"J" Slang

jitney

General

An informal shared shuttle bus or van running a route for a cheap flat fare, common in parts of Brooklyn and Queens.

jitterbug

General

As a verb, to dance in that wild swinging style.

jitty

General

A small passage or alley between buildings; the Midlands/Leicestershire equivalent of a ginnel.

jive turkey

Music

A fool or a chump, someone acting ridiculous enough to be dismissed outright.

jjang

Internet

An exclamation or descriptor meaning something is the best or top-notch. Often paired with a thumbs-up.

jk

Internet

Stands for "just kidding," used to signal that a previous statement was a joke and not serious.

jo

Street

Added to a request or complaint to soften or emphasize it, with tone ranging from genuinely pleading to lightly dismissive depending on context.

joanin

Street

Skilfully clowning on someone — back-and-forth roasting where the goal is the joke landing, not actual beef. If you're soft, don't join in.

joanna

General

Affectionately, any battered upright instrument, especially one in a boozer.

job creep

General

The slow accumulation of extra responsibilities and tasks onto a role over time, expanding the job beyond its original scope, typically without added compensation.

job hopping

General

The practice of changing jobs frequently, often every year or two, typically to gain higher pay, new titles, or better conditions faster than internal promotions allow.

jobe

General

A taxi. Pronounced 'Joe-B' — thought to derive from rhyming slang 'Joe Baxi' (taxi). Pure Liverpool, you won't hear it outside the city.

jody

Street

The person on the outside who starts a relationship with a prisoner's spouse or partner while they are locked up.

joe

General

A generic term for a soldier, especially a low-ranking enlisted one — the everyman of the Army.

joe maxi

General

A taxi. Classic Dublin rhyming slang — Joe Maxi rhymes with taxi, job done. Heard from older Dubliners and in nostalgic registers; the younger crowd just says 'taxi' or 'cab', but it's still in circulation enough to land.

joey

General

A package of forbidden goodies — drugs, phones, tobacco, SIMs — sneaked into a UK or Irish prison for a specific inmate. Could come over the wall, through a visit, up a drone, or out of a bent screw's pocket. Getting your joey is payday inside.

john

General

The generic term for a man paying a sex worker. Used by workers, police and journalists alike. Police 'john stings' arrest the buyers rather than the sellers; 'date' and 'trick' are softer in-trade equivalents for the same person.

johnny pump

General

The classic New York word for a fire hydrant, especially one opened to cool off on hot summer days.

johns

Gaming

Any excuse a player reaches for after underperforming — the controller drifted, the setup lagged, they weren't warmed up. The classic comeback is 'no johns', meaning own your loss and stop whining.

joint

Street

Cannabis rolled in thin rolling paper to form a cigarette.

jojos

General

Thick, seasoned, deep-fried potato wedges, often sold from a deli hot case and dipped in ranch.

jojoworld

Street

What Bricksquad 069 calls itself post-2012 — the whole set renamed in tribute to Lil JoJo after his killing. Saying JoJoWorld signals both set allegiance and beef with the 300/GBE side that's blamed for his death.

joker

General

A brevity code for a fuel state above Bingo at which aircrew should begin separation, bug-out, or event termination, giving a buffer before reaching the Bingo floor.

jokes

Street

Describes something highly amusing. Can be used sarcastically for something not funny.

jomo

Internet

Stands for "joy of missing out," the pleasure of staying in or skipping events without regret. A deliberate counter to FOMO.

jook

General

To pierce, poke, jab or stab with something sharp.

joon joon

Street

A prisoner used by others to buy commissary items on their behalf, generally held in low regard.

jorts

General

Food, especially snacks or light refreshments served at a gathering. Also 'jhorts'.

josei

Internet

A demographic category aimed at adult women, featuring more grounded and mature depictions of romance, work and relationships than shoujo.

jotters

General

School exercise books; figuratively, 'to get your jotters' is to be dismissed from a job.

jouk

General

To dodge, duck or evade; to nip smartly aside.

journeyman

Internet

The mid-level tier in cosplay competition, above novice and below master/artisan, for cosplayers with some contest wins under their belt.

jouvert

General

The muddy, paint-and-oil-covered daybreak celebration that opens Carnival. From 'jour ouvert' (day opening). Also J'ouvert.

jtac

General

'Joint Terminal Attack Controller' — a qualified service member who, from a forward position, directs the action of combat aircraft engaging targets in close air support.

jucy lucy

General

A hamburger with molten cheese sealed inside the meat patty rather than laid on top, a Minneapolis specialty.

judy

General

A woman, or specifically a girlfriend. Old-school Scouse — your nan and granddad's word more than the kids' now. Still surfaces, still understood, still affectionate.

jug

Street

In underworld cant a 'jug' is a bank (a 'jug heist' is a bank robbery); separately 'the jug' can mean jail.

jugg

Street

To pull off a lick — robbing, scamming, or running any hustle that ends in a bag. Started as straight-up stick-up talk in Atlanta street vocabulary, then ballooned to cover credit-card fraud, drug flips, and basically any quick come-up. The noun form ('a jugg') is the score itself.

jugged

Street

To be attacked by having boiling water — sometimes mixed with sugar so it sticks and scalds worse — thrown in the face.

juice card

Street

Having sway with staff, which can get favors, overlooked infractions, or better assignments. 'His juice card is good' means he has pull.

juice joint

General

In carnival and grift slang, a stand selling soft drinks, a separate and older sense.

juiced

Street

Lowrider term — a car that's been fitted with hydraulic suspension. The pumps and batteries are 'the juice', so a car with them is juiced. Bagged is airbags; juiced is hydros.

juke

Gaming

A movement fakeout. You dart into the brush, double back, sidestep the skillshot and leave the chaser swinging at air. A clean juke off a 1-HP escape feels unbeatable.

juliett

General

The NATO phonetic code word for the letter 'J'. It is deliberately spelled 'Juliett' with a double 'T' so French speakers do not treat the final 't' as silent.

july effect

General

The folk (and studied) phenomenon of increased mistakes at teaching hospitals when the newest cohort of residents begins in early July. UK equivalent: 'Black Wednesday.'

jumbie

General

A restless spirit or evil apparition in Caribbean folklore; the source of many children's warnings.

jumbuck

General

A sheep; famously in the song 'Waltzing Matilda'.

jumeta

General

Being drunk or a drinking binge; 'coger una jumeta' is to get wasted.