British & American Slang

Fernando will total me with his Thermos if I don’t stop talking about his bums.

What is slang? In 1901 Gilbert Keith Chesterton, an English

writer, wrote that, « …all slang is metaphor,

and all metaphor is poetry. » Perhaps so,

but this does not really tell us what slang

does or where it comes from, or how it is

associeted with yet different from colloquial

language.

In the hierarchy of linguistic acceptability,

slang is superior to cant- the secret jargon of

the underworld- but inferior to colloquialism.

How can we tell what is slang and what is colloquial?

Well…there is no easy formulistic way to

do this.

The answer is elusive because the

boundary between the slang and the

colloquial is elusive.

Indeed, the division between what

might be called formal and informal

language- which includes both slang and

colloquial- is itself elusive.

Where does it come from? For centuries, underworld cant has been a

significant source of popular slang.

Sex, money and drink are the traditional large

topics of slang, now joined by multitudes of

coinings from the drug culture.

Taboo topics, especially sexual ones, provide a

happy area for the creation of euphemistic

slang.

Youth culture is responsible for the coinage of

many entries and clever or humorous or

insulting- or all three- nicknames for

individuals and groups have delivered many

more.

However, not all slang or colloquial expressions

refer to taboo topics, or are insults, or are

humorous. Many are no more than the

terminology of common everyday speech.

British Slang Examples

BAZOOMBAS / BAZOOMAS / BAZUMBAS

The female breasts

(Crude. Normally

with the and in the plural).

For instance:

« Nice bazoombas, »

he thought, as she

walked pass.

DAN

The janitor or

attendant at a

public toilet for

men. (Crude &

Taboo).

For instance:

That’s an unfortunate

cry the kids shout

when they see the

Dan.

CHUFF

1.The buttocks. 2.An

anal release of intestinal

gas; a noise or smell

associated with this.

For instance:

The problem with Joe is

that he lets go of these

super saiyajin-kind-of

chuffs all the time!

TOSS OFF To masturbate

(taboo).

For instance:

Timmy’s mother

caught him tossing

off in the garden

shed.

HORIZONTAL Intoxicated due

to drink.

For instance:

The Boss was

horizontal at

the Christmas

party.

American Slang Examples

LUNGS

Female breasts

For example:

I caught my

little brother

checking the

lungs on that

Hooters

waiter

DAN

Acronym for

"dumb-ass nigga“

(offensive)

For example:

He gets out of jail

then goes right

back for the same

damn thing. He is

such a Dan.

AIR BISCUIT

A fart that is so potent as

to have a tangible quality. Air

biscuits may be “launched”,

dropped”, “pushed out”,

chucked”, etc. Also, when

someone breaks wind and

catches it then releases it

into someone’s face.

For example:

You’re so freaking disgusting!

You’re always launching air

biscuits on my face!

JACK OFF To masturbate.

For example:

Brian had the

blue balls so

bad he had to

jack off as soon

as he got

home.

PICKLED

Intoxicated

due to alcohol

For example:

He gets pickled

after only one

beer.