangs, etc. since the 1990s. It derives from the verb to
vamp
(from ‘vampire'), denoting the seductive displays of 1920s film stars.

vamp up
vb British

a.
to intensify, make more effective, improve or renovate

b.
to improvise, ad-lib

These colloquial usages are from the standard informal musical sense of ‘vamp' (an improvised accompaniment, ultimately from the archaic French
avantpied
)
and not, as is often assumed, from the verb to
vamp
(to pose as a temptress).

vanilla
adj

innocuous, orthodox. The adjective was applied, from the early 1980s, to otherwise illicit behaviour such as ‘vanilla lesbian(ism)', ‘vanilla sex', etc.

varder, va(h)da(h), vardy, vardo
vb British
to see, look (at). These are forms of the Romany verb to watch (originally rendered as
varter
), used especially in the 1950s and 1960s in the slang of the street market, fairground and theatre. The word was briefly exposed to a wider audience following its use by the
camp
characters Julian and Sandy in the Kenneth Horne radio comedy shows of the 1960s.

va-va-voom
exclamation
,
n American

this imitation of a revving engine or explosive take-off is used to suggest overwhelming sexual potential or allure. The word was particularly popular (among males) in the 1960s and often featured in
Mad
magazine, usually as the name of a starlet. The phrase was re-popularised by a TV commercial for Renault cars starring footballer Thierry Henry in 2004.

veeks, vix
n British

a motor vehicle. An item of black street-talk used especially by males, recorded in 2003. It is probably an alteration of vehicle(s).

veep
n American

a V.I.P., ‘very important person'

veg, vedge-out
vb

to vegetate, idle or loaf. A predominantly adolescent usage, heard in the 1980s, which was first recorded almost simultaneously in the USA and Australia.

I think we'll spend next week just vegging out in front of the TV.

veggie, vedgie
n
,
adj

(a person who is) vegetarian

velcro
n

1.
a lesbian. The use of the trademark term dates from the late 1980s and is derived from the supposed similarity between the lesbian practice of pressing pubic areas together and Velcro fasteners, consisting of two pieces of rough fabric.

2.
also
velcroid
American
an intrusive or ‘clinging' person, especially a neighbour. A piece of adult or family slang using the trademark name of the fabric-fastening material.

velcro-head
n

a Negro. A phrase from the 1980s, deriving from the supposed likeness between Velcro (a trademark name for a fabric-fastening material) and a black person's hair. Like
rag-head
and
towel-head
as applied to Arabs, the term is invariably pejorative.

velveeta
n
,
adj

(something)
cheesy
. A pun, first recorded on US campuses in the early 1990s, using the brand name of a cheese spread.

ventilate someone's shorts
vb American
to give someone a severe telling-off or dressing-down. A colourful campus phrase of the 1980s invoking the image of a miscreant with their backside (and underwear) shredded by a blast of buckshot.

Vera (Lynn)
n British

(a glass of) gin. Rhyming slang based on the name of the patriotic wartime singer, still heard in the 1990s, often in conjunction with
supersonic
.

Compare
Veras

Veras
n pl British

cigarette papers. This shortening of the London rhyming-slang expression ‘Vera Lynns', meaning
skins
, was popular among younger cannabis smokers in the 1990s.

verbal(s)
n
,
n pl
,
vb British

(to tell) a lie(s). Deputy Assistant Commissioner David Powis, in his
Field Manual for Police
(published in 1977), claimed that ‘a verbal is an oral statement of admission or incrimination which is invented by the arresting or interviewing officer and attributed to a suspect'. The word can also be used in the phrases ‘work the verbal' (synonymous with
work the oracle
), ‘put the verbal in' or ‘put the verbals on'. These are all items of police jargon in current use.

very
adj American

a.
a term of approval, admiration, etc.
Wow, that bag is, like, very!

b.
a noncommital comment or response
What was the hairdo like? Well it was, like, very.

These witticisms, formed by excluding the expected qualifying adjective for effect, occur in the affected or mocking speech of adolescents and teenagers in the US, particularly females. (
Totally
is employed in the same way.)

vet
n American

a veteran (soldier). A term best-known in the context of the post-Vietnam War era.

vex
vb

a.
to anger, infuriate
    
Don't vex me!

b.
to become infuriated
    
She be vexin'?

The standard word has become modified in the slang of younger speakers since 2000, probably influenced by black usage.

vibe
n

ambience, atmosphere, mood, the latest news. A shortening of
vibrations
popular in the
hippy
era, vibe was applied catholically to anything that was ‘in the air'; from an intuitive empathy (‘I like it here. There's a really good vibe about the place.'), to an item of hot gossip (‘Hey man, what's the vibe about Mary?'). The plural
vibes
was a more widespread near-synonym.

vibe on
vb American

to be sympathetic toward, understand, appreciate someone. A
hippy
term deriving from the notion of having good vibes about someone.

‘Some people would say things like, “Oh, that boy's gonna really be great. You don't know how talented that boy is”. And the others would say, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, uh-uh, sure”. They didn't really vibe on me.'
(Stevie Wonder,
Musician
magazine, 1984)

vibes
n pl

feelings, ambience, atmosphere, mood. A key term and concept in the
hippy
psychic repertoire, vibes denotes the unseen and unheard, but nonetheless experienced
vibrations
linking individuals with each other and with the cosmos. The word originated among jazz devotees and
beatniks
and survives in the post-hippy era in limited and usually facetious usage.

vibrations
n pl

invisible emanations or forces, experienced as psychological sensations; feelings, ambience. A word (and notion) in evidence since its use by 19th-century spiritualists, but in very limited currency until it became part of the vocabulary of jazz musicians,
beatniks
and, most significantly,
hippies
. The word was generally shortened to
vibes
.

vicious
adj

impressive, powerful, exciting. A teenage term of approval, admiration or satisfaction on the lines of the more widespread
bad
and
wicked
.

That's some vicious venue, know what I mean?

vige
n American

the vagina. An alternative form of
vadge
and
fadge
.

village
n
,
adj British

a.
(a person who is) slow-witted, stupid. This middle-class term, often used by middle-aged speakers, is a shortening of ‘village idiot'.

I've always considered her rather village.

b.
inferior, of poor quality. A middle-class term, used by schoolchildren and college students but probably borrowed from parents, said to be based on notions such as ‘village cricket'.

villager
n British

an unsophisticated person,
chav
. The term has been popular since the late 1990s.

villain
n British

a criminal. The standard police slang designation of a lawbreaker, villain has been used in this way since the inter-war years.

‘He found two villains in possession of stolen goods. They offered him a substantial bribe and he devised a way to get them out of trouble.'
(Former detective,
Inside the Brotherhood
, Martin Short, 1989)

-ville
suffix

a termination used in
hip
talk,
beatnik
slang and later teenage usage. It denotes a place, situation or state of affairs.
Ends-ville
(the ultimate in either boredom or pleasure) and ‘Dullsville' (boredom only) are typical examples. The French form
ville
(a town, from the Latin
villa
) was used by early American settlers, like ‘-city' or ‘-burg', to create placenames.

Compare
-city

vinegar strokes
n pl British

the pelvic thrusting just before the achieving of male orgasm. An item of sexual slang which has been common in armed-forces' usage since World War II, though it has recently been given more widespread prominence by alternative comedians such as Frank Skinner, as well as by references in
Viz
comic.

‘Aye, he'd just got to the vinegar strokes when he were interrupted.'
(
The Viz Big Fat Slags Book
, 1994)

vines
n pl American

clothes. A term which probably arose in the
beatnik
era and was still heard among adolescents in the 1990s.
Rags
,
threads
and, more recently,
garms
are synonyms.

Hey, tasty vines.

vino
n

wine. This is the Italian and Spanish translation of the English word.

vogu(e)ing
n American

showing off, behaving ostentatiously. The term, which probably originated in black street slang, denoted a particular style of imitation catwalk posing adopted by
hip hop
aficionados and later by the singer Madonna in the 1980s.

Compare
profiling
;
styling

voice
n See
throw one's voice

vom
vb
,
n

(to) vomit. A shortening typically used by teenagers and students.

vung
n South African

a car

w00t
exclamation

an expression of triumph or delight, from the internet codes of the 1990s ‘1337speak' or ‘leetspeak'

wabblefats
n American

an alternative spelling of
wobblefats

wabs
n pl British

female breasts. A term, like the synonymous
waps
,
baps
,
smams
and
chebs
, popular among younger speakers since 2000.

wack
¹
adj

inferior, worthless, unpleasant. A vogue term in use in the black
hip hop
and
rap
subcultures in the early 1980s. The term is probably derived from
whacky
. By the 1990s it was employed as an allpurpose pejorative, also in use among British and Australian adolescents.

wack
²
, wacker
n British

a term of address between males in the working-class speech of the Liverpool area. The word may be connected with
whack
, meaning a share or portion (as in ‘pay one's whack').

See also
whacker

wacko
n See
whacko

wackser, waxa
n
,
adj British

(something or someone) excellent, impressive. A vogue term among teenage gang members in provincial England since 2000, sometimes used as an exclamation.

wacky
adj See
whacky

wacky baccy
n British See
whacky baccy wad
n

a.
a bundle of banknotes, a large quantity of money. Wad had been used in this sense all over the English-speaking world since the end of the 19th century. In Britain the word was heard principally in working-class speech before being adopted as a vogue term in 1988 following its use by the alternative comedian Harry Enfield. One of his
Loadsamoney
character's catchphrases was ‘
wanna see my wad?
', shouted before brandishing a roll of notes.