Slang Dictionary — Modern Slang, Decoded

The most popular summoner spell in League, Flash teleports you a short distance in any direction the moment you press it. Used to dodge skillshots, escape ganks, or flash in for a kill. Long cooldown, so blowing it at the wrong time is a death sentence.

A sudden state of panic, alarm, or disorganised urgency. The squadron's just been scrambled, the CO wants everyone in the mess now, nobody knows what's going on — that's a flap.

A flannelette shirt, a staple of tradie and bogan wardrobes (also 'flannie').

A flannelette (brushed cotton) checked shirt, associated with tradies and bogans. Also 'flanno'.

To bypass the enemy frontline and attack from the side or behind, straight onto their carries and casters. Frontline can't peel for what they can't reach.

Verbally tearing into teammates or opponents, usually in text or voice chat. Blaming, insulting, tilting everyone. It's a one-way ticket to a chat ban.

To flex and brag at the same time — a portmanteau of flamboyant and boast. E-40 specialty; means doing it loud, doing it bright, and making sure the room knows.

Whirling kerosene torches twirled by walkers alongside night parades like Le Krewe d'Etat and Hermes. Originally a practical fix — Black men were paid pennies and tossed coins to light the route before electric lights — now a kept tradition that's pure spectacle. Tip the flambeaux carriers.

The flesh of certain sharks (usually gummy shark), commonly sold in fish and chip shops.

Anti-aircraft artillery fire, from the German abbreviation for such guns; figuratively, heavy criticism ('taking flak').

A little label moderators let you stick next to your username or post title. On a sports sub it's your team. On a tech sub it's your job title. On a post, it's the category — 'Discussion,' 'Meme,' 'Serious.' Half identity badge, half filtering tool, and on some subs you can't comment without one.

The face. A worn-down corruption of "physiognomy". Almost always shows up in "put yer fizzog straight" — Brummie shorthand for stop sulking, you look miserable.

Used for a mutual, low-drama fade where interest fades on both sides.

Southern construction meaning 'about to' or 'getting ready to.' Used constantly across the South and lifted wholesale into Southern rap — Memphis, Houston, Atlanta. Often slurred to 'fixin' to' or 'finna,' which is now its own national slang word.

An expression indicating imminent intent to do something, though the doing may not happen immediately. A Southern grammatical staple.

An instruction to improve one's behaviour or effort, popularised by grime.

Slang for a five-unit banknote in the US and UK.

Police. Lifted straight from Hawaii Five-O, the 1968 cop show whose name nodded to Hawaii being the 50th US state. Picked up on the street in the 70s and never left — heavy in hip-hop ever since.

A dreaded MRE menu of five small beef franks, notorious among troops.

The five elements are the building blocks of Vogue Femme — the five things a walker has to command to perform it properly. They are: Hands (sharp wrist and hand illusion that tells a story and throws shade), Catwalk (the exaggerated feminine strut), Duckwalk (squatting on the heels and kicking forward on the beat), Spins & Dips (a 360 spin dropping into the dramatic dip — what outsiders wrongly call a 'death drop'), and Floor Performance (the acrobatic floorwork: fan kicks, knee slides, arched backs). Master all five and you've got a complete Vogue Femme.

A report that a radio signal has excellent strength and clarity; colloquially, that everything is fine.

Affectionate name for the M2 Browning .50-caliber heavy machine gun.

Food. Black Country variant of 'victuals' (vittles), with the v softened to an f. Almost always shows up in the phrase 'bostin fittle' — smashing grub — which is the unofficial motto of every Black Country pub kitchen and pork-scratching maker in the region.

Extremely upset or furious, as if needing to be tied down.