Tag Archives: slang

pakistani slang

Nationality: Pakistani
Age: 30
Occupation: teacher
Residence: Pakistan
Performance Date: 2/25/14
Language: Urdu, English, Punjabi

Context: The informant is a 30 year old married Pakistani schoolteacher and mother. She jokingly asked her cousin, who was visiting America, to buy her a store’s entire stock of a certain makeup product (that had the number 420 in its name) when she came back, and the cousin replied, you are a 420. When questioned about the meaning of this phrase, the informant laughed and replied that it was slang for a thief or fraud. Questioned further, she revealed that the term comes from the Pakistani penal code, in which “302 is for murder criminals and 420 is for thieves–like they say in the movies, a 201 is going down or something.”

Analysis: This particular slang phrase is interesting in that the origin is a written piece of work–and not even something that is easily accessible to most laypeople, like a storybook or a children’s movie, but the very laws of the country, which are, no doubt, as convoluted and verbose as those of any in the US. However, these codes have made their way, either through the jargon of lawmakers and law enforcement officials, or through popular movies that use “authentic” police jargon in their police scenes, to the laypeople who now use it, not to actually accuse or apprehend anyone, but to jokingly call out each others’ social vices. The act of exaggerating a little social or moral error into something criminalizable by the national penal code may be a way of enforcing social norms while still maintaining social relationships.

Pumped, Beta and Flappers

Nationality: Irish-Italian
Age: 22
Occupation: Film Maker
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 2012
Primary Language: English

“Can I bounce some beta off you?”

“Check out this gnarly flapper!”

“My forearms are pretty pumped, man.”

If any of these sentences mean anything to you, you are probably a rock climber.

While at the rock climbing gym with my informant, these phrases were being tossed about, back and forth between climbers.  Like other sports, there is plenty of jargon that is unique to rock climbing.  Although there are many terms that refer to particular types of rock climbing – top-roping, lead-climbing, bouldering – the terms “pumped,” “beta” and “flappers” are examples of more generalized climbing slang.

My informant, a climber who specializes in bouldering – that is, a style of climbing that is done without rope and is limited to relatively short climbs over a “crash pad,” or cushion – explained the meaning of these common rock climbing terms: “Beta’s just tips or information that we tell each other before or during a climb to help solve a route.”  Apparently “beta” can be a good and bad thing with expressions like: “I need some beta” or even, “Quit your fuckin’ beta, man!”  The latter expression is used when a fellow climber offers too much advice, which can get pretty annoying.

My informant then explained the meaning of a “flapper,” which he coincidentally got after a couple hours of climbing.  A flapper is a detached flap on a climber’s fingers, which is caused from a sharp rock, too much friction or prolonged climbing.  When my informant first started climbing, he told me that he had a flapper on each finger within two weeks.  In rock climbing, building and maintaining calluses is important in avoiding these minor, but still painful injuries.

Surprisingly, the word “pumped” in rock climbing has a much different meaning than excited, ready or adrenaline-filled.  Instead, when climbers use the term, it means that they are exhausted or weak from a strenuous climb or a long climbing day.  It is especially common for forearms to be “pumped,” since rock climbing depends on core and arm (particularly forearm over bicep) strength.

The use of these unique terms illustrates the exclusivity of the rock climbing community, basically creating a different language to convey ideas and condense conversation.  My informant explains that “these are super basic expressions, they’re really easy to pick up… If you climb and don’t use these phrases, then you’re not a real climber…”

Tweeters, Five-Holes, and Soft Goals

Nationality: Sri Lankan-American
Age: 34
Occupation: Teacher
Residence: Northridge, CA
Performance Date: March 2012
Primary Language: English

“He went tweeters!”

“He scored through the five-hole!”

If you understand this terminology, you are most likely a hockey player, or at least a hockey fan.  My informant, a hockey player and fan, explained this hockey slang to me during a Los Angeles Kings game, after he exclaimed: “Oh man, Kopi got lucky with that five-hole shot!”  With this statement, he was referring to Anze Kopitar – who plays either center or left wing for the Kings and is nicknamed “Kopi” – and his shot on goal.

The term “five-hole” derives from the five open areas that the goalie is responsible for covering.  When a goaltender stands in front of the net, he holds his stick with his dominant hand across his body, down to the ice.  Therefore, there is a “stick side” and a “glove side.”  My informant further explained the five areas: stick side, low; stick side, high; glove side, low; glove side, high; and finally the “five-hole,” which is the gap in between the goalie’s legs.  He also told me that you can use the expression “going tweeters” to refer to this shot.  Nevertheless, the five-hole is a relatively difficult shot to make since goalies guard this area with the blade of their stick and can easily close the gap by falling into the splits, or “butterfly position.”  So, for hockey goalies, flexibility is mandatory.

My informant also explained that there are 2 additional, but minor holes as well: on either side of the goalie between the arms and the body.  However, since these three holes are relatively easy to guard, it is rare for players to deliberately aim for these holes; rather, they can be “luck shots,” where the puck sneaks through due to lousy goaltending.  Consequently, the five, six and seven holes are considered “soft” goals.

Now that you know the slang, make sure you use it properly because if you misspeak, hockey fans will quickly know that you are an outsider!

“That’s bougey”

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Performance Date: April 2012
Primary Language: English
Language: None

“So, um, a good friend of mine was, her sister was in town, her younger sister, and I met the younger sister, and, um, the younger sister was saying some things that my friend was making fun of her for because my friend said that her sister used slang and lingo and stuff like that wrong. And, I said, like, well, how so? How do you misuse slang? And my friend said, the word “bougey” is one of the words that her sister misuses. And I said, oh, well I’ve never heard that word before. What does “bougey” mean? And she said, “bougey” stands for bourgeoisie, so it really means upper middle class or whatever, but her sister uses the word “bougey” as ghetto or trashy or dumb… as a negative lower class connotation. So, the complete opposite of what it really means. And I said, oh, well, I don’t understand, give me an example, and her sister turned to me and said, [uses ghetto voice] “I hate basketball, that’s bougey.” So, somehow, it just became this thing, without even knowing it, I just started saying “bougey” all the time, and so did my friend, and so did all of my friends… but, like, in the context that my friend’s sister uses it.”

 

I learned the word “bougey” from the informant, and I asked him to tell me where he learned the word from originally. When the informant taught me this word a few months ago, he taught me to use it in the incorrect way (the way his friend’s sister uses it.) I find this slang to be interesting because I have used it in many different contexts and received many different responses.

The people who tend to know the term either live in or go to college in major cities, such as Los Angeles, Chicago and New York. In fact, the informant told me that his friend and his friend’s sister is from Chicago. When I used the word on a trip back home to New York, only my friend who went to school in New York City and my friend who went to school in Chicago knew the word.

Most of my friends who live in other cities use the word correctly. However, when I told my friends back in New York about the improper usage of the term, they thought it was funny, but, after a few days, they started to use it both properly and improperly as well. Whether used properly or improperly, the word has a negative connotation. Being bourgeoisie is considered a negative thing and being “ghetto” is considered a negative thing.

I think the word is very timely and relevant because its use seemed to spring up just as all of the “99 percent” protests were going on, and those protests mostly took place in large cities. However, the word “bougey” and an alternative spelling, “bougie,” appear on the website www.urbandictionary.com, and several posts which provide similar definitions for the slang predate the 99 percent rallies, so the word has been around for a while.