"H" Slang

highfalutin

General

Describes someone or something absurdly fancy or self-important. A term of gentle mockery.

highkey

Aave

Very much, openly, or obviously — used to admit something strongly and without embarrassment. The counterpart to "lowkey".

hiit

General

High-Intensity Interval Training: cardio that alternates short, all-out bursts with brief recovery periods.

híjole

General

An exclamation of surprise, dismay, or concern, like 'jeez' or 'oh boy'.

hikikomori

Internet

A person who has withdrawn from society into near-total isolation, often confined to their room for months or years. A recurring, sympathetically explored character type in anime.

hillbilly armor

General

Makeshift, often crude vehicle armor field-fabricated from scrap metal and sandbags, famously bolted onto Humvees early in the Iraq War.

himbo

Internet

Male counterpart to 'bimbo': beautiful, big-hearted, not the sharpest. The defining trait isn't the stupidity — it's the sincerity. A real himbo respects women, loves his friends, and has no idea what a tax return is. Kronk, Thor in Ragnarok, Jason Mendoza.

hinny

General

Honey, love, dear. A warm Tyneside term of affection used to friends, family, kids, customers — pretty much anyone you're being nice to. The Geordie equivalent of 'pet' or 'love', and famously paired in the old greeting 'why aye, hinny'.

hip

General

A ramp feature formed where two banks or quarterpipes meet at an angle, allowing skaters to air and transfer over the corner.

hippie speedball

Street

The pairing of marijuana with coffee or another stimulant to feel relaxed yet energized at once.

hippo

General

The tendency for decisions to follow the most senior person's view rather than the data.

hirplin

General

Walking with a limp, hobbling, moving awkwardly because something hurts. Distinctly Scots — has no neat English equivalent that captures the same slow, pained shuffle.

hirt

General

High-Intensity Resistance Training: combining weightlifting with high-volume, minimal-rest work to build muscle and burn fat.

hissy fit

General

An angry, over-the-top emotional display; a grown-up temper tantrum. Southerners traditionally "pitch" or "throw" one.

hit

Street

One draw or inhalation from a joint, pipe, bong or vaporizer; also a verb, to 'hit' a piece.

hit a lick

Street

To 'hit a lick' is to carry out a robbery or otherwise obtain a large sum of money quickly through illegal means.

hit chain

Gaming

A scripted run of autos where the starter, middle and finisher swings differ in animation, damage and swing time. Land the whole chain and the last hit usually slaps hardest.

hit different

Internet

Said of a song, food, memory or moment that affects you noticeably harder than the same thing normally would — usually because of timing, mood, nostalgia or context. The whole point is the unexplainable extra: cold water hits different after a hangover; a song hits different at 2am after a breakup. AAVE in origin, weaponised by Twitter and then TikTok around 2019–2020.

hit the gate

Street

Most commonly, to walk out of prison on release. In some usages it also means going into protective custody through the gate.

hit the ground running

General

To start a new role or project and be effective right away with no ramp-up.

hit the town

General

To go out and have fun energetically, painting the night red.

hitbox

Gaming

The actual area the game tests for getting hit. In bullet hell it's usually a single pixel-ish dot near the centre of your sprite, which is why you can graze bullets that look like they're touching you.

hitch in my giddy-up

General

A stiffness, limp, or pain that hampers movement.

hitconfirm

Gaming

You throw out a starter, watch to see if it actually connected, and only commit to the full combo if it hit. If it got blocked, you bail into something safe instead of eating a punish. Reactions and discipline rolled into one.

hitlag

Gaming

Those few frames where everything stops dead on impact to sell the hit. Both attacker and defender freeze together, which is what gives big moves that satisfying crunch.

hits different

Internet

Implies a special, hard-to-explain extra quality.

hitscan

Gaming

If your crosshair is on them when you fire, you hit them. Full stop. The game traces a line from your gun to the target with zero travel time, so there's nothing to lead and nothing to dodge. The opposite of projectile weapons.

hitstun

Gaming

The stun period after a hit lands, during which the victim can't act. As long as the next attack connects before hitstun ends, the combo keeps going. No hitstun, no combos.

hitta

Street

Used more loosely as a term of respect for a dependable, down associate.

hittin' licks

Street

Committing robberies — or more broadly, pulling off any quick score that puts cash in your pocket. Detroit and Atlanta rap canon. A 'lick' is the job; 'hittin' one is doing it. Doesn't have to be armed; the word stretches to scams, flips, and any hustle with a payday at the end.

hittin' switches

Street

Working the dashboard switch panel on a lowrider to fire the hydraulic pumps — bouncing the car, three-wheeling it, dancing it on its axles. Pure showmanship. Soundtrack to any West Coast video from '92 onward, and the literal hook of Dre's 'Let Me Ride'.

hivemind

Internet

The collective groupthink of a subreddit or Reddit as a whole. Whatever the top comment says, the next thousand will echo. Disagree and you're invisible by morning. Used self-deprecatingly by Redditors who know they're stuck in it, and as an insult by people pointing at it from the outside.

hmu

Internet

Stands for "hit me up," an invitation for someone to contact or message you later.

hoachin

General

Crowded, swarming or full of people or things.

hobby bobby

General

A Special Constable — a volunteer warranted officer with the same powers as a regular but unpaid. Used patronisingly by full-timers and the public alike.

hockey puck

General

A burger cooked all the way through until it's grey, dry and roughly the texture and colour of the thing they slap around an ice rink. Used disparagingly by cooks the moment a well-done burger ticket prints. Sometimes broadens to any over-rested, dried-out protein puck on the line.

hodad

General

A non-surfer who pretends to surf and frequents beaches, hanging around the scene without paddling out. A classic surf-culture poser.

hodl

Internet

To keep holding a crypto asset regardless of price swings rather than trading in and out. Originated as a drunken typo of 'hold' and was later backronymed to 'Hold On for Dear Life'.

hoggers

General

The short trousers worn by pitmen underground.

hogmanay

General

The Scottish name for 31 December and the festivities welcoming the New Year.

hogtie

General

A bondage position where wrists and ankles are bound together behind the back, leaving the person face-down and thoroughly stuck. Named after the way a hog is trussed. It's a strict, helpless position, so tops keep an eye on circulation and breathing and rarely leave someone in it long.

hoister

Street

A hoister is a shoplifter, one who 'hoists' goods from shops and counters. It is an older synonym for booster.

hokey pokey

General

New Zealand's term for honeycomb toffee, and one of the country's most popular ice-cream flavours (vanilla studded with toffee pieces).

hold the line

Internet

A rallying cry urging everyone to stand firm and keep holding their shares during a sell-off, denying sellers and short-sellers the capitulation they want.

hold your horses

General

An urging to be patient or not act rashly.

holding role

General

A midfield position focused on sitting deep, breaking up attacks and protecting the defenders behind.

holding space

Internet

Supporting someone emotionally by listening and being present without judgment or advice.

holding the line

Internet

The act of the community refusing to sell en masse during a sell-off, so that short sellers and paper hands can't force a capitulation.