English dictionary, thesaurus, translations & etymology

Slang Dictionary — Modern Slang, Decoded

What does that word actually mean? Our slang dictionary explains modern slang clearly — Gen Z, internet, British and street slang — with real definitions, examples and where each term came from.

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Gen Z Slangrizz, delulu, slay Internet Slangbrainrot, based, mid British Slangpeng, bare, peak AAVEbussin, finna, cap

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Latest slang terms

back of rackhams

Euphemism for the city-centre red-light area that operated behind the Rackhams store. Used as a put-down (especially of a woman's dress or makeup) — 'she looks like she's just come from the back of Rackhams'. Properly old-school Brummie; the trade has long since moved on but the phrase stuck.

A very remote location; the far outback.

The historic Black working-class district behind the French Quarter, stretching back toward the old New Basin Canal in what's now the Superdome and Central City area. A cradle of early jazz — Louis Armstrong was a Back o' Town kid. Largely erased by mid-20th-century 'urban renewal' that bulldozed the canal and built the Dome.

back door parole

A grim euphemism for leaving prison only by dying, sometimes with burial on prison grounds.

The last truck in a convoy — mirror duty, calling out any smokey rolling up from behind. Other half of the front door's job. Lead and tail keep the rocking chairs in the middle safe.

A person someone keeps as a low-priority potential romantic option, ready to pursue if their main interest falls through.

bachelor's handbag

A hot supermarket roast chicken in its plastic bag, carried like a handbag; Macquarie's 2022 People's Choice Word of the Year.

An affectionate add-on tagged after someone's name or after 'love'. 'Come here, bach' or 'Dai bach' — it literally means 'little' but functions as pure warmth. The feminine form is 'fach', used after a woman's name.

Tobacco, especially loose rolling tobacco. Widely used across the UK but a particular fixture in Geordie and northern speech. Shortening of 'tobacco' with the affectionate '-y' tacked on, same way 'telly' came from television.

Loud confusion, quarrelling or scandal; can also mean a raucous fete. A central concept in Trini Carnival culture.

A dialectal, clipped pronunciation of "tobacco," common in Appalachia.

Something (or someone) cool, fun, or impressive; also a person skilled at hard things. Feminine 'bacana'.

As an adjective in some regions, meaning 'cool', 'great', or 'first-rate' (especially elsewhere in Latin America).

The mother of a man's child, whether or not they remain together. Male equivalent: babyfather.

The whole oppressive structure of Western society, government and finance that Rastas resist; title of a Bob Marley track.

The oppressive Western establishment and its systems; also specifically the police. A key Rastafarian concept.

Industry term for a stripper with under two years' floor experience — not an age comment. Baby strippers earn well on novelty but routinely lose money to bad shift picks, over-tipping out, and not knowing which custies are time-wasters. House moms usually adopt them.

Affectionate hospital slang for an obstetrician. Strips the Latin off the job title and tells you exactly what they do: stand at the business end and catch. Also stretches to midwives and, in a pinch, the L&D nurse who ends up with the baby in her arms when the doc's hands are full.

A butch who's young, boyish, and often still inexperienced — early in the journey of growing into a masculine lesbian identity. Said with affection, sometimes a little teasing, by the butches and femmes who remember being there.

A rookie police officer. Inexperienced, eager, and often the one writing tickets to hit a quota — so not as harmless as the name suggests.

Used for elderly women generally, often as easy targets or unimpressed bystanders.

Courage, guts, or ballsy bravery; the nerve to do something bold.

A term of endearment for a boyfriend, girlfriend, or attractive person; a shortening of 'baby'.

A baby or young child. Standard across the Midlands and northern England.