i want to have a word with you.

i use a lot of words per minute. most of my functioning vocabulary is monosyllabic street slang. if i can't find a word that properly describes what i'm trying to say, i'll make one up on the spot, leaving some people confused. i have no problem defining my own world. i've listed a few favorite words/phrases i've enjoyed over the years that are still in use today. obvs, i tried to be as accurate as possible in crediting the person who taught me a word/phrase.

word - introducer - location - year first used - definition / history / examples

kapunkatuk - me and lobo - arlington, va - early 80s - we wanted to make up a code word for an idiot; an imbecile. hey, kids are mean! tuc (spelling?) is dumb or mentally disabled in vietnamese.

bub(ba) - me - arlington, va - late 80s - i despise terms of endearment like sugar pie, honey, and sweetie. the south likes these words a lot. they make me cringe...even today. however, i love, bubba. makes me think of a nice fat happy white male. i named my first cat, who was gorgeous, bubba, because i loved her so much. the derivative, babe, i actually don't mind at all.

thank buddha - me - boston, ma - 1990 - my version of thank heavens. i'm not christian. why sing praises to god? used in newsletters to family and friends dating back to pre-email days.

jamoke - annette g. - boston, ma - 1992 - loser. putz. taught by a boston italian. i used this word at the slayer offices in los angeles once. proprietor looked up and screamed, how do you know that word? turns out he was raised by an italian bostonian family.

mamorch - annette g. - boston, ma - 1992 - endearing term thrown around our office a lot. said drawn out like, maa-morch. maybe a weird derivative of my man.

freeeench - dennis c. and alexis p. - boston, ma - 1993 - obvs, the language of love. used with bitter sarcasm. used to point out all things french. we can no longer say this word to each other normally. it's not french. it's freeeench!

ha la - alexis p. and linda y. - boston, ma - 1993 - an expression for surprise. hawaiian pidgin for oh my gosh or no way! me: my cell phone bill was $200 this month. them: ha laaaa!

nerd - me - boston, ma - 1993 - endearing term specifically coined for jee p.. she was MIT. i was BU. we still open conversations with this today.

dosh - uncle mike - santa monica, ca - 1996 - true money-maker vocabulary. southern mix of cash and dough.

shit fire - aunt lori - santa monica, ca - 1996 - another expression for surprise. me: it took me two hours to get to work today. lori: shit fire!

a+ - me - santa monica, ca - 1996 - a favored email closing. never spoken, only written. abbreviated french for a plus (tard), or in english, later!

golden ghetto - uncle mike - santa monica, ca - 1996 - used to describe nice jaded neighborhoods. cruising our home territory in uncle mike's jaguar, he told me to lock the doors, that we were in the golden ghetto and that old ladies were going to cut us with their credit cards.

big ups, big love - deborah l. - london, england - 1997 - used to sign off on a conversation. props (proper recognition) and love to you.

i'm retired - me - santa monica, ca - 1997 - code word for, i have no direction. i told everyone i was retired when i slacked off for a year in california instead of truthfully telling people i was feeling lazy.

hey hey - me - tokyo, japan - 2000 - my english version of japan's telephone greeting, moshi moshi.

mojitos - marxy - new york, ny - 2002 - friends. at a party, a friend asked marxy where the mojitos were. perplexed, marxy said, "i don't know where your mojitos are," while holding his drink, a mojito. now, when calling out to friends we say, "yo. where my mojitos at?"

xoNAMExo - deanne c. - new york, ny - 2003 - my latest email signature. a derivative of deanne's signature, xxdeanne or dxxx, combined with my instant messenger sign off, xoxo.

Comments

[Grant Barrett]

Good stuff here. All the ones you and yer friends didn't invent I think I know, but what about "ha la"? Anything more you can say about when and where you picked it up? Did you get it from actual Hawaiians?

[hustler of culture]

ha la - alexis p. and linda y. - boston, ma - 1993

grant, my college roommates, alexis and linda are hawaiian. i picked up a lot of pidgin, their native slang, during my years of living with them.

[lia]

If "ha la" is pidgin, it probably comes from the Tagalog "hala", which basically means "oh no, you're in trouble, watch out." We say it with the second syllable elongated, the longer you stretch it out the more you tease the person you're saying it to. I like to use it on Jarvis every once in a while ("Halaaaa! I'm going to steal your food!" because he actually gets worried when I do, and fuzzy worried dog = total cuteness.