Dictionary of Contemporary Slang (92 page)

A fairly rare descriptive term of uncertain origin. It may be a corruption of an Hispanic word or of he/she.

killer, killer-diller
n, adj

(something) superlative. Killer-diller was an Americanism of the 1940s which was briefly in vogue in Britain in the late 1950s among
teddy boys
and bohemians. Killer was a popular teenage term in the USA, particularly among black youth in the 1960s and 1970s, spreading to Britain and Australia in the 1980s with disco and
hip hop
music, break dancing, etc.

That band's a killer.
Man, that's a killer-diller car
.

killing floor
n American

a place where sexual intercourse takes place. A phrase which figured in the lyrics of many blues and rock songs until the 1970s. The expression may originally refer to an abattoir, in which case the transposition to a sexual context is evoking brutal carnality. Alternatively, the sexual usage may arise via a sense of a place where punishing work or effort takes place. The phrase was used as the title of a Howling Wolf record of the early 1960s.

kimshi, kim'chee
n American

trouble, difficulties. The origin of the term is uncertain.

‘You're in deep kimshi, buddy, better have it all in one sock for this one.'
(
Under Siege
, US film, 1995)

kinetic
adj American

lively, agitated, busy

‘Sorry it took so long; it's been kind of kinetic around here.'
(
Hollywood Confidential
, US film, 1997)

king
adj

superlative, brilliant

That Usher film is king!

king hit
n Australian

a.
a hit from behind, stab in the back

b.
a knockout blow

King Lear
n British

cannabis. The term is rhyming slang for
gear
, and was in use among London students in 1996 and 1997.

kink
n

a.
a sexual deviant

b.
a sexual perversion or perverse idiosyncrasy, an unhealthy trait

Kinky
has been used since the 1920s for deviant, becoming a vogue word of the early 1960s. The noun form (borrowed as the name of the pop group, the Kinks) is a later adaptation, usually used to express mild disapproval. In colloquial speech the word has now acquired an innocent sense of a ‘minor problem', flaw or irregularity.

kinky
adj

perverted or perverse, unorthodox. In Britain in the early 1960s kinky became so widespread a vogue word that its meaning became diluted to denote merely fashionable or interesting. The term began in the 1920s or earlier as an underground euphemism for sexually deviant, and later became an ironic
gay
term of approbation.

In spite of its suggestion of perversities such as fetishism, the word was inoffensive enough to be used in ‘polite' company, hence its popularity in the first flush of sexual liberalism in the 1960s.

‘He looks at me like that, at least he's not
kinky. That's a relief. He's too fat to be
kinky, too fat and forty guineas at least.'
(
About Town
magazine, June 1962)

‘Kinky? Kinky is British for weird, you know what I mean?'
(
Harper
, US film, 1966)

kip
¹
n

a.
a period of sleep

I pulled into the lay-by for a quick kip in the back of the van.
‘If I don't get my full eight hours' kip I'm ratty all day.'
(Recorded, teacher, Bristol, 1989)

b.
a bed or place to sleep

a kip for the night

The word
kippe
meant a brothel in 18th-century English, probably deriving from a similar Danish word signifying a low-class inn. In the 19th century the word was extended to denote a
doss house
, and by the early 20th century was acquiring its modern meanings. The word is not unknown in the USA but is much more commonly used in Britain.

kip
²
, kip down
vb

to (lie down to) sleep. The verb comes from the noun
kip
.

kipe, kype
vb

to steal

kipper
n British

the vagina. A vulgarism in use among adolescents in the 1990s and listed in
Viz
comic in 1994.

kippered
adj British

devastated, trounced,
stitched up
or
gutted
. A working-class term which is currently in vogue among the fashionable young in London. The metaphor is ‘dead, gutted, skinned and cooked', in the sense of thoroughly humiliated or taken advantage of, and is probably inspired by the earlier ‘done up like a kipper'.

‘I wouldn't advise you to try doing business with them. I tell you, I was kippered …'
(Recorded, advertising executive, London, 1988)

kiss ass
vb American

to abase oneself, flatter or curry favour. A contemptuous description of obsequious or toadying behaviour.

‘You wouldn't like it [working in a large corporation]; the first thing you'd have to do is to learn to kiss ass.'
(Recorded, American female executive, London, 1984)

kiss-ass
n American

a sycophantic person, a ‘crawler'. This term of contempt can also be employed as an adjective, as in a ‘kiss-ass speech', for instance.

kisser
n

the mouth. A now rather dated word which probably originated among boxers and their entourages in the mid-19th century. Its meaning is occasionally extended to mean ‘face', particularly as part of an expression such as ‘a punch/smack in the kisser'.

Wipe that silly expression off your kisser
.

kiss-off
n

a dismissal. Originally an Americanism, the term has entered international English with the connotations of off-handedness, abrupt thoughtlessness or condescending rejection.

kiss the porcelain god
vb

to vomit. A picturesque euphemism which is particularly popular among American college students; an alternative form is ‘kneel to the porcelain god' or
drive the porcelain bus
. The image is one of bending over to kiss the feet of an idol. An attack of diarrhoea involves
riding the porcelain Honda
.

kiss up
vb American

to behave as a sycophant (towards), ‘crawl' to or flatter someone. A rarer version of
kiss ass
or the British suck up.

kissy, kissy-kissy
adj

affectionate, sentimental. The words may be applied good-humouredly or pejoratively, suggesting cloying or exaggerated affection.

kit
n British

clothes. A working-class expression, typically used by ex-servicemen, which enjoyed a vogue from the late 1980s among working-class speakers and their imitators. It is synonymous with
gear
or
clobber
.

‘His idea of romantic chat was to say “get your kit off and come over here”.'
(Recorded, female social worker, London, 1987)

kitchen-table lingo
n British See
family slang

kite
vb

to pass a worthless cheque

‘“You wouldn't try to kite a cheque on me, would you?”'
(
Budgie
, TV series, 1971)

kiting
n

passing dud cheques. From the 1980s the term invariably described a deliberate criminal activity, although it could formerly also refer to issuing a cheque in the hope, possibly ill-founded, of finding the funds to support it. The word is part of international English.

kit-kat shuffle
n

an act of female masturbation. The phrase was explained by the female standup comedian Jo Brand in her 1995 TV show. It occurs in the forms ‘have a kit-kat shuffle' or ‘do the kit-kat shuffle'.

kitty
n

1.
British
a synonym for
pussy
. The term was in use among UK teenagers in 2010.

saw her kitty
get some kitty

2.
See
dust kitty

kiwe?
exclamation British

a greeting. The expression, used by young people of Asian origin and others, is from Panjabi in which
kiwe ho tussi
means ‘How are you?'
Kiddan
is a synonym.

klangered
adj British

drunk. An item of student slang in use in London and elsewhere since around 2000. It is probably an arbitrary coinage and unrelated to the Clangers, puppet characters in a children's TV series.

(Calvin) Klein
adj British

fine
. Rhyming slang in use since the later 1990s borrowing the name of the US fashion designer.

I'm feeling just Calvin Klein.

klingon
n British

a younger child, particularly an irritating brother or sister. The pun, heard in the 2000s, conflates Klingon, the alien race in the
Star Trek
TV series, and the notion of a child ‘clinging on'.

Compare
froggle; anchor

kludge
n

a cumbersome, overcomplicated system or situation. A piece of computer jargon, originating in the USA, blending ‘clumsy' and ‘sludge'.

klutz
n American

a foolish, clumsy person. The word is from the Yiddish
klots
which literally means lump or block. (It comes from the German
Klotz
with the same meaning, which is related to the English ‘clot' and ‘clod'.) In the 1980s the word passed from being an Americanism into world English, particularly among adolescents.

‘As the incidents repeated themselves, Ms Reagan told her fellow workers and friends that she was a “klutz” who kept banging into doors and falling down stairs.'
(
Guardian
, 4 April 1989)

KMT, kmt
phrase

an expression of disrespect, widespread among younger speakers in the UK since around 2000. The letters, which may be written or spoken, stand for ‘kiss my teeth' and refer to the gesture, originating in Caribbean custom, whereby scorn, rejection or indifference is shown by hissing or sucking through clenched teeth.

knack
vb British

to destroy, damage, mess up. This back-formation from
knacker
is common in middle-class and armed-forces usage, often in the form
knack it
.

knacked
adj British

a variant form of
knackered
in all its senses. The term is heard particularly in the Scottish Lowlands and the north of England.

She's feeling knacked.
The motor's totally knacked
.

knacker
vb British

to tire or exhaust. A back-formation from
knackered
.

‘I knacker myself at my job to keep her nice and warm in my house, with my kids and my dog.'
(Divorced husband in cartoon by Posy Simmonds,
Guardian
, 1981)

knackered
adj British

exhausted. This is not, strictly speaking, a slang word as it derives from ‘knacker', denoting a worn-out horse or a slaughterer of horses, but has come to be seen as slang because of confusion with
knackers
, in the sense of testicles. The ultimate origin of the word is probably a dialect word meaning saddle-maker and based on a version of the word knock.

‘That washing machine's about knackered, gel, and we ain't even finished payin' for it yet!'
(
Biff
cartoon,
Guardian
, 1986)

knackers
n pl British

the testicles. Originally a dialect or rustic pronunciation of knockers (with the sense of ‘clappers'), this is the form of the word which has predominated. In the 1950s and 1960s the word was often used in the form of an exclamation on the lines of the now more widespread
balls, bollocks
and
cobblers
, expressing defiance or contempt.

‘Your boyfriend burned his jacket
his ticket expired
his tyres are knackered
his knackers are tired.'
(
Psycle sluts
, poem by John Cooper Clarke, 1978)

knee-jerk
n, adj

(a person) displaying a reflex action, an unthinking, automatic reaction. This piece of American slang of the early 1970s has passed into general colloquial use since its adoption as part of disparaging descriptions such as ‘knee-jerk liberal' or ‘knee-jerk reactionary'. The expression of course derives from the doctors' testing of the patellar reflex, featured in cartoons and situation comedies since the mid-1950s.

knees-up
n British

a boisterous party, celebration and/or singsong. The popular cockney song ‘Knees up, Mother Brown' probably produced the expression.

kneetrembler, knee-tremble
n British

an act of sexual intercourse while standing up. A popular term in the 1960s, when furtive assignations outdoors were perforce more prevalent. The word was used in TV comedies such as
The Likely Lads
; it originated in the 19th century and is still heard.