"I" Slang

irie

Street

Used to express that all is well, one feels good, or a vibe is positive and harmonious; also a greeting. A cornerstone of Rasta and reggae vocabulary.

irl

Internet

'In real life' — the offline, physical world, contrasted with online/on-chain or metaverse activity; sometimes jokingly called 'meatspace'.

iron

General

Slang for the weights themselves and, by extension, the culture of lifting — as in 'pumping iron' or 'moving iron.'

iron pile

Street

The outdoor free-weight equipment where inmates work out; a social and status hub on many yards.

is it

General

The Welsh tag question that gets bolted onto the end of just about any statement, regardless of what verb came before. Where standard English would say 'isn't it', 'didn't you', 'aren't they', the Welsh just go 'is it'. It's a check-in, a confirmation, a verbal nod — and once you start clocking it, you'll hear it everywhere from Cardiff to Caernarfon.

is it ecker's like

General

Hard 'no'. Mancunian way of saying 'is it heck' — i.e. 'no it bloody isn't'. The 'like' on the end is mandatory northern garnish.

is right

General

A verbal high-five. Said when something brilliant happens — your team scores, your mate gets the job, the round comes in on time. Half 'yes!', half 'too right', all Scouse. Can also just mean 'agreed' in a softer way.

isekai

Internet

A wildly popular genre of anime, manga, and light novels in which an ordinary person is yanked into a fantasy or game-like world, usually with a power-up. The 'getting hit by a truck and reincarnating' setup is its signature cliche.

isi ewu

Street

First and foremost a real, celebrated Igbo delicacy — spicy goat's head stew served at weddings, chieftaincy ceremonies, and for honoured guests. Because it's treated as a premium, special-occasion dish, the name gets borrowed in slang to describe something (or someone) considered top quality, a big deal, or impressively put-together.

island

General

A traffic roundabout. While the rest of the country says 'roundabout', Birmingham and the West Midlands stuck with 'island' — short for 'traffic island'. Given Spaghetti Junction lives in Brummie heartland, they've earned the right to name them however they like.

iso

Gaming

Short for isolation; clearing out one side so a player can attack their defender one-on-one.

isolation

General

An exercise that works essentially one muscle group across a single joint, like bicep curls or leg extensions.

isometric

General

A contraction where the muscle produces force while holding a position without changing length, like a plank or wall sit.

isr

General

'Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance' — the coordinated collection and processing of battlefield information, often via aircraft, drones, and sensors to support commanders' decisions.

istg

Internet

An intensifier of disbelief or amazement when something is hard to believe.

it girl

Internet

A female idol regarded as the defining, most influential star; 'it boy' is the male equivalent.

it girl / it boy

Internet

The female or male idol who defines the current moment through popularity, influence, and buzz.

it is what it is

Internet

An expression of resigned acceptance — acknowledging a bad or annoying situation while signaling you've stopped resisting it.

it's brick

Street

It's freezing. The kind of cold that hits like a wall. Born in NYC and spread up through Boston and the Northeast via hip-hop — Cam'ron and the Dipset crew are usually credited with putting it on the map. Now standard cold-weather shorthand for anyone east of the Mississippi.

it's giving

Internet

A verdict on the energy something puts out. Drop a noun, adjective, or whole scene after it and you've nailed the aesthetic. Works as a compliment ('it's giving main character') or a drag ('it's giving try-hard') — tone does the steering.

it's joever

Internet

A theatrical declaration of defeat, usually posted with the sad-Biden Wojak. Started as political doomerism but quickly generalized: you drop 'it's joever' for any L, from a sports loss to your phone hitting 1% in a tunnel.

it's lashing

General

Raining heavily. Also 'lashing rain' or 'lashing out of the heavens'.

ita bag

Internet

A backpack, tote, or purse with a transparent panel used to display an eye-searing collection of enamel pins, charms, badges, and merch dedicated to a character or series.

itadakimasu

Internet

A set phrase spoken before a meal expressing gratitude for the food, roughly 'I humbly receive'. Anime characters almost invariably say it, hands together, before eating.

itai

Internet

The Japanese cry of pain, equivalent to 'ouch' or 'that hurts', frequently heard in comedic and action moments alike.

ital

General

Describes food or a lifestyle that is natural, additive-free and vital; central to Rastafarian living. Ital food is typically vegetarian and salt-free.

itasha

Internet

A vehicle covered in decals, paint and artwork of anime, manga or game characters — especially cute girls. The name self-mockingly acknowledges how 'cringe' or wince-inducing it can look.

iterate

General

To refine something over successive cycles based on feedback or testing.

itm

Internet

'In the money': an option whose strike is favorable versus the current price, giving it real intrinsic value. Safer and pricier than OTM lottery tickets.

itp

Street

'Inside the Perimeter' — meaning within I-285, the highway loop that rings Atlanta. ITP is the real city: walkable-ish, denser, where the culture lives. Used as identity, not just geography.

itt

Internet

Forum and Reddit shorthand for In This Thread, used to call out the prevailing vibe of the replies — usually with sarcasm. "ITT: people who didn't read the article" is the classic form.

iv

Internet

Implied volatility: the market's forecast of how much an asset will move, which directly inflates or deflates option prices. High IV makes options expensive.

iv crush

Internet

The rapid collapse of an option's implied volatility — and therefore its price — right after a scheduled event like earnings, even when the trader guessed direction correctly.

iwi

General

A Māori tribe, the largest everyday social grouping, descended from a common ancestor.

iyaric

General

The modified vocabulary developed by Rastafarians (e.g. 'ital', 'irie', 'overstand') that reshapes English to reflect their worldview.

iyashikei

Internet

A sub-genre designed to soothe the viewer, portraying characters living quiet, peaceful lives in tranquil settings with little conflict. It aims to relax and 'heal' the audience.

iyashikei-adjacent

Internet

Describes shows in the soothing, low-conflict comfort-watch mode of iyashikei — cozy, slow and gentle — used loosely for anything relaxing to watch.

iyawo

Street

The common Pidgin word for wife, especially a newly married one, borrowed directly from Yoruba.

iykyk

Internet

An acronym signalling that something is understood only by insiders or those deep in the space, without spelling it out.