English Language Learners Stack Exchange
English Language Learners Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [slang]

Slang is a type of language that consists of words and phrases that are regarded as very informal.

Slang is a type of language that consists of words and phrases that are regarded as very informal.

Example questions

431 questions
13
votes
1 answer

Meaning of "with it way out cat"

I have issues deciphering meaning of the following sentence: We are the Atom Cats, a gang of the most with it way out cats in the Commonwealth. This sentence is from Fallout 4 game (which is not that important). The part I am struggling with is…
Pavel Horal
  • 305
  • 1
  • 8
11
votes
3 answers

What is the (TM) of "do the Right Thing(TM)"?

Sometimes I find expressions like "do the Right Thing(TM)" in the world of computer science. For example, Microsoft to C99 Developers: Use ISO C++ http://www.infoq.com/news/2012/05/vs_c99_support/ Step up to the plate and do the Right Thing(tm).…
user64953
  • 221
  • 2
  • 4
10
votes
3 answers

What does the slang "Breaking Bad" actually mean?

I heard this mentioned on the show that has the same name but the Portuguese translation is scary: The Chemistry of Evil .... What the real sense that the writers of the show wanted to go with this "slang"? breaking Synonyms: breach, cracker,…
MarceloBoni
  • 203
  • 2
  • 7
8
votes
6 answers

Which between "crap" and "shit" is more rude?

According to the Oxford dictionary, shit is defined as "(i) Faeces, (ii) Something worthless; rubbish; nonsense", whereas crap is defined as "(i) Something of extremely poor quality, (ii) Excrement". In addition, to me as a non-native speaker, those…
Sardathrion - against SE abuse
  • 197
  • 1
  • 1
  • 6
8
votes
4 answers

Can I say "attention hooker"?

I picked up the phrase 'attention whore' from this question at ELU. On the next day I remembered the phrase as 'attention hooker.' It transformed and this one even sounds better for me, but I guess it is idiomatically flat wrong. I don't feel the…
mosceo
  • 7,266
  • 35
  • 97
  • 147
7
votes
6 answers

If someone is using slang words and phrases when talking to me, would that be disrespectful and I should be offended?

Currently I am reading a book entitled "Conversational American English expressions". I found this book very interesting because the author elaborates the level of decency of each phrase depending on the type of the social encounter. However, it…
Ahmed Abdellatif
  • 89
  • 1
  • 5
6
votes
4 answers

Meaning of "mess lmao"

I was reading a blog and I'd read: I am involved with way too many languages and I am a mess lmao. I guess I can speak English and Cantonese (?) I know what lmao means, but what means in this case with mess lmao?
Mattew
  • 551
  • 2
  • 10
  • 22
4
votes
5 answers

What does '(something) goes brrr' mean and how to use it?

It's a slang phrase, I believe. However, wanting to know something new won't hurt, right? I've seen many people use this phrase, but I still don't get how to use it. I, first, saw this phrase on Facebook. It was a maths meme. The meme was about a…
user516076
  • 5,012
  • 2
  • 31
  • 69
4
votes
3 answers

Is "freaking" considered at least a little offensive?

Check out this video There the red hair women(Aubrey) asked about how many "freaking" kids does another women(Teresa) have? Is it just an offensive way for someone to use "freaking" when they are talking about someone kids? I found no resentment…
user49119
  • 1,913
  • 12
  • 43
  • 58
3
votes
3 answers

The meaning of Idiom like "Killed something"

Here's my question. When we say "He really killed the fried chicken", Does it mean... 1) He really loves fried chicken and scarf down, while having it. or 2) He's really good at making the dish Does the meaning depend on the…
DaeHwan Kim
  • 33
  • 1
  • 1
  • 4
3
votes
1 answer

Slang word(s) for pretty? (pretty slang synonyms)

I know I sometimes can use fancy which is quite a nice word, but I look for slang word, synonym of pretty/fancy. Basically, I need those words for my webpage. I wrote a HTML webpage, where I have a CSS element I called FancyFooter. Now I need…
mirx
  • 143
  • 2
  • 6
3
votes
3 answers

What does "crash" mean in this context?

Okay, 2 thoughts. Not that you asked, but... 1) You're going to crash, and it's okay when you do. This isn't a recovery. I did the same thing, it's part of the plan, usually, but you're not okay the way you think you are, so leave room for the…
user49119
  • 1,913
  • 12
  • 43
  • 58
3
votes
2 answers

"Swag" and "Confidence"

swag= very confident attitude or manner. Does confident here mean that you trust yourself to achieve something? or what are they referring to exactly in this definition? For example; I am confident(sure) that I will pass my English exam. So can we…
Okama Ksakas
  • 351
  • 5
  • 11
2
votes
1 answer

What does "kids be scary" as a remark mean?

When I was in high school, a kid skipped class and walked through a wooded park by the school and three other kids followed him, beat the shit out of him, tore his gauges out, and then proceeded to light him on fire. KIDS BE SCARY (Source) Another…
user49119
  • 1,913
  • 12
  • 43
  • 58
2
votes
4 answers

Is "ima" spoken or only written? How casual is it?

I recently had a friend text me "ima go to [the local pub]. U in?" I understood it just fine as meaning "I'm going to", but being an old fogey, I'm not sure if this is just txtspk or if ima is something people actually say. Is this just a texting…
Kit Z. Fox
  • 1,024
  • 1
  • 12
  • 27
1
2 3 4