Dictionary of Contemporary Slang (173 page)

a derisive term for individuals involved in or keen on handicrafts, ‘ethnic' pastimes, New Age remedies, etc. The term was posted on the b3ta website in 2004.

yoink
vb American

to steal. It is probably an alteration of ‘yank'.

Who yoinked my beer
?

yok, yock
n

a laugh, chortle or instance of humour. A racier version of
yak
or ‘yuk', popular for instance with rock-music journalists.

There's lots of yoks in this new movie
.

YOLO
exclamation

an expression of bravado, self-satisfaction, defiance. The vogue term of 2012 among anglosphere youth. Originating in the USA, the acronym, which may be written or spoken, stands for ‘you only live once'.

‘Can everyone stop telling me how xxxxxx my house is gunna get after this party…Worth it. YOLO.'
(Posted online by Sarah Hine, 14-year-old, Billericay, 8 December 2012 [her house was subsequently destroyed by uninvited guests])

yomp
vb British

to tramp across rough country wearing or carrying heavy equipment. This item of arcane military slang became known to the general public at the time of the war between Britain and Argentina over the Falkland Islands in 1981. The word is now used, by nonmilitary hikers and others, more or less as a synonym for ‘trek'. It is either an invented blend, influenced by words like ‘tramp', ‘hump', ‘stomp' and ‘jump', or an imitation of the sound of boots slamming into muddy ground.

yonks
n British

a very long time, ages. This now popular word began to be heard in the early 1960s, mainly in middle-class usage. Its exact etymology is obscure; it may be a children's deformation of ‘years' or an alteration of ‘donkey's years'.

God, I haven't seen her for yonks
.

yop
vb British

to tell tales, inform on someone. The origin of this 1990s playground usage is obscure.

york
vb

to vomit. The term is both echoic and jocular like its synonyms, including
erp, ralph, buick
, etc.

you-dat
exclamation British

an allpurpose greeting or indication of mutual respect or approbation.
Respect
itself and
touch-respect
are synonyms. The term was recorded in use among North London schoolboys in 1993 and 1994.

youngblood
n American

a black youth. The term, inspired by its literary use referring to Amerindian braves, is used particularly of a junior member of a street gang. In the late 1980s the word was often shortened to
blood
(which also derives from ‘blood brother').

younger
n British

a younger sibling or associate, youth, junior gang member

The key item of multiethnic youth slang, originating in black speech, was adopted for the title of the E4 TV ‘urban music mini-comedy-drama'
Youngers
in 2013.

young fogey/fogy
n British

a youngish person of self-consciously traditional attitudes, manners and aesthetic ideals. Young fogey, by humorous analogy with the colloquial ‘old fogey', characterised another social subgroup of the 1980s. Personified by the fastidious and conservative novelist and critic A. N. Wilson, these mainly male
members of, or aspirers to the upper-middle-class re-create in their lifestyle and outlook the more refined pre-1960 establishment values (i.e. [high] Anglicanism, literary dabbling, a liking for traditional cooking/clothing, etc.).

‘These days a “party” is often a sedate à deux affair at the latest Young Fogy night-spot.'
(
Sunday Times
, Men's Fashion Extra, October 1989)

youth
n Jamaican

a young hero, young gangster or, still in the singular form, young people in general. A specialised usage of the standard English term, it is often pronounced ‘yoot'.

‘There's nothin' round here for the youth. No wonder they out on the street looking for trouble.'
(Recorded, Jamaican woman, London, 1988)

you wish!
exclamation British

an allpurpose cry of derision or provocation, particularly in response to an expression of an unrealistic hope or desire. The term was recorded in use among North London schoolboys in 1993 and 1994.

yoyo
n

a silly, eccentric or frivolous person. This use of the word, which may be said affectionately of a dizzy nonconformist or contemptuously with the straightforward meaning of a fool, originally referred to someone who vacillated or behaved in an irresolute manner.

yo-yo
adj British

excellent. The term can be descriptive or an expression of admiration, agreement, or approval. Used by young adults and teenagers at Redbridge College, Essex, in 2010.

yuck
¹
n

1.
something or someone disgusting

2.
an alternative spelling of

yuk yuck
²
adj

an alternative spelling of
yucky

In American English this echoic approximation of retching is often transcribed as ‘yecch'.

yuck!
exclamation

an exclamation of repelled distaste or disapproval

yucky, yukky, yecchy
adj

unpleasant, disgusting, sickly, cloying. A very popular word, particularly among children and teenagers since the mid-1970s, it derives from
yuck
as an exclamation of distaste.

yuk
n

an alternative form of
yok

yukker
n British

a small child or baby. The term was recorded in 2002.

yummy-mummy
n British

an attractive young mother. The vogue term was adopted by, or perhaps originated by, lifestyle journalists during the noughties decade.

Compare
scummy-mummy

yumyum(s)
n

anything considered irresistible, such as a potential sexual partner, an illicit drug or a sum of money. A less-respectable usage of the colloquial and childish lipsmacking exclamation meaning ‘delicious'.

yuppie
n

an acronym for ‘young urban professional' (later also interpreted as ‘young upwardly-mobile professional') with an added -ie ending in imitation of
hippie, yippie, surfie
, etc. The word was coined sometime between 1978 and 1980 to denote a new social phenomenon which needed to be distinguished from the existing
preppies
. The yuppie, originally identifiable in New York City by a uniform of a business suit worn with running shoes, is an ambitious work-oriented materialist, usually highly paid and extremely receptive to consumer fashions. The term quickly became established all over the English-speaking world, epitomising the ‘aspirational' mood of the 1980s.

‘Yuppie scum fuck off/Kill a yuppie today.'
(Graffiti protesting the gentrification of the East End, London, 1988)

za
n American

a pizza, in the jargon of
preppies

zaftig
adj American

an alternative spelling of
zoftig

zak, zac
n South African

money. The same word, possibly from the Dutch/Afrikaans term for a bag (of coins), has been recorded in Australia, where it refers to a small amount of money.

zam
n British

an exam(ination). A spoken abbreviation used by university students in 2012.

zap
vb

a.
to overwhelm, destroy, obliterate (literally or figuratively). The term derives from a comic-book sound effect applied to the action of ray-guns in the 1950s and 1960s.

b.
to target an individual or organisation for protests, picketing, situationist political action, etc. A word from the lexicon of radical
gays
in the 1970s

‘The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence… used to go out and zap various things dressed as nuns.'
(Gay activist,
Out on Tuesday
, British TV documentary series, 1989)

zapper
n

a TV remote control. This term established itself in some households in the 1980s. It was coined perhaps to convey the power and relish experienced by viewers now able to switch channels or turn off at a touch.

See also
Frank

zappy
adj

energetic, speedy, dynamic, decisive. A back-formation from
zap
.

zazz
n American

glamour, showiness

plenty of zazz
Give it more zazz
.

zeds
n British

sleep. This use of the term is probably a back-formation from the phrases
stack some zees/zeds, cop some zeds/zees
or
bag some zeds/zees
, all meaning to sleep.

zee
n American

a Japanese sports car, in the argot of black street gangs of the late 1980s

‘I saw a guy I knew, my age, had a Blazer [a Chevrolet Blazer – 4-wheel drive jeep]. Another guy got a “zee”.'
(
Crack
dealer,
Independent
, 24 July 1989)

Zelda
n American

an unattractive female. An expression used on campus in the USA since around 2000. The original reference may have been to Zelda Fitzgerald, writer F. Scott Fitzgerald's deranged wife, or simply the borrowing of a supposedly odd or outdated first name.

zen
n

LSD. The term dates from the 1960s but has been revived, particularly in differentiating the drug in question from
ecstasy
.

zen out
vb

to enter a blissful, contemplative or inert state. The phrase, based on the notion of mindlessness in Zen meditation, was ascribed to the singer Lisa Stansfield in the
Daily Telegraph
magazine in October 1993.

zeppelin
n

a.
a large cannabis cigarette; a
joint

b.
a large penis Both senses are inspired by the size and shape of the original Graf Zeppelin airship. The second sub-sense may be influenced by the similar use of the slang term
joint
for both a
reefer
and the penis.

zero-cool
adj American

extremely impressive, admirable, nonchalant, etc. An intensive form of
cool
prob-ably coined by
hipsters
or
beatniks
, now in use among adolescents

zero out
vb American

a.
to run out of money, to go broke or bankrupt

‘But, dad, I'm totally zeroed out.'
(
Maid to Order
, US film, 1987)

b.
to ‘hit rock bottom', reach one's lowest point

c.
to fail utterly

zes
n American See
z's

zhlub
n American

an alternative form of
slob

zhooshed, zhush'd
adj British

elaborately dressed and/or made up. The term has been used in
parlyaree
since the 1960s, e.g. to describe the teasing and primping of hair and eyelashes before emerging for a social occasion. The word's origin is unclear; it may simply be an imitation of the sound of appreciative smacking of the lips or an intake of breath.

zilch
¹
n

1a.
nothing. The word became common in US speech in the later 1960s, spreading to Britain in the 1980s. It is either an invented alteration of ‘zero' or from sub-sense
b
.

1b.
a nonentity. Zilsch or Zilch is a Yiddish/German family name borrowed for a comic character featuring in
Ballyhoo
magazine in the USA in the 1930s.

2.
the name of a dice game

zilch
²
vb American

a.
to defeat utterly

b.
to fail utterly

Both usages, found in adolescent speech, are based on the earlier noun form.

zillion
n

a very large number; a humorous coinage by analogy with ‘million', ‘billion' and ‘trillion'. (
Squillion
is a similar mythical number.)

zing
vb American

to deliver a sudden attack, retort, etc. This use of the word is derived from the colloquial
sense of to fly, spin, hum or perform zestfully

‘“Did you hear him zing my lawyer?” Mr. Gotti asked reporters. “Bruce should hit him on the chin”.'
(Mafia trial report, the
Times
, 7 February 1990)

zinger
n

something or someone extremely impressive, spectacular, energising, exciting, etc. The word comes from the use of ‘zing' to mean a shrill, high-pitched sound and a lively, zestful quality

zip
n