Dictionary of Contemporary Slang (45 page)

D.A.
n British

a hairstyle in which the hair is scraped back and greased into a curl on the nape of the neck. It is an abbreviation of
duck's arse
. The style was popular among
teddy boys
in the 1950s and, to a lesser extent, with the
rockers
of the early 1960s.

da bomb
n
,
adj See
bomb

dabs
n pl British

1.
fingerprints. The term has been used by police officers, criminals and crime writers since the 1930s at least. It derives from the fingerprinting process in which the suspect presses his or her fingers on an ink pad.

We managed to lift some dabs from the wine glasses
.

2.
money, pounds. The term is usually, but not invariably, heard in the plural form, especially in the north of England.

Daddies, the
n pl British

a group of respected or prestigious males, the ‘in-crowd'. From army and Officer Training Corps usage.

daddio, daddy-o
n

a man, usually one who is old. A variant of ‘Dad' and ‘Daddy', used as a term of address. It originated in the
jive talk
of black jazz musicians in the 1940s, and was adopted by the
beatniks
of the 1950s. The word implied a degree of respect or affection, usually for someone older or in authority. In later use, e.g. by British
teddy boys
and
beatniks
, it was often a teasing or mocking form of address.

daddy
n British

1.
a dominant inmate among prisoners

2.
an older and/or dominant male homosexual in a relationship, group or institution

daffodils
n pl British

firefighters. The derogatory nickname, bestowed by members of other emergency services in 2013 is because they ‘wear yellow hats and stand around in bunches'.

Drip-stands
and
water fairies
are contemporary synonyms.

daffy
adj

silly, eccentric. The rather dated colloquialism was revived by adolescents from the later 1990s. Its ultimate origin is the Middle English
daffe
, meaning a ‘fool'.

dag
n Australian

1.
(a piece of dried) sheep dung. This sense of the word dates from the 16th century, but has become archaic in Britain. It usually refers to the dried flakes adhering to tail wool.

2.
a stupid or unpleasant person, by extension from the first sense. By the late 1980s ‘dag' had become a fairly mild allpurpose insult or description, freely used for instance in television soap operas such as
Neighbours
.

dagga
n South African

cannabis, marihuana. This is the most common term for these drugs in South Africa and it derives from local African languages. It is occasionally heard elsewhere among drug users.

daggy
adj Australian

stupid, unpleasant. From the noun
dag
. A brusque but fairly mild expression of distaste (deemed suitable for inclusion in the scripts of TV soap operas, for instance).

dago
n

a.
a person of Hispanic origin (Spanish or Latin American). This derogatory meaning is probably the original sense of the word in that it derives from the Hispanic proper name ‘Diego' (James). The word usually has this sense when used by British speakers.

b.
an Italian. This has become the most common American sense of the word. ‘Dago' is sometimes used as an indiscriminate insult to persons, usually male, of Mediterranean origin.

dairybelle
n South African

an attractive woman, especially one with large breasts. The term is an adoption of
the brand name of milk and cheese products.

daisy
¹
n

a male homosexual or an effeminate man. The word in this sense is not common, but occurs occasionally in British, American and Australian usage.

daisy
²
adj British

attractive. An item of teenage slang from the noughties decade.

daisy chain
n

a group of people taking part in ‘serial' sexual activity; cunnilingus, fellatio, penetration, etc. in series

daks
n pl

trousers. From the trademark name of a brand of casual trousers sold since the 1930s in Britain and Australia. The word's popularity was boosted by its use in the
Barry McKenzie
cartoon series in
Private Eye
magazine, usually in the phrase
drop one's daks
.

damage
n British

an attractive female or females in general. A male usage recorded in 2004.
Biffage
is a synonym.

major damage
Check out the damage.

dame
n

a woman. An Americanism usually identified with the criminal, musical, etc. milieus of the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. The usage obviously derives from the original British 13th-century title of ‘Dame' (itself from the Latin
domina
, via Old French), which quickly became a synonym for a woman in dialect and rural speech. Like
doll
,
broad
and, to some extent,
chick
, the term now sounds dated.

damn skippy!
exclamation American

a strong expression of agreement. It is a more recent version of colloquial phrases such as ‘darn tootin' (right)' or ‘damn straight'.

‘Did you nail that cute co-ed?' ‘Damn skippy!'

damp
adj British

a middle-class synonym for
wet
in the sense of ineffectual or feeble

I always found Jenny's husband a bit damp.

d and d
adj

drunk and disorderly. The phrase in full is police or judicial jargon; the abbreviation is a euphemism used by police officers in the USA and, in Britain, facetiously by drinkers.

Terry was completely d and d again last night
.

dang
n American

1.
the penis. A rare variant of
dong
.

2.
a euphemism for ‘damn'

dangleberries
n pl

a variation of
dingleberries

dangler
n

1.
the penis. A nursery euphemism also used facetiously among adults.

2.
Australian
a
flasher
, a male sexual exhibitionist

3.
British
a trailer, when attached to a truck or tractor

4.
American
a trapeze artist

danglers
n pl

the testicles. An old and predictable euphemism heard, e.g., in British public schools and the armed forces.

dank
¹
adj American

excellent. This sense of the word may be influenced by its use as a nickname for potent marihuana.

dank
²
n American

(high-grade) marihuana. So called because of its dark colour and moist, sticky consistency.

Danny (La Rue)
n British

a
clue
, invariably as part of a phrase in utterances such as ‘Don't ask me, I haven't got a Danny La Rue'. The rhyming slang uses the name of the late female-impersonating UK variety star.
Scooby(-doo)
is a synonym.

da nuts
n
,
adj

the best or the greatest, excellent. The phrase, poular since around 2000, is a euphemism for
the dog's bollocks
.

That man is da nuts
.

dap
adj American

elegant, smart, fashionable. The term, heard in black and campus speech, is a shortening of ‘dapper'.

dap-dap
n
,
adj American

(an individual considered) attractive, well dressed, fashionable. An elaboration of
dap
favoured by younger teenagers in California and featured in the 1996 US film
Clueless
.

dapper
n British

a stylish, successful or dominant male. The noun form of the standard adjective has existed in London street slang since 2000, probably originating in black usage.

dappy
n
,
adj British

(a person who is) silly, clumsy, eccentric. This blend of dippy and daffy was in use among schoolchildren and teenage speakers in the early 1990s.

daps
n pl British

tennis shoes, plimsolls. The word may echo the sound of light footfalls or derive from an archaic dialect verb meaning to ‘dart' or ‘pad'. ‘Daps' was a particularly popular term among teenagers and schoolchildren in Wales and the South West in the 1960s.

dare
adj British

good, fantastic. A vogue term in use among teenage gang members. The term, sometimes in the form of an exclamation of approval, was recorded in use among North London schoolboys in 1993 and 1994.

dark
adj

1.
British
behaving harshly, unfairly or unpleasantly (to another person). Used in this way the term is part of the slang code heard among London teenagers since the 1990s. It probably originated in the black Caribbean community, although the same word was employed to mean stupid or obtuse in 17th-century English slang.

‘I didn't like it that he was actin' dark.'
(Recorded, North London schoolboy, 1993)

2.
stylish, impressive. This sense of the word derives from its use to describe ‘moody, deep' drum 'n' bass music in the later 1990s.

Darren
n British

an uncouth, unfashionable and/or unfortunate male. A synonym, in use since around 2000, for the earlier
Kevin
and
Wayne
and the contemporary
Trev
, playing, like the female
Sharon
, on the supposedly negative social connotations of some common first names.

dash
¹
n

money, a bribe or tip. The term is from West Africa, where it derives from
dashee
, a local African dialect term. It may be the origin of the more common
dosh
.

dash
²
vb

1a.
British
to throw away. A usage recorded among young Londoners in 2004.

2a.
to pass something (to someone)

2b.
to throw violently, often with the intention of causing hurt or damage

date
n

1.
Australian
the anus. Presumably by association with the colour of the fruit, or just possibly from the archaic British rhyming slang ‘date and plum' meaning
bum
.

2.
British
a stupid, silly or weak person. This rare usage (probably by association with the texture of an over-ripe date) is now nearly obsolete, but was heard until the 1960s, especially in the phrases ‘you soft date' and ‘you soppy date'. Such phrases now survive only in nursery language.

3.
a prostitute's assignation with a client. An item of police slang recorded by the London
Evening Standard
magazine, February 1993.

David (Mellor)
n British

(a drink of)
Stella
Artois lager, playing on the name of the notorious Tory politician turned journalist.
Nelson (Mandela)
,
Paul (Weller)
and
Uri (Geller)
are synonyms, all popular with students since the late 1990s.

Davy Crockett
n British

pocket
. A piece of rhyming slang inspired by the cult film about the American pioneer for which there was a craze in 1956.
Sky rocket
and
Lucy Locket
are synonyms.

dawg, dog
n American

a friend. This term of affection, originating in southern speech, became one of the most widespread slang vogue words in US usage from around 2000.

dawn raid
n

in business slang, a sudden and unexpected move by a hostile party such as the initiator of a takeover bid, business rival, etc.

daylighting
n

working (usually illicitly) at a second job during daylight hours. An obvious derivation from the colloquial ‘moonlighting'.

deacon
n British

a stupid person,
Benny
,
spack
. Allegedly from ‘Joey Deacon', an elderly cerebral palsy victim featured on TV in the early 1980s. The term is used by schoolchildren.

dead
vb British

to stop, abort, curtail. Used in street-gang code and its imitations since around 2010.

You better dead that beef.
Just dead it!