"A" Slang

atm

Internet

Stands for "at the moment," describing the current state of things. Not to be confused with the cash machine.

atomizer

Street

The component of a vaporizer, including the coil and wick, that heats cannabis oil into vapor.

atp

Internet

An expression of exhaustion or resignation, signaling you're past caring or past patience.

atras

General

Shouted in a packed line to tell whoever's in front of you not to spin around — you're squeezing past, probably with something hot, sharp or full. Faster than 'behind you,' works in both languages, and gets through the rail noise.

attachment style

Internet

The psychological pattern that shapes how you bond and react in close relationships, traced to early life.

attract mode

Gaming

The pre-recorded demo loop an arcade game runs when nobody's playing, cycling the title screen, high-score table and a fake play session to pull people over to drop a coin.

au

Internet

A fan story that transplants canon characters into a different setting, such as a coffee-shop, high-school, or Regency AU.

audible

General

A change of play called aloud by the quarterback at the line of scrimmage, overriding the play chosen in the huddle.

aul fella

General

The male counterpart to 'aul one'. Means your father, used with affection or exasperation. Can also refer to any older man, especially in the third person. Heard everywhere in Dublin but used countrywide.

aul one

General

Affectionate-to-cheeky Dublin term for one's mother. 'The aul one' = me ma. Outside the family it stretches to any older woman, sometimes warmly, sometimes not. 'Aul' is the Hiberno spelling of 'old' as actually pronounced.

aunt joanna

Street

Cockney rhyming slang for 'piano', shortened to 'joanna' (pronounced 'pianna').

aunt mary

Street

A coded, familial-sounding euphemism for marijuana, used to talk about it obliquely.

aunt nell

General

The ear, or the act of listening. As a command, 'aunt nell!' means listen up — or, flipped, 'be quiet'. One of Polari's body-part terms, like 'eek' (face) and 'riah' (hair), that let you narrate the room in code.

aunty arms

General

The soft, loose flesh under the upper arms; also called bingo wings.

aura

Internet

A jokey points system for how cool or composed you are. Do something smooth and you "gain aura"; embarrass yourself and you "lose aura points".

aura farming

Internet

Frequently used ironically when someone's coolness is obviously staged.

aura points

Internet

Used in the negative to roast someone for an awkward or cringe moment.

aussie

General

A person from Australia, or the adjective meaning Australian.

aussie salute

General

The characteristic hand-wave used to shoo away flies, especially in the bush.

autem

General

An 'autem diver' — a pickpocket who worked the crowds inside churches, dipping pockets during the service.

autist

Internet

Inside r/wallstreetbets, a badge of pride for posters who go hyper-deep on a single ticker — pulling 10-Ks, mapping float, building DCFs at 3am. Used affectionately within the sub for a poster whose obsessive analysis pays off. Outside that context the word is offensive; WSB knows this and uses it anyway as part of its deliberately abrasive culture.

automatic

General

Describes a player who reliably converts shots from a particular area, as if guaranteed.

autos

Gaming

The bog-standard hits a character throws when you right-click an enemy, as opposed to spells or abilities. No resource cost, just damage on a timer.

avant apocalypse

Pop

An aesthetic blending high-fashion experimentation with dystopian, post-apocalyptic styling: distressed fabrics, draping, muted tones, and deconstructed silhouettes.

ave it

General

Victory shout. Yelled when your team scores, when you win the bet, when something lands. Short for 'have it'. Bellowed, never said quietly.

avo

General

Avocado, as in 'smashed avo' on toast, a symbol of café culture.

avoidant

Internet

Having an avoidant attachment style — craving independence and distancing when intimacy intensifies.

avpu

General

A rapid four-level scale describing responsiveness: alert, responds to voice, responds to pain, or unresponsive.

awa an bile yer heid

General

A classic Scots dismissal — get lost, do one, away with you. Literally 'away and boil your head', the implication being you're talking such pish your head needs cooked. More cheeky than nasty; said between pals as often as foes.

awa wi ye

General

An expression of playful disbelief or mild dismissal, 'get away with you'.

aware

Gaming

A Twitch emote (often a side-eyeing cat) spammed when a streamer seems to be intentionally baiting or playing a character.

away an bile yer heid

General

A dismissive retort telling someone to go away or stop talking nonsense.

awfy

General

Very, extremely ('awfy nice'). Also an adjective meaning dreadful.

awol

General

Military classification for a service member who's left their post or unit without authorisation. Short stints get you charged; long enough and it upgrades to desertion. Pronounced 'AY-wol'.

axe

General

What a trader needs to buy or sell, urgently, off their own book. The desk sends round an axe sheet so salespeople can ring clients and dress it up as a great idea. If sales pitches you a bond out of nowhere, odds are the trader's axed in it.

axle stall

General

A lip trick in which the rider rides up and stalls with both trucks resting on the coping before dropping back in; the stationary cousin of a 50-50.

ay bendito

General

An emblematic Puerto Rican expression of sympathy, pity, tenderness or dismay — 'oh, poor thing' or 'oh my goodness'.

ay te watcho

Street

See you later. A textbook Spanglish move: take the English 'watch', graft it onto Spanish conjugation, end up with a goodbye that's neither language and both at once. Pure Caló craft.

aye

General

Yes. Also means 'always' in some phrases. 'Aye, right' sarcastically means the opposite.

ayrton senna

Street

Cockney rhyming slang meaning a tenner, i.e. ten pounds.