Read Dictionary of Contemporary Slang Online
Authors: Tony Thorne
1b.
excellent
2. high
on drugs or alcohol
3.
joking
You're buzzin'.
The word, in all these senses, has been fashionable since 2000.
B.V.D.s
n pl American
male underwear. From a trademark name.
I was standing there in my B.V.D.s.
cabbage
n British
a.
the vagina
b.
a collective term for women, especially when seen as potential sexual conquests
cabbaged
adj British
drunk. An item of student slang in use in London and elsewhere since around 2000. It probably derives from the colloquial use of âcabbage' or âvegetable' to denote someone who is mentally incapacitated or comatose.
cable
n American
a golden chain worn as decoration, especially by males. The use of the word and the practice arose in the
hip hop
black street subculture of the early 1980s in which heavy gold chains (also known as
ropes
) and (often improvised) medallions were an essential part of the paraphernalia.
Compare
bling
ca-ca
n British
excrement,
shit
. A word generally used by parents and children in the home. For the derivation see
cack
.
cack
1
vb
,
n
(to)
shit
, (to perform) an act of defecation. A word which, in Britain, is fairly rare (it is heard more often in the north of England than in London and the southeast), but remains common in Australia. Cack is a variation of
ca-ca
; both are usually nursery words and come from a common and very ancient Indo-European base. There are equivalents in Latin (
cacare
) and many modern European languages â
caca
in French,
kaka
in German,
kakani
in Czech.
Cakken
was the Middle English verb.
âHe cacks on your “originals”, you pee-pee on his boots.'
(
Psycle Sluts
, John Cooper Clarke, 1979)
cack
2
adj
awful, inferior, despicable
cackfest
n
a collection or celebration of very poor quality material, items, etc.
âWeeeell, when you're talking about Jennifer Lopez you have to realise ANY mention of a high point is silently prefixed with the words “relatively speaking in this cackfest”.'
(Posting in online discussion,
Guardian
website, 27 March 2013)
cack-handed
adj British
clumsy, inept. The term originally meant left-handed, probably deriving from the idea of handling
cack
(excrement). Although the connection seems obvious, this expression is probably too old to be influenced by reports of the Muslim practice of eating with the right hand, wiping away excrement with the left. This pejorative adjective seems to be country dialect in origin; it is now fairly widespread and not particularly offensive.
a cack-handed attempt at patching up the dispute
cacks
n pl Irish
trousers. An Irish version of
kecks
.
caffle
vb British
to become entangled, snagged. In playground usage since 2000, especially in Wales.
cagoule
n British
an unfashionable, tedious individual. The usage (a cagoule is an unflattering hooded cape) is a more recent version of
anorak
.
caj
adj See
cas
cake
1
n American
money. The term has occurred particularly in adolescent and campus usage since the 1980s, but was first recorded in adult black street slang of the 1960s.
âMy ride [car] has to make a point â and the point is that I have cakeâ¦'
(Damon Dash, hip hop record producer, quoted in the
Sunday Times
, 6 June 2004)
cake
2
n
,
adj British
(something) easily achieved, often as an exclamation by school-age children. A shortening of the colloquial phrase âa piece of cake'.
cake
3
vb American
a.
to lavish attention and/or gifts upon
b.
to spend time with An expression used on campus in the USA since around 2000.
cake-boy
n American
a
gay
male. An item of black street slang adopted by high school and college students in the 1990s, probably from the earlier term âcake(-eater)' meaning a âladies' man' or fop.
cakehole
n British
the mouth. A slang term which was extremely widespread (and considered by many to be vulgar) in the 1950s and 1960s. It survives in the argot of school-children.
cake-up, caked up
adj
ugly, unattractive. One of a number of terms (including
off-key
and
bungled
) fashionable among gang members,
hip hop
aficionados, etc. since 2000.
call-girl
n
a prostitute who makes assignations by telephone. The term became popular after streetwalking was outlawed in Britain.
Calvin Klein
n British
a
fine
. The rhyming-slang phrase borrows the name of the fashion designer.
Only doing 5mph over the limit and I got a bloody Calvin Klein.
camel-jockey
n American
an Arab, Middle-Eastern person. A pejorative term widely employed during the Iraq conflict of 2004.
Dune-coon
was a synonym.
camel toe(s)
n American
the female genitals, as visible through tight clothing. The phrase, which appeared in the late 1990s, is the counterpart of the male
basket
,
packet
or
bob
. In the 2000s the term was in use in other anglophone areas, too.
camp
1
adj
homosexual, effeminate or affectedly theatrical in manner, gesture, speech, etc. A word which emerged from theatrical slang into general use in the 1960s. The sense of the term has moved from the specific (a (male) homosexual) to the general (affected, exaggerated, parodic). The word was adopted by the theatrical world some time after World War I from London slang, but the ultimate derivation of the adjective is obscure. It may come from the French
camper
, meaning to portray or pose, or from the dialect term
kemp
, meaning uncouth. In the late 1970s the
gay
phrase âas camp as a row of tents', referring to a person who is outrageously or blatantly camp, crossed over into general usage. The word âcamp' was adopted in Australia and the USA before World War II.
âTo be camp is to be mannered, affected, theatrical. To be camp is to be effeminate.'
(
About Town
magazine, June 1962)
camp
2
, camp about, camp it up
vb
to behave in a
camp
way, using exaggerated, âeffeminate' gestures, speech mannerisms, etc.
Most teenagers probably don't use words like inert, laggardly or obtuse, even if they have â and it's doubtful â the vaguest inkling of what they mean. But they do need to disapprove of fellow-pupils who refuse to budge when called upon or who always move at less than a snail's pace. Among girls in Redbridge, Essex (where it was recorded) and elsewhere in 2011 the word
du jour
for this kind of slug-gard was campet which is in fact a misreading or mishearing for one of the online gaming community's most hated denizens. In multiplayer games âcamping' is staying put, concealing oneself and ambushing opponents instead of moving around and fully participating. Although it's not actually against the rules the epithet âcamper' is usually accompanied by several colourful expletives. Campet, which sounds as if âlimpet' (the adhesive shellfish) has been grafted on, is a more recent version of the insult, expanded now to apply to anyone who won't get up and join in.
Holly's supposed to be here and she's still at home in bed: what a campet!
campet
n British
an annoyingly inert, slow-moving and/or obtuse person
camping
adj British
exciting, stimulating, dynamic. The term, heard since the late 1990s, is a facetious pun on the (vogue) term âintense' (from âin tents').
âWow, that movie last night was mega camping.'
(Recorded, London student, March 1996)
can
1
n
1.
also
the can
a toilet. Now a less-than-respectable term, but originally an accurate description of the buckets, tin containers, etc., used in, e.g., outdoor lavatories. The word was more common in
the USA than Britain (except in armed-forces usage) until the 1970s.
2.
also
the can
a jail, prison. In this sense, dating from the late 19th century, the word is more common in Australia and the USA than it is in Britain.
3.
American
the backside, buttocks. An inoffensive euphemism.
She fell on her can.
can
2
vb American
1.
to dismiss from a job, fire. The term probably derives from the American sense of
can
meaning the buttocks or
ass
, and the notions of âkicking one's ass out' or âthrown out on one's ass'.
âI got some more news, I got canned last week.'
(Recorded, female executive, Chicago, 1983)
2.
to stop, suppress or conceal something. This sense is normally expressed in the phrase âcan it!'.
Canadian
n American
a black person. A racist term in use on campuses.
canary
n
an informer. An underworld term originating in the USA, based on the notion of
singing
(like a bird).
âMob canary slain in Rolls â Had testified in bootleg gas probes.'
(
New York Daily News
, 3 May 1989)
cancer stick
n
a cigarette. A middle-class irony, used by smokers and non-smokers alike since the late 1960s.
candy
n American
a.
an illegal drug, particularly cocaine or heroin. This use of the word originated before World War I as a specialisation of the figurative use of candy as anything enjoyable. (The word was used in black street slang with sexual connotations.)
b.
a dose of liquid LSD on a sugar cube. This vogue term was heard in Britain about 1967 when LSD was still taken in this form.
See also
nose candy
candyass
n American
a weak or effete person, usually male
candyman
n American
a
pusher
or
dealer
of illicit drugs, especially heroin or cocaine. Originating in black street usage, in which candy could also signify sexual gratification, this expression became part of the addicts' lexicon in the USA by the 1950s. (The original âcandy-man' was an innocent peddler of sweets in the early 1900s.) The word features in numerous blues and folk songs.
cane
vb British
1.
to beat up, assault. A working-class brawlers' and prisoners' term. It is probably a back-formation from the more widespread colloquialism a âcaning', meaning a trouncing or defeat.
2.
to devour or consume. A vogue term from the language of adolescents since the later 1990s, it is an extension of the colloquial sense of âcane' as meaning to punish or subject to heavy use. Among students it typically applies to excessive or spectacular use of cocaine, cigarettes, etc.
Rachel was telling Phil off for caning the blow.
3.
to cadge, borrow. A vogue term among British adolescents since the later 1990s, this is an extension of the preceding sense of the word.
Can I cane some chuddie off you?
caned
adj British
intoxicated by drugs or drink. A popular term among adolescents since the 1990s, like many synonyms evoking the notion of punishment.
caning it
adj British
a.
behaving extremely or excessively energetically
b.
achieving success, doing well
â“I've caned it. In total I've slept with around 300 girls, which is disgusting,” says X Factor rebel Frankie Cocozza.'
(The Sun, 12 November 2012)
The term has been popular among younger speakers since 2000.
cankles
n pl
thick ankles. The (literal and linguistic) blend of calf and ankle is used by teenagers and students as part of their repertoire of slurs based on physical appearance.
canned
adj
drunk. The word seems to have originated in the USA, but had spread to other English-speaking countries before the 1950s.