Slang Dictionary — Modern Slang, Decoded

Short form used when a procedure comes back flawless, most often a champagne tap. Sometimes generalised to any spotless result.

Informal word for work or a job; 'chambear' means to work.

An informal word for a child or young person; 'chamaca' for a girl.

A person from Chalmette, the parish seat of St. Bernard ('Da Parish') just downriver from NOLA. The label leans hard into the stereotype: thickest yat accent in the region, dropped R's, 'how's ya mom-n-em?', a particular look and a particular attitude. Sometimes affectionate, sometimes a punchline, almost never used by Chalmette people about themselves — they're just 'from Da Parish'.

Declared unwinnable or as good as over. Down too many rounds, no economy, no chance — it's chalked.

Magnesium carbonate powder applied to the hands (and sometimes the body) to reduce sweat and improve grip on heavy lifts.

A ceremonial pipe (often a large water-pipe) used by Rastas to smoke ganja communally.

Cockney rhyming slang for 'piles', shortened to 'chalfonts'.

A hard no. Caló's version of 'nah' or 'hell no' — used to shut down a request, deny an accusation, or just register disbelief. Lower-key than 'nel' but still a refusal with bass in it. Lives all over SoCal Chicano speech and West Coast rap.

Untidy, disorganised or in a chaotic state.

A mocking phrase for someone secretly or hypocritically 'chairo' (progressive).

A mocking term for a self-righteous left-wing progressive or 'social justice' idealist.

A mocking term for an Air Force member who does office work but affects the bearing of a frontline operator; a variant of 'chairborne ranger.'

A jokingly disparaging term for someone who works at a desk rather than in the field — a play on 'airborne ranger.'

A jab at the Air Force playing on the perception that many airmen spend their time 'flying a desk' doing office work.

A 🪑 dropped in the comments to mean 'this is hilarious'. The whole joke is that a chair has nothing to do with laughter — that's why it's funny.

The bardic chair awarded at the National Eisteddfod to the winning poet of the awdl — a long poem in the strict-metre form known as cynghanedd. A new chair is made specially each year by Welsh craftsmen. Winning it earns you the title Prifardd ('Chief Bard') and a very public ceremony on Friday of Eisteddfod week. The 1917 'Black Chair' — awarded posthumously to Hedd Wyn, killed at Passchendaele weeks earlier — remains the most famous.

The heart of high-score play in a lot of shmups. You link enemies or items together without breaking the sequence, and the chain multiplies your score. Drop the chain and the multiplier resets to nothing. Some are simple kill-fast systems, others are deep puzzles in their own right.

The officials' assistants on the sideline who operate the 10-yard chains and down marker to measure for first downs.

A combo built by linking normals in order of strength, light into medium into heavy, with each move cancelling into the next. Easy, reliable, and the bread and butter of a lot of pressure.

A busload or transfer of prisoners moved together in chains; to 'catch the chain' is to be transported. Also 'chain gang' historically for shackled work crews.

A versatile exclamation reacting to surprising, upsetting, or dramatic news — used widely, especially in southeastern Nigeria.

Emphatically cheap or clearly a knockoff.

Cheap, shoddy, low quality. The knock-off Jordans, the Bluetooth speaker that dies in a week, the bootleg DVD. If it looks the part but falls apart, it's chafa.