"H" Slang

how's she cutting?

General

A greeting meaning 'how are you?' or 'how are things?'. The 'she' is impersonal — the world, the day, life in general — and 'cutting' likely comes from cutting turf, hay or silage. Heard most in rural Ireland, particularly Munster, and especially between men. Stronger pub or farmyard energy than office energy.

howay

General

Come on / let's go, as encouragement or a call to follow.

howay the lads

General

Come on the lads — the terrace chant and all-purpose rallying cry on Tyneside. Most famously bellowed at St James' Park for Newcastle United, but works for anything from a darts match to your mate attempting a pint in one.

howff

General

A regular meeting place, especially a pub or drinking den.

howler

General

An embarrassing mistake made under little pressure, most associated with goalkeepers but possible for any player or referee.

howya

General

Compressed 'how are you' / 'how are ya' that functions purely as 'hi'. Not a real question — the correct reply is 'howya' back. Distinctly Irish and particularly Dublin. Spelled however the speaker feels: howya, howaya, howyeh.

hoy

General

To throw, chuck, lob. The everyday Geordie verb for getting rid of something or passing it across a room. 'Hoy it ower' = chuck it over. Also used metaphorically: 'hoy it in the bin', 'hoyed out of the pub'.

hoyin oot

General

Throwing out, or the time a pub closes and empties out.

hq

General

'Headquarters' — the command element and central location from which a military unit is directed and administered.

hr

General

The number of heartbeats per minute; a core vital sign.

htfse

Street

High-Terpene Full-Spectrum Extract, a top-grade concentrate that preserves the full range of terpenes and cannabinoids in a syrupy, often crystallizing form.

hubba

General

An inclined ledge that runs down beside a staircase, used for grinds and slides that descend with the stairs.

huck

General

To launch into a trick or off a large jump haphazardly, with more commitment than technique or regard for safety. It implies going for it and hoping it works out.

huck-a-bucks

Street

Kool-Aid frozen in a paper cup, sometimes with fruit or condensed milk thrown in, sold for a quarter out the front door by somebody's auntie. Pure New Orleans Black neighborhood summer. You bite the top, flip the cup, and squeeze. Spelled half a dozen ways but everybody knows what you mean.

hucker

General

A rider known for throwing themselves into big tricks and jumps with abandon rather than polish. It can be admiring or slightly mocking depending on tone.

huisa

General

A young woman or girlfriend in Chicano Caló; also spelled 'güisa'.

hulking up

General

Getting mentally and physically amped before attempting a heavy lift, like the Hulk powering up.

human piranha

General

The nickname Michael Lewis gave a particular Salomon Brothers government bond trader in Liar's Poker — a man whose sentences were so densely packed with obscenity that the profanity essentially became the grammar. Stand-in for the unhinged verbal culture of the 1980s bond floor.

humbug

General

To trouble or harass someone; to be a nuisance. Used as verb and noun.

humint

General

'Human Intelligence' — intelligence collected and provided by human sources such as informants, interrogations, and reconnaissance patrols, as opposed to technical means.

hummel doddies

General

Fingerless gloves or mittens in Doric. Specifically the chunky knitted ones with no separate fingers — what farmers and fishermen wore to keep hands warm while still being able to work.

hump

General

To carry or lift a load, especially on a long forced march under a full pack. Also the march itself.

hundreds and thousands

General

Tiny coloured sugar sprinkles used on cakes and on 'fairy bread'.

hungus

General

Someone with a huge appetite who eats a lot or is greedy with food.

hunker

General

To squat on the heels, or figuratively to dig in and wait something out.

hunnid

Internet

Slang pronunciation of 'hundred,' meaning $100.

hunty

General

Honey with a switchblade. A blend of 'honey' and 'cunty' used to address someone with affection, attitude, or both at once. Tone does all the work: it can be a warm 'hey hunty' or a withering one. Reclaimed slang, so it lands differently depending on who's saying it.

hurricane party

Street

A Gulf Coast tradition: when a hurricane's headed your way and you've decided not to evacuate, you tape the windows, fill the bathtub, and throw a party. Burn the freezer food before the power goes, kill the liquor before the roof does. Equal parts gallows humour and genuine community ritual — neighbours ride it out together so nobody's alone when the lights cut.

hurry up and wait

General

The military pattern of being ordered to prepare and assemble quickly only to stand idle while nothing happens.

hurry-up offense

General

An offensive strategy designed to run plays quickly and gain yards while using as little clock as possible.

hurtbox

Gaming

The vulnerable region of a character. When an opponent's hitbox overlaps your hurtbox, you eat the hit. It's the opposite number to the hitbox and usually invisible unless you flip on training-mode display.

husband material

Internet

A man seen as having the traits that would make him a good long-term partner or husband.

husbando

Internet

A male anime, game, or manga character that a fan adores enough to jokingly call their husband. The mirror image of 'waifu'.

hush your mouth

General

A command to stop talking, sometimes an exclamation of mild disbelief.

hustle

Street

Any income-generating activity a prisoner runs, from selling art or legal help to laundry, tattoos, or contraband.

hustling

General

Hustling, in the Paris Is Burning sense, is escorting, sex work, and the other survival hustles many in the scene relied on to get by. For young, poor, often homeless LGBTQ kids shut out of straight employment, it was how rent got paid and how looks got funded. The documentary lays it bare without flinching: the glamour on the ballroom floor was frequently bankrolled by hard, dangerous work off it.

huzz

Internet

A bleeped-style euphemism for women or girls, generally meaning 'the girls' in a group context.

hvlt

General

Euphemistic acronym for a gunshot injury (the 'lead' being the bullet).

hwaiting

Pop

An encouraging cheer meaning 'you can do it' or 'go for it,' shouted to wish someone strength.

hwyl

General

A distinctly Welsh feeling of high spirits, enthusiasm and emotional intensity, historically the passionate cadence of a preacher.

hx

General

Charting shorthand for a patient's history, whether the history of the present illness or past medical history.

hybrid

Street

A cannabis strain bred from both indica and sativa lineage, blending their effects.

hydro

Street

Cannabis grown hydroponically (in water/nutrient solution rather than soil), associated with high quality.

hydros

Street

The hydraulic suspension setup on a lowrider — pumps, cylinders, dump valves, bank of batteries in the trunk. Lets you raise, drop, lean and hop the car off the switches. Pioneered in LA in the late 50s when Ron Aguirre put aircraft hydraulics in his '57 Corvette to clear ride-height laws.

hyem

General

Home. Pronounced roughly 'hyem' — the Geordie vowel doing what it does best. Used exactly like the standard word: gan hyem (go home), at hyem (at home).

hype

Street

Excitement or buzz around something, or the quality of being exciting and praiseworthy.

hypebeast

Pop

Attributive use describing the aesthetic itself — loud logos, hyped collabs, box-fresh kicks.

hypercarry

Gaming

A champ that's weak early but becomes a monster once it gets items and levels. Give a hypercarry time and gold and one of them can 1v5 the enemy team. The whole strategy becomes 'protect the hypercarry'.