"C" Slang

chuck a wobbly

General

To lose one's temper or have a fit of anger.

chucker

General

A player who launches many low-quality shot attempts with poor judgment.

chuco

Street

A pachuco — the 40s zoot-suit-and-Caló Chicano archetype. Sharp threads, sharper slang, a whole subculture that birthed the language half this list comes from.

chuco town

Street

El Paso, Texas. The city that birthed the zoot-suit-and-Caló pachuco movement, and still wears the nickname with pride. If somebody's from Chuco Town, they're from the 915.

chuddy

General

Chewing gum. That's the whole thing. A school-gates Manc classic — kids have been blagging chuddy off mates in Wythenshawe for decades. Outsiders hear it once and never forget it.

chudjak

Internet

A wojak variant with a sloped forehead, scowling mouth and stubble — the visual shorthand for 'angry right-wing poster.' Lobbed at anyone in chat saying something reactionary, real or imagined.

chuffed

General

Delighted or pleased, often with a touch of pride.

chuffing

Street

A mild, inoffensive intensifier used in place of a stronger swear word.

chufty badge

General

A fake, invisible badge sarcastically awarded when someone's bragging about a nothing achievement. Pure Manc piss-take. Linked to 'chuffed' (pleased) — the implication being: aren't you pleased with yourself, love? Deploy with maximum dryness.

chulear

General

To show something off, or to flatter/compliment someone.

chulería

General

Someone's swagger, cocky confidence, or attitude; the flair of carrying yourself with style.

chulo

General

Describes someone or something cute or attractive; 'chula' for a female.

chum

General

To accompany or go with someone for company; 'I'll chum ye to the shop'.

chump change

Internet

A sum so small that only a 'chump' would bother with it.

chunder

General

To vomit; also used as a noun for vomit.

chune

Music

A song, especially a big hit or a track of outstanding quality ('a proper chune').

chungus

Internet

Used for anything pleasingly chunky — a fat cat, a huge sandwich, a thicc rabbit. The original 'Big Chungus' meme paired a screenshot of Bugs Bunny puffing his cheeks with the word, and the internet ran with it. Now it's a general-purpose 'look at this absolute unit' descriptor, with a softer, cuter vibe.

chunibyo

Internet

An adolescent affliction, roughly 'eighth-grader syndrome', in which a young teen acts out grandiose fantasies — believing they wield hidden powers, secret knowledge or a dark alter ego.

chunk

Gaming

To deal a fat burst of damage in one go, enough that the enemy has to back off and recall. You didn't get the kill, but you chunked them out of lane.

chunk-deuce

Street

To throw up a two-finger peace sign, usually sideways, as a greeting, a goodbye, or a 'I respect you, I'm out'. Houston-born gesture that travelled with the city's rap exports — you see it in every UGK and Bun B video. To chunk the deuce can also just mean to leave.

chunter

General

To grumble or mutter, usually to yourself, usually about something petty. Low-volume complaining. The sound your dad makes at the news.

chupapi munyanyo

Internet

A meaningless phrase shouted to startle, confuse, or just be a menace. Made famous by TikToker @jaykindafunny8, who in late 2020 went viral sneaking up behind strangers and yelling 'munyanyo'. People keep trying to translate it from Spanish — there's nothing to translate. It's nonsense, that's the bit.

chupidness

General

Stupidity or foolish carrying-on. From 'chupid' (stupid). Also stupidness.

chur

General

A versatile Kiwi expression used to say thanks, show agreement, or signal that something is good or cool. Often paired as 'chur bro'.

chur bro

General

An emphatic, friendly combination of 'chur' and 'bro' used to thank or affirm a mate.

churn

General

The rate at which customers cancel or employees quit over a period.

churning

General

Excessive trading in a customer's account by a broker whose real motivation is the commission on every ticket, not the client's investment goals. Illegal under SEC and FINRA rules. The tell is high turnover with no coherent strategy, the account bleeding fees while the broker pads his number.

chuunibyou

Internet

A humorous term for adolescents who act out chuunibyou fantasies, believing they have secret powers or a hidden dark past, as parodied in shows about the trope.

chwarae teg

General

Welsh for 'fair play' (chwarae = play, teg = fair). Used exactly like the English 'fair play to him' — acknowledging someone did the right thing, made a good effort, or deserves credit. Pronounced roughly 'CHWA-rye teg.' Drops naturally into English sentences across Wales.

ciggy

General

A cigarette. Used everywhere in the UK and Ireland, Scouse included. The diminutive 'ciggy' is fond and casual — what you bum off your mate outside the pub.

cimer

General

From the standard French 'merci' (thank you). Verlan inverts mer-ci to ci-mer. It means thanks, in a relaxed register.

cinched

Pop

Used more broadly for a look that's tight, sharp, and perfectly pulled-together.

cinnamon roll

Internet

Tumblr-born tag for a character who is gentle, kind, and a little soft — the one you'd shield from any plot twist. Full phrase is 'cinnamon roll too good for this world, too pure for this world,' from a 2013 meme. Lives on in BookTok as the opposite of the morally grey guy.

ciotóg

General

A left-handed person; also used for the left hand itself.

circle

General

A roundabout. Only in Dundee. Ask for directions anywhere else and 'take the third exit at the circle' will get you a confused stare.

circle back

Internet

To revisit a discussion or task at a later time.

circlejerk

Internet

A community or thread where the same opinion gets repeated, upvoted and high-fived until dissent is impossible. Everyone's stroking everyone else's ego — hence the name. Used as an accusation when a sub becomes too predictable or hostile to outside views.

circling the drain

General

Describes a patient whose condition is steadily worsening and who is expected to die despite intervention. Abbreviated CTD.

circuit breaker

Internet

A circuit breaker is a regulatory mechanism that halts trading market-wide when an index falls a set percentage, to curb panic. On the S&P 500, a 7% drop triggers a Level 1 halt and 13% a Level 2 halt of 15 minutes.

citiot

General

City + idiot. The townie's word for the visitor who tailgates on a dirt road, can't back a trailer, and asks where the Whole Foods is. Heavy use across Up North Michigan, the Adirondacks, and any tourist-overrun rural pocket.

citrulline

General

An amino acid (often L-citrulline or citrulline malate) used as a nitric-oxide booster to improve blood flow and enhance the muscle pump during training.

civvies

General

Whatever you wear when you're off duty and out of uniform. Jeans, a hoodie, trainers — anything that doesn't have your name tape on it. Brit and Commonwealth forces use it constantly; Americans say it too. Also gets stretched to mean civilians themselves ('the civvies won't get it').

civvy

General

Inside, a 'civvy' is a proper tailor-made cigarette — straight off a production line, in a packet — rather than something rolled from pouch tobacco. Rarer, classier, worth more on the wing. The name borrows from 'civilian': it's the smoke you'd have on the outside.

civvy street

General

The civilian world — life after you've handed in your kit and walked out the gate for the last time. Used by serving and ex-forces alike: 'back on civvy street' means back to a normal job, normal clothes ('civvies'), no one shouting at you at six in the morning. Often spoken with a mix of relief and dread.

clag

General

Sticky stuff — mud, glue, gunk, anything that clings. The noun behind 'claggy'.

claggy

General

Sticky, gummy, unpleasantly tacky. Used of mud that won't shake off your boots, pastry that's gone wrong, hair after a swim, or any texture that clings when it shouldn't. Common across Northern England, strongest in the North East.

claik

General

Gossip, idle chatter, tittle-tattle. The kind of news that travels round the village faster than the post. Can be the gossip itself or the act of gossiping.

clam bake

Street

Filling a small enclosed space with cannabis smoke so everyone in it breathes the smoke; synonymous with hotboxing.