"Q" Slang

q-sign

General

The grim sequel to the O-sign. Mouth gapes open like an O, tongue flops out the corner, and now the whole picture reads as a lowercase q. In ward slang the Q-sign means the patient has deteriorated past O-sign and isn't coming back without serious intervention. There's a darker variant — 'dotted Q' — where a fly has landed on the tongue, meaning it's already over.

q-tip

General

Gently mocking slang for an elderly patient, from the resemblance of white hair to a cotton bud (Q-tip).

qc

Street

Quality Control Music — the Atlanta label that arguably set the second-half-of-the-2010s sound. Migos, Lil Baby, Yachty, City Girls all came through it.

qid

General

A prescription frequency meaning the medication is taken four times daily.

qp

Street

A quarter of a pound of cannabis, four ounces or about 113 grams.

qrf

General

'Quick Reaction Force' — a designated unit held ready to deploy rapidly to reinforce, rescue, or respond to an unexpected situation.

qrt

Internet

Initialism for 'quote retweet'. Used as both noun and verb on Twitter/X. 'Check the QRTs' means go read the people piling on in the quote-tweet tab — usually where the actual carnage lives, separate from the replies.

quad witching

Internet

Quad witching, or quadruple witching, is the day when stock-index futures, stock-index options, single-stock options, and single-stock futures all expire at once, usually the third Friday of March, June, September, and December. It often brings a surge in volume and volatility.

quadfather

General

A humorous compliment (riffing on 'The Godfather') for a lifter with exceptionally large, dominant quadriceps.

quads

General

Slang for the quadriceps, the group of four muscles on the front of the thigh that extend the knee.

quadzilla

General

A humorous compliment for a lifter with exceptionally large, powerful quads, a nod to Godzilla-sized legs.

qualify

Gaming

Making the cut in a Fall Guys round, either crossing the finish line or not getting eliminated, so you move on. The on-screen QUALIFIED banner is the goal.

quality

General

Excellent or great; often used as a one-word exclamation of approval.

quality mass

General

Muscle mass that is dense and functional, built through intelligent training and nutrition rather than sloppy weight gain.

quarantined

Internet

Reddit admin status applied to a subreddit deemed offensive or controversial. The sub still exists but is hidden from search, feeds, and recommendations, doesn't earn ad revenue, and slaps a warning splash page on anyone who clicks in. A halfway-house punishment between a slap on the wrist and an outright ban.

quarter

Street

A quarter of an ounce of cannabis, about seven grams; also called a 'quad' or 'Q'.

quarter-pipe

General

A single ramp shaped like a quarter of a cylinder, with one transition rising from flat to vertical or near-vertical. It is a building block of parks used to gain air.

quarterback sneak

General

A play in which the quarterback takes the snap and lunges directly forward behind his linemen for a very short gain, usually on third or fourth and inches.

quarterpipe

General

A single transition ramp shaped like a quarter of a pipe, curving from the flat ground up to a steep or vertical face, often topped with coping.

quartz banger

Street

A banger made specifically from quartz, prized in dabbing for even heating and preserving terpene flavor; heated with a torch or e-nail.

quat

General

To crouch or squat down low. The Gower glossary glosses it as 'to press or flatten' — you quat behind a wall, you quat to pet a dog, a hare quats in the grass to hide.

qué bolá

General

The signature Cuban greeting asking how someone is or what's happening, often extended to '¿Qué bolá, asere?'.

qué fula

General

Said of something ugly, badly made, unpleasant, or messed up.

qué padre

General

An exclamation of approval or delight, 'how cool!' or 'awesome!'

qué te pasa calabaza

General

A playful rhyming Chicano greeting, literally 'what's happening, squash?' meaning 'what's up?'

queen

General

Friendly Scouse for a woman, used the same way blokes say 'la' or 'lad' to each other. Cab drivers, market traders, your mate's mum — alright queen. Warm, not flirty.

queer

Street

In underworld cant 'the queer' is counterfeit currency. To 'push the queer' is to pass fake bills.

quenk

General

An annoying or irritating individual (from the name of a wild peccary/pig that roots around noisily).

queue dodge

Gaming

Leaving the lobby or champ select before the game begins — usually because the comp looks doomed or someone's already griefing. Cancels the lobby for everyone and slaps you with a time-and-LP penalty.

queue hall

Internet

A designated indoor area where fans gather and form lines ahead of a convention opening or a popular event.

quick quit

Internet

Resigning within days or weeks of being hired.

quick scope

Gaming

You ADS and pull the trigger in the same instant — the scope barely touches your screen before the shot's gone. Fast enough to win close-range duels with a weapon that's meant for distance.

quick win

General

An improvement that delivers visible value with little time or effort.

quickscope

Gaming

Snapping a sniper to your target, scoping for a split second so the shot goes accurate, and firing immediately. The flashy, high-skill way to snipe in close quarters.

quid

General

Used for prices and amounts generally in casual conversation.

quiet ambition

General

A career outlook that values steady, low-key fulfillment, balance, and personal priorities over aggressively climbing to the highest possible rank or title.

quiet constraint

General

When workers deliberately hold back knowledge, expertise, or ideas that could benefit their organization, often out of disengagement or feeling undervalued.

quiet cracking

General

A persistent, low-grade sense of unhappiness and disengagement at work that gradually erodes performance and wellbeing, often unnoticed by managers until it worsens.

quiet cutting

General

A workplace strategy where employers move employees into different, often less desirable roles rather than laying them off directly. It is a subtler alternative to firing that can pressure workers to quit.

quiet firing

General

A management practice of nudging a worker to quit by curtailing their responsibilities, withholding raises or recognition, or otherwise degrading their work experience, rather than formally terminating them.

quiet flexing

General

Displaying wealth, competence, or success in an understated way in a professional context, signaling status without overt boasting.

quiet hiring

General

Acquiring new skills or coverage without hiring full-time employees, typically by reassigning current staff, using referrals, or bringing on contractors and freelancers. Positions are often not publicly advertised.

quiet layoffs

General

Reducing headcount through low-profile means such as attrition, reassignments, or small quiet cuts rather than a single visible mass layoff, to avoid negative attention.

quiet networking

General

Building professional relationships and visibility in subtle, low-pressure ways, such as genuine one-on-one connections, rather than aggressive self-promotion or event-working.

quiet promotion

General

When an employer piles additional duties or a departed colleague's workload onto an employee without giving them a raise, new title, or formal recognition.

quiet quitter

General

An employee who fulfills only the explicit requirements of their role, declining extra tasks, overtime, or initiative, in keeping with the quiet-quitting philosophy.

quiet quitting

Internet

A pushback against the expectation to go above and beyond constantly.

quiet quitting the algorithm

General

Creators and online workers deliberately reducing their output or stepping back from the pressure to post constantly for engagement, a form of anti-hustle applied to the creator economy.