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

MLE third-person plural pronoun — 'they' or 'those guys.' 'Man' here is invariant and doesn't pluralise. Often used to refer to a rival group or another crew at a distance.

A nickname for the city of Pontiac, Michigan, used mainly by locals.

A remote or rural area far from town; the boondocks.

Inglewood, CA — the South LA city home to SoFi Stadium, the Forum, and a long Bloods/Crips history rapped about for decades. Mack 10's 1997 LP 'Based on a True Story' (and the film 'The Wood') cemented the nickname.

A nickname for the brass subway tokens used before the MetroCard era.

A blind area away from surveillance, such as behind a building, used to fight or handle business. Also called Thunderdome or el baño in some yards.

The San Fernando Valley, the suburban expanse north of central Los Angeles over the hills.

Michigan's Upper Peninsula, the northern landmass separated from the Lower Peninsula by the Straits of Mackinac.

the two-week notice

The conventional courtesy of informing an employer roughly two weeks before one's departure so they can prepare for the transition. Skipping it is increasingly common in revenge and rage quitting.

A 36-block climate-controlled walkway system running underneath downtown Dallas, connecting office towers, food courts and parking. Built up from the 1960s onward as a way to dodge the Texas heat — also widely blamed for hollowing out street-level downtown for decades.

Third Ward, Houston. 'Trey' = three. Home turf of Scarface, DJ Screw's stomping ground, and one of the cultural engines of H-Town rap.

The physical spot where drugs get sold — a corner, a house, a block. Called 'the trap' because once you're in it, getting out is the hard part.

A nickname for Oakland, California, used with local pride (contrasted with San Francisco as 'the City').

The eastern part of Michigan's Lower Peninsula that juts out like a thumb, known for farmland and Lake Huron beaches.

Gossip, scandal, the juicy inside story. The thing everyone wants 'spilled'. Originally 'T' for truth, the real story under the surface.

The tea is the goss, the inside story, the real situation. It started as 'T' for truth in early-90s Black drag culture — 'my T' meant my truth, my business, what's really going on in my life. In print by 1991. Over time T became tea, gossip and truth blurred together, and Drag Race plus social media made it everyone's word. Now 'what's the tea?' just means 'tell me everything.'

The Taste of Chicago, the city's large outdoor food festival held in Grant Park in summer.

A pivotal conversation in which a couple discusses where the relationship is heading, exclusivity, or commitment.

Universal Boston name for the MBTA — the subway, trolley, and bus network that holds the city together with rubber bands and prayer. Color-coded lines (Red, Orange, Blue, Green) that residents will trash to your face and defend to outsiders. Comes with a thriving subgenre of delay-meme Twitter and the eternal question: is the Green Line a subway or a streetcar?

The Met's Flying Squad — the armed-robbery and serious-crime unit that historically chased blaggers across London.

the sunday scaries

The feeling of anxiety, dread, or low mood that sets in on Sunday evenings in anticipation of returning to work on Monday.

the sun is splitting the stones

It's blisteringly hot outside. Used for the rare Irish day when the sun is genuinely punishing — temperatures over about 22°C qualify, anything over 25°C is basically a national event. The image is sunshine so fierce it's literally cracking the stones in the wall.

What Marines call the Marine Corps — and only Marines get to call it that. The name says it: it sucks, you signed up for it sucking, and you'd do it again. Used affectionately, bitterly, and everything in between, often in the same sentence.

The stretch of Cedar Springs Road through Oak Lawn that's been the heart of gay Dallas for decades — bars, drag, Pride staging, the whole scene. Calling it 'the Strip' is the local shorthand; if you have to ask which strip, you're not from there.