"T" Slang

t-back

General

The working uniform in any club where full nude isn't allowed. A thong cut so the back strap forms a T shape at the waistband. Covers the legal minimum, shows the legal maximum. In some US states the law literally requires dancers to wear one.

t-break

Street

A deliberate period of abstaining from cannabis to lower one's tolerance so it hits harder again.

t-jones

Street

Mama, in Dallas. Used affectionately for your mother, grandmother, or whichever woman did the raising. Outsiders hear it and assume it's a person's name; Dallas natives clock you instantly when you use it right.

t-rex arms

General

A mocking term for small, undertrained arms, likening them to the tiny forelimbs of a Tyrannosaurus rex.

t.g.

Street

Initialism for Trinity Gardens, a historic Black neighbourhood on Houston's north-east side near the Fifth Ward. Tight-knit, deep roots, plenty of rap pedigree.

t.j.

General

Tijuana, the Mexican border city just south of San Diego.

ta-ra

General

Goodbye, see you later. The everyday Liverpool sign-off — said at the door, at the end of a phone call, after a chat at the bus stop. Often stretched to 'ta-ra a bit' for 'see you in a bit'.

tabanca

General

A state of depression and longing after being left or cheated on by a loved one. To 'have a tabanca' is to be pining.

table

General

An air trick where the rider pushes the bike into a flat, tabletop position sideways in the air and then brings it level again to land. It is one of the most stylish, photogenic airs.

table stakes

General

The basic features or requirements you must have just to be in the game.

table turn

General

A single complete cycle on a table: sat, ordered, fed, paid, cleared, reset. Restaurants measure a night in turns — two turns on a Tuesday is fine, four on a Saturday is the difference between rent and ruin.

tabletop

General

A jump that is level or flat across its whole top, so the takeoff and landing are joined by a flat span rather than a gap. Coming up short lands safely on the flat table instead of in a hole.

tackle for a loss

General

A tackle that stops the ball carrier behind the line of scrimmage, resulting in negative yardage for the offense.

tacklings

General

A person's possessions, gear or bits and pieces.

tacky-bonk

General

A pit mound — the spoil heap of waste rock and clay tipped out of a coal mine. 'Tocky' is the rocky muck from the shaft, 'bonk' is a bank. Stick them together and you get the lumpy black hills that still finger the Black Country landscape long after the pits closed.

taco

General

To crash by folding around an obstacle such as a rail or box, wrapping the body over it like a folded taco. In cycling it can also mean bending a wheel into a taco shape.

tacp

General

'Tactical Air Control Party' — the ground-based team, typically attached to a maneuver unit, that advises on and directs close air support, often including JTACs.

tacsi

General

The Welsh-spelled form of taxi, an example of how English loanwords are respelled in Welsh.

tacuche

Street

A zoot suit — the iconic Pachuco fit with the long jacket, wide shoulders, baggy pegged trousers and a watch chain swinging to the knee.

tadcu

General

The South Walian word for grandfather, paired with 'mamgu'. Now recorded in the Oxford English Dictionary.

tag

Gaming

To get the first hit in on a monster so the kill and loot are credited to you. In a crowded spot it's a land-grab.

tagged

Gaming

Getting shot in CS doesn't just chunk your HP, it slows you down for a beat. That slow is the tag. Get tagged mid-peek and you're a sitting duck because you can't reposition fast enough.

taid

General

Grandfather, the North Wales word. Pronounced 'tide'. Pairs with 'nain' for grandmother. South Wales families use 'tad-cu' instead — the north/south split is sharp and people get a bit territorial about it.

tail

General

The rear end of the skateboard deck, upturned to allow the rider to pop it against the ground for ollies and other tricks; typically shorter than the nose.

tail-end charlie

General

The rear gunner sealed into the tail turret of a heavy bomber — Lancaster, Halifax, B-17. Freezing, isolated, and statistically the crewman most likely to die: enemy night fighters made the tail their first target to knock out defensive guns. Life expectancy on Bomber Command tours was brutal, and Tail-end Charlie wore the worst odds of all.

tailor-made

Street

A ready-made manufactured cigarette, as opposed to a hand-rolled one; a small luxury inside.

tailslide

General

A slide trick in which the rider slides along a ledge or coping on the underside of the tail of the board.

tailtap

General

A trick where the rider lands on the deck or lip of a ramp on the rear tire only, holding the brakes for a momentary tap before rolling back down. It is a controlled transition stall.

tailwhip

General

A trick where the frame and rear wheel spin a complete rotation around the head tube while the rider and bars stay relatively still, then the rider lands back on the pedals. One of BMX's signature moves.

tailwinds

General

Positive conditions helping a business grow or move faster.

take a chill pill

Pop

An instruction to relax or calm down, said to someone who's worked up or overreacting.

take a fall

Street

To 'take a fall' is to be arrested or convicted; taking a fall for someone means accepting blame to shield the real culprit.

take a knee

General

An order to halt and take a short rest, literally kneeling; also figuratively to pause and think.

take a powder

Street

To take a powder is to depart hastily, especially to escape trouble or the police.

take flight

General

Inside, this means to start swinging on someone — a fists-only attack, no shanks involved. It's the verb for jumping a guy in the dayroom or rushing a cellie who's been in your locker. The 'flight' is the flurry of punches, not the running away.

take for a ride

Street

To 'take someone for a ride' is to lure or force them into a car and kill them, a signature gangland execution method.

take him off the dribble

General

To use dribbling to get past a defender for a drive or shot.

take in front

General

To take pre-emptive action in one's own interest before someone else can use something against you.

take it to the next level

General

To elevate the quality, scale, or performance of something.

take the l

General

To suffer a loss, failure, or embarrassment — the 'L' standing for loss. Often 'took an L.'

take the mickey

Street

To mock, tease or make fun of someone; also 'take the mick'.

take this offline

General

To continue a conversation privately or one-on-one rather than in front of the whole group, often to avoid derailing a meeting.

take your show on the road

Street

To cause problems serious enough that you are transferred out; 'blowing the spot.'

take-off

General

The start of a ride, when the surfer catches the wave, pops up and drops down its face.

taking a knee

General

When the quarterback kneels immediately after the snap to safely burn clock and end the game while protecting a lead.

taking it to the hole

General

A drive that aims to penetrate to the rim and finish inside.

talent

Gaming

Instead of buying items, HotS heroes pick a talent at certain levels, each one upgrading, changing or unlocking an ability. It's how you spec your hero on the fly to match the game.

talent war

General

Intense competition among companies to attract, hire, and retain scarce skilled workers, often driving up pay, perks, and hiring incentives.