"S" Slang

shoot-da-chute

Street

Old-school New Orleans name for a playground slide. Borrowed from the 'shoot-the-chutes' water rides at turn-of-the-century amusement parks and kept alive by generations of NOLA kids long after the rides themselves disappeared.

shooter

Street

In sports slang, simply a player known for scoring, especially from long range.

shooting your shot

Internet

Taking a chance by directly telling someone you're interested or asking them out, even when success is uncertain. Encouragement to be brave.

short

Street

Describing an inmate close to their release date. Someone counting down is 'getting short' or 'a short-timer.'

short interest

Internet

The percentage of a company's shares that have been sold short. High short interest is the kindling retail traders look for to ignite a short squeeze.

short squeeze

Internet

A rapid price rise that forces short sellers to buy shares to cover their positions, which pushes the price even higher in a feedback loop. The core mechanism WSB weaponized in 2021.

shorty

Street

In Chicago drill, a younger member of the crew — typically under 18, sometimes way younger. The shorties catch the cases the older heads can't, hold the work, do the dirt. Different from the mainstream 'shorty = girl' meaning; in this scene it's about age and rank.

shot

Street

In UK drill and road slang, a 'shot' is the customer — the cat ringing the trap phone for a deal. Don't mix it up with 'shotter,' which is the one selling. Shot = demand side, shotter = supply side.

shot caller

General

The guy giving the orders — green-lights hits, runs the dope, decides who eats and who gets rolled up. No badge, no title on paper, but his call is the call. Usually a veteran with rank in a gang and a body of work behind him.

shotcaller

Gaming

The player who makes the in-game tactical decisions, where to push, when to rotate, what to commit to. The team's voice of authority while the round is live. Also called the IGL (in-game leader).

shotcalling

Gaming

When one player directs the team: who to gank, when to push, which objective to take. Five people doing their own thing loses; one clear voice wins.

shotgun

Street

A skinny one-story house, one room wide, with every room opening straight into the next — no hallway, front door to back door in a straight line. Defining NOLA housing stock. The legend goes you could fire a shotgun through the front door and the buckshot would sail clean out the back. Singles, doubles (two units side by side), and camelbacks (with a second-floor add-on at the rear) are all variations on the same DNA.

shotgun house

Street

A one-room-wide house where every room opens directly into the next with no hallway, front door to back door in a straight shot. The folk etymology: you could fire a shotgun through the front door and the pellets would sail clean out the back. Defines whole neighbourhoods of New Orleans — the Bywater, Marigny, Tremé, Central City.

shotgunning

General

When a clinician has no clue what's wrong, so they fire off a huge battery of bloods, scans and panels in the hope something comes back abnormal and points the way. Named after the buckshot spread — aim vaguely, hit something. Seniors hate it because it's expensive and lazy; juniors do it on nights when they're drowning.

shoto

Gaming

The archetypal fundamentals character. Fireball to control space, a jumping uppercut (DP) for anti-air, and a gap-closing kick. Ryu and Ken are the blueprint, and any character cloning that kit is a shoto.

shotta

General

A gunman, thug or gangster; a common figure in dancehall lyrics and the title of the 2002 Jamaican film 'Shottas'.

shotting

Street

Street-level drug dealing — running a phone, serving fiends, doing the work. UK drill and road rap built half their lyric sheets on this word. A 'shotter' is the dealer; 'shotting' is the verb for what they do all day.

shoujo

Internet

A demographic category of works aimed at adolescent girls, roughly ages 10–18, centring on romance, relationships and emotional drama, though it spans many genres.

shoulder

General

The unbroken part of a breaking wave, sloping away from the whitewater, where a surfer can trim and gain speed.

shoulder peek

Gaming

A controlled jiggle where you only expose a sliver of your body, usually the shoulder, so a sniper fires and you live. Now they're reloading or rechambering and you've got the tempo.

shounen

Internet

A demographic category targeting adolescent males, typically featuring action, adventure, tournaments and themes of friendship and perseverance.

shounen-ai

Internet

A category of male homosexual romance in women's media that focuses on emotional relationships rather than explicit sex, milder than yaoi.

shout

General

To pay for something for others, especially a round of drinks; also a turn to pay ('my shout').

shout the bar

General

To pay for drinks for everyone in the group or venue.

shove-it

General

A trick in which the board is spun 180 degrees horizontally beneath the rider's feet without flipping, the front foot staying roughly in place while the back foot scoops the board around. Also spelled 'shuv-it' or shortened to 'shuv.'

shovel pass

General

A short forward pass thrown with an underhanded, shoveling motion, often near the line of scrimmage.

shover

Street

A shover is a criminal who circulates counterfeit currency by 'pushing' or 'shoving' it into circulation.

show floor

Internet

The large open hall where the bulk of a convention's exhibitors, vendors, and attractions are located.

showcase

Internet

A dedicated event, often for press and fans, where a group first performs and introduces a new album or single. Common at debut and for major comebacks.

shrapnel

Internet

Slang for an annoying pocketful of small change.

shred

General

To skate with skill and aggression, ripping through a spot or park; a general expression of skating well and going hard.

shredded

Internet

A physique with extremely low body fat and very sharp muscle definition, even more extreme than 'ripped.'

shredder

General

A rider who attacks terrain and tricks with skill, speed, and aggression. It is a term of respect for a capable, hard-charging rider.

shreddy krueger

General

A playful pun describing someone in extremely lean, shredded condition.

shreds

Gaming

A gun that shreds rips both shields and health to bits almost instantly. Same family as 'melts' — it's the word for raw stopping power.

shrek is love, shrek is life

Internet

A mock-religious declaration of devotion to anything, used to flag that you're being absurd. People post it about a sandwich they liked, a streamer they stan, or literally Shrek. The deadpan over-commitment is the joke.

shrekking

Internet

Shrekking is settling for a partner you consider less attractive on the assumption they'll be more devoted and grateful, then being disappointed when they aren't.

shrimp

Internet

Australian slang for the $5 banknote, also called a 'prawn' or 'pink lady.'

shrink

General

Shrink (short for 'shrinkage') is the gap between what the books say you should have on the shelf and what's actually there. Shoplifting is the famous cause, but it also covers employee theft, miscounts at receiving, damaged stock, spoilage, and vendor fraud. Measured as a percentage of sales, and every store manager lives and dies by the number.

shubz

Street

A party, especially an informal house party. Also spelled 'shoobs'.

shucky darn

General

A folksy exclamation of amazement or good-natured frustration, loosely meaning 'wow' or 'aw shoot.'

shuffle

Music

As a noun, the dance style itself, with regional variants like the Melbourne Shuffle and cutting shapes.

shuggy boat

General

A large swinging boat ride at a fair, resembling a see-saw.

shut yer cake 'ole

General

Be quiet — but with feeling. Your mouth is the 'cake hole' because that's where cake goes in. Northern, blunt, faintly Victorian. Used between mates or by a knackered parent.

shutdown

Gaming

When an enemy is snowballing on a kill streak, the game stacks a bounty on their head. Killing them is a shutdown, and you pocket that extra gold, swinging momentum back.

shylock

Street

A shylock is a loan shark, someone who lends money at illegally high interest and uses threats to collect. To 'shylock' is to lend this way.

sick

General

Very good or impressive (positive despite the literal meaning).

sickening

Pop

In drag and ballroom, a high compliment meaning so stunning it makes you sick with jealousy — the look is perfect.