Dictionary of Contemporary Slang, Third Edition; Tony Thorne (A & C Black, 2005)
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get into bed |
184 |
get into bed (with) vb
to merge or agree to liaise closely with. A piece of jargon from the business world which has become widely known since the late 1970s.
get it on vb
a. to succeed in having sex, to achieve (mutual) sexual gratification. An American euphemism dating from the 1960s.
‘I’m gonna ask you something right up front. Are you getting it on with that dude with the dog parlor or not?’
(The Serial, Cyra McFadden, 1976)
b. to succeed in something pleasurable or desirable. A generalisation of the first sense which was used, sometimes as an exhortation, in the hippy era. Both senses became known, and to some extent used, in Britain after 1970, but had largely fallen out of use by the end of the decade.
get it together vb
to organise oneself, one’s life and/or environment. A vogue term and cliché from around 1969. The ‘it’ refers to one’s ‘act’, one’s life, one’s head, or to things in general.
get it up vb
to achieve an erection. A common vulgarism.
get laid vb
to have sex. A derivation from lay, which spread from the USA to Britain around 1968.
‘Young guys in their twenties, of course they’re going to try and get laid, and even if they don’t succeed it’s hardly big news.’
(Lenny Henry, Time Out magazine, 26 July 1989)
get licks vb British
to be beaten up (by someone). A term used by young street-gang members in London since around 2000.
get messy vb British
to become intoxicated by drink or drugs. An item of student slang in use in London and elsewhere since around 2000.
get next to (someone) vb
to strike up a relationship (with someone). The phrase has been used by frequenters of discos since the late 1980s.
get off (on) vb
a. to achieve satisfaction, exhilaration or inspiration (from). This American expression of the early 1970s is an extension of an earlier purely sexual sense of the
phrase in which get off means to achieve orgasm. This concept was modified by the drug users’ image of leaving terra firma, of flying or floating in a state of euphoria. Since the late 1970s the term has been generalised (in Britain and Australia) to include finding pleasure from more innocuous sources, such as music.
Did you manage to get off on those mushrooms?
I really get off on that guitar solo.
b. to get someone off retains the sexual sense of bringing someone to a climax: this use of the phrase is fairly rare
get off one’s case vb British
to become intoxicated by drugs, to get high. An item of prison slang.
get one’s act/head/shit together vb
to organise oneself, arrange one’s affairs, start to perform efficiently or effectively. A euphemism from the era of alternative therapy which likens one’s behaviour to a performance (it may in fact have originated in theatrical or musical circles); unlike many such phrases it is still in widespread use.
get one’s arse in(to) gear vb
to prepare oneself, get organised and get going. A phrase which appeared in Britain and America (with ass) seemingly simultaneously around 1974. It is usually employed as an exhortation to someone who is disorganised or wasting time.
get one’s beans vb British
to have sex. An item of student slang in use in London and elsewhere since around 2000.
get one’s end away vb British
to have sex, succeed in seduction. A masculine vulgarism in widespread use since the 1960s, this is a variation on ‘get one’s end in’, a euphemism dating from the early years of the 20th century.
get one’s head together vb
to collect one’s thoughts, achieve a state of equanimity. A cliché of the ‘alternative society’ of the early 1970s (members of rock groups, suffering from the excesses of social and professional life, typically spoke of going to the countryside to get their heads together). This phrase is still heard, albeit more rarely, usually in the sense of pull oneself together or get one’s act together.
You know you really should try and get your head together if you intend to carry on in this business.
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get the ass |
get one’s jollies vb
to derive enjoyment, obtain sensual satisfaction. The gratification referred to in this phrase is often less innocuous than the lighthearted nature of the words might imply.
It’s not my idea of a good time, but if that’s how you get your jollies, I won’t stand in your way.
get one’s knickers in a twist vb British to become agitated, flustered or overexcited. This picturesque vulgarism originated in the late 1950s with a purely sexual sense. Now widely used, it is generally heard in the negative form, exhorting someone to calm down.
See also get one’s panties in a bunch
get one’s knob polished vb American to receive fellatio
get one’s leg over/across vb British
(of a male) to have sex, to succeed in seduction
‘You [Colin Moynihan, then minister for sport] can be honest with us. Did you get your leg over or not?’
(Private Eye magazine, April 1989)
get one’s oats vb British
to achieve sexual satisfaction. The phrase originates in the idea of ‘sowing one’s wild oats’, especially in the sense of sexual adventuring outside marriage. Since the 1960s the phrase has been applied to both men and women, and to sex in general rather than adultery in particular. It is heard in all social classes in Britain and Australia.
‘If he plays his cards right, he should end up getting his oats tonight.’
(Recorded, teenage drinker, London, 1986)
get one’s panties in a bunch vb
the Australian equivalent of get one’s knickers in a twist
get one’s rocks off vb
to obtain sexual satisfaction, achieve orgasm, ejaculate. An American vulgarism which became part of the hippy linguistic repertoire; some British users of the expression are unaware that rocks is a direct euphemism for testicles. (In American usage nuts or other terms could be substituted for rocks.) In the later 1970s the phrase was extended to mean to indulge oneself or enjoy oneself generally rather than in a specifically sexual sense. It now sounds dated.
‘But I only get my rocks off while I’m dreaming.’
(Lyric from ‘Rocks Off’, The Rolling Stones, 1972)
get on one’s wick/tits vb British
to irritate, annoy or vex. The ‘wick’ in question, unknown to many speakers, is a now rather archaic shortening of Hampton Wick, rhyming slang for prick (which is nowadays more usually shortened to hampton). In spite of the implied gender difference, both versions of the expression are used indiscriminately by both men and women.
‘It really gets on my tits when someone calls me a career woman.’
(Recorded, female journalist, London, 1986)
get on someone’s case vb American
to harass, badger or interfere. A phrase used with indignation or resentment, typically by an ‘underdog’ to or of an authority figure. The notion on which the expression is based is that of a judge or law-enforcer examining one’s case. ‘Get off my case’ is a widespread negative form.
get on the bag vb American
to act in a more mature or ‘manly’ way. A phrase used exclusively by males, particularly on campus. The bag reference is unclear.
get over vb American
to become a success in white society. An item of black street slang.
get real vb, exclamation
to face up to reality, to behave rationally. A vogue term originating in the USA and widespread elsewhere since the 1980s. Near synonyms are get a life and get a job.
get some poot vb British
to have sex. An item of student slang in use in London and elsewhere since around 2000.
get tapped up vb British
to succeed in meeting/seducing a partner. The phrase is used in working-class speech, particularly in the northeast of England.
‘Couldn’t even get tapped up last night.’
(Away The Lads, BBC 2 TV documentary, February 1993)
get the ass vb American
to become angry, irritated or furious. An item of black street-talk included in socalled Ebonics, recognised as a legitimate
get the horn |
186 |
language variety by school officials in Oakland, California, in late 1996.
get the horn vb
to achieve an erection. A vulgarism employing the horn as a penis metaphor, heard more commonly in the adjective horny. ‘Get the horn’ is now mainly heard in uneducated adult speech and the language of schoolchildren. To be ‘on the (h)orn’ is an alternative form.
get the hump vb British
to become bad-tempered, morose or offended. This common expression is at least 100 years old. The origin of this sense of hump is not clear, although it may refer straightforwardly to a hunchback’s deformity, to a back bent with care, a head dropped in gloom, or a traveller’s burden. In modern cockney usage the phrase is often abbreviated to the adjective humpty.
get the needle, get the dead needle vb British
to become irritated, bitter or vindictive. This expression is one of a number referring to needle in the sense of provoke or annoy. This particular form of words has survived as a working-class Londoners’ phrase since the late 19th century.
get the salmon on prawn vb British
to have an erection. A piece of rhyming slang based on the phrase on the horn. The phrase was chosen as the title of an exhibition of paintings by the young artist Sarah Lucas in London in 1995.
get up one’s nose vb British
to irritate, annoy. A colourful vulgarism used by both sexes since its popularisation in TV comedies of the late 1960s, notably Steptoe and Son and Till Death us do Part.
It really gets up my nose the way he harps on about his work.
get wood vb British
to have an erection. A phrase popularised by Viz comic from the 1990s.
ghetto adj American
cheap, of poor quality, in poor taste, old, broken down. The term is not racist, but is primarily in use among white adolescents.
ghora, gora n
a white person. A Hindi word used by South Asians of several ethnic backgrounds in the UK.
ghora-fied adj
seen as typical or representative of white culture. A term, often pejorative or at least critical, used by British Asians.
ghost1 vb American
to depart, leave. This item of black street slang, adopted also by white adolescents in the 1990s, is probably related to the phrase git ghost.
ghost2 adj American
absent, missing, unseen. A key term from the lexicon of street gangs and aficionados of rap and hip hop since the 1990s. Used in this way the word has evoked disappearance and invisibility in black speech for two decades or more.
They came for us but we was ghost. Get ghost!
ghost turds n pl American
another expression for dust bunnies
gib vb British
to talk gibberish. An item of student slang in use in London and elsewhere since around 2000.
G.I.B. adj American
sexually accomplished and/or sexually active. The euphemistic abbreviation of ‘good in bed’ is spoken as its constituent letters, not as an acronym.
gibbing n British
gatecrashing. This term was in use among bouncers and security men during the 1990s. Its origin is obscure.
gig1 n
a. a musical engagement or performance. One of many terms, originating among pre-World War II jazz musicians in the USA, which were adopted by the rock-music milieu in the 1960s. The exact origin of the word is obscure, but may be related to ‘jig’ in the sense of a dance.
‘These lads are professional musicians and gigs are their bread and butter.’ (News of the World, 29 May 1988)
b. an appointment, session, stint or activity. Particularly in the 1970s, the musicians’ term was extended to refer to any one-off engagement or event (thus sometimes performing as a synonym of trip or scene).
I’ve got the feeling this party isn’t really my gig.
187 |
git |
gig2 vb
to perform at a gig or (more often) a series of gigs. An item of musicians’ jargon.
‘These guys [The Grateful Dead] will be gigging beyond the grave.’
(Independent, 26 February 1988)
gigantic adj British
excellent. A vogue term among British adolescents in the 1990s as an adjective or exclamation.
giggle-stick n
a joint, cannabis cigarette. A jocular expression, typically used by middleclass students or otherwise respectable adults since the early 1970s. It is not part of the lexicon of hardened drug users.
giggle water n
alcoholic drink, particularly champagne or exotic spirits. An ingenue’s jocular expression for the potential cause of unaccustomed hilarity.
gilbert n British See green gilbert
gimme five! exclamation
an invitation to slap palms as a ritualised greeting or sign of solidarity
gimmer, gim n British
a foolish, clumsy or unfortunate person. The words originated as Scottish and northern English dialect terms for a helpless young ewe or old sheep. They are still used primarily as contemptuous descriptions of females.
gimp n
1a. a crippled or lame person, especially an old one. The term is thought to derive from a blend of grandfather and limp. The adjective ‘gimpy’ is applied, often derisively, to anything or anyone clumsy or crippled.
1b. an awkward, ineffectual or clumsy person. By extension from the first sense above. The word is popular among schoolchildren.
2. a sexually promiscuous male
gimpiny n British
a version of gimp 1b in use among students in 2005
ginger n, adj British
(a person who is) homosexual. Rhyming slang from ‘ginger beer’: queer. A piece of pre-World War II London working-class argot which is very much alive in spite of the decline in ginger-beer drinking.
gink n
1. an awkward, ugly, foolish or clumsy person. The word is at least 100 years old
in Britain and America, but its origin is obscure; it may be an invention, or derive from either Scottish dialect or Turkish or Arabic via Romany. Before the 1950s the word also meant simply a person, without the pejorative overtones.
Who’s the shortsighted gink in the corner?
2. British a bad smell, stink. The word, which is probably lowland Scottish in origin, also occurs in the form of the verb ‘to gink’.
Giorgio Armani n British
a sandwich. A rhyming slang phrase heard since the late 1990s. The rhyme is with sarnie and the name of the Italian fashion designer.
gippo n See gyppo
gippy tummy n See gyppy tummy
girl-cott vb
to boycott. A feminist alternative, coined in the 1980s and used both facetiously and seriously.
girlfriend n American
a female companion, member of one’s circle or gang. This use of the word arose among black adolescents in the late 1970s and by the 1990s had become a common term of address among younger females across the USA. The word is sometimes abbreviated to ‘girlf’.
girlie n British
a weak or effeminate person, a sissy. A schoolboy expression of derision adopted facetiously by some adult males.
girl’s blouse n British See big girl’s blouse
gism n
an alternative spelling of jissom
gismo, gizmo n
a gadget, unnamed object. An American armed-forces’ term adopted in Britain since the 1960s.
git n British
an unpleasant or worthless person. Many saloon-bar lexicologists have claimed that this word is an Arabic term of abuse, meaning ‘pregnant camel’, which was imported by servicemen who had been stationed in Egypt. The Arabic word does exist, but was probably noticed by British soldiers because the word git, a southern pronunciation of get (bastard or fool), was already part of their stock of vulgarisms.
git ghost |
188 |
‘A frightfully clever chap called Stephen Fry, sending up all those smug gits who present kids’ TV. (Hmmm… comes across as a bit of a smug git himself.)’ (News of the World, 15 May 1988)
git ghost vb American
to behave discreetly, ‘keep a low profile’. An item of black street-talk that was included in so-called Ebonics, recognised as a legitimate language variety by school officials in Oakland, California, in late 1996.
git-go n American
the outset, beginning. The term is usually heard in the phrase ‘from the gitgo’.
git wid it vb American
to become alert, streetwise, adapt to the current situation. An imitation of the earlier colloquial phrase ‘get with it’, spoken with an Afro-Caribbean accent. An item of black street-talk that was included in so-called Ebonics, recognised as a legitimate language variety by school officials in Oakland, California, in late 1996.
give (someone) a portion vb British
to have sex. The vulgarism describes the sex act from the male point of view and has been popularised in the broadcast media, e.g., by the TV comedy series Hale and Pace in 1996.
give a toss/fuck/flying fuck vb British to concern oneself, care. Almost invariably used negatively, these phrases, recorded since the early 1970s, but perhaps slightly older, are successors to the old dismissive or insouciant expressions ‘(don’t) give a damn/fig’.
See also Kate Moss
give (someone) face vb American
to affront, provoke, deride. An item of black street slang heard in the 1990s.
‘Are you giving me face?
What the hell does that mean?’
(Made in America, US film, 1993)
give head vb American
(to be willing) to perform fellatio. A male term from the 1950s and 1960s, used typically by college students or servicemen during the hippy period of sexual experimentation. The phrase, and indeed the practice, seemed to assume a real and symbolic importance in male sexuality in the USA, far greater than in Britain and Australia. The term has occasionally been applied to cunnilingus. (Since the 1980s the words skull or ‘some skull’
have occasionally been substituted for head.)
‘But she never lost her head, even when she was giving head.’
(‘Walk on the Wild Side’, written and recorded by Lou Reed, 1972)
give it a burl vb See burl
give it beans vb British
to perform energetically, as in dancing or sex. The term was recorded on the Student World website in 2001.
give it large vb British
an alternative form of large it
give it one, give her one vb British
to have sex (with a woman). A male vulgarism which has been commonly heard from the 1980s, both in boastful or assertive male conversation and in parodies thereof. A common elaboration is ‘Give her one for the boys’.
give it some cog vb British
to accelerate, increase power and speed. A motorcyclist’s term since the 1980s. Cog is jargon for gear.
give it some wellie vb See wellie1 1a
give it the berries vb British
to act energetically, increase power and/ or speed. The phrase was used by presenters on the tv car programme Top Gear in 2005.
give it toes vb British
to run away, escape. Recorded from the mid-1980s and heard particularly in the Merseyside area, this is a synonym for the London criminal slang have it away on one’s toes.
give it up vb
to accede to a request for sex
That slapper gives it up easily. give it up! exclamation
a.a demand by a mugger to give up one’s money, possessions, etc.
b.an exclamation of joy or solidarity
In the second sense the phrase became a fashionable cry uttered by aficionados of dancefloor culture since the mid-1990s.
give someone evil(s) vb British
to look menacingly or angrily at. An item of playground slang. Eviling is an alternative form.
give (someone) the arse/boot/heave-ho/ elbow vb Australian
to get rid of, jilt or dismiss someone; variations of give someone the wellie
189 |
gnarly |
give (someone/something) the wellie vb British
a.to dismiss (someone) from work
b.to reject (a partner)
c.to discard (an object).
Compare wellie
In all senses the expression is a variant form of the colloquial give someone the boot.
give (someone) togg outs vb British
to attack, beat up. An item of teenage playground slang of the 1990s, recorded among schoolboys in North London. The origin of the phrase is obscure: tog(g)s might logically mean ‘blows/ punches’ but the word has not been recorded in that sense previously; it may have arisen in black British street slang.
glar, glah n British
paint. A term used by house painters and artists in London which has not apparently been previously recorded in writing. The origin is obscure, although some connection with glare, gloss or glue seems possible.
‘Go on, slop on some more of the old glar.’
(Recorded, mural artist, Vauxhall, London, 1974)
glare vb British
to intimidate. A term used by young street-gang members in London since around 2000.
He was glaring her.
Glasgow kiss n British
a head-butt. The term, sometimes also expressed as ‘Glasgow handshake’, dates from the 1960s. Gorbals kiss is a synonym.
glass n
diamonds or other gems in underworld argot
glasshouse n British
an army prison. The military detention centre at Aldershot barracks had a glass roof in the early years of the 20th century and was notorious for the severity of its regime. Known as the ‘Glass House’ to inmates, it gave its name to other similar establishments.
Glen n British
an easy task. The phrase is based on the rhyme Glen Hoddle (the UK soccer star and manager) and the colloquial term ‘doddle’. An item of student slang in
use in London and elsewhere since around 2000.
glitch n
a snag, an unforeseen fault or malfunction. This piece of aerospace technicians’ jargon from the late 1960s has entered the common vocabulary in the era of high technology, referring particularly to computer problems. It is either a blend of gremlin and hitch, or from a Yiddish version of the German glitschen, meaning to slip.
glitz n
glamour, (pseudo)sophisticated showiness. The word is a blend of glamour, ritzy and glitter and is probably a backformation from glitzy. The term is usually used with a degree of implied criticism; it evokes superficiality and ‘brittleness’. The word seems to have been an invention of journalists and writers in about 1984. In 1985 it was used as the title of a crime thriller by the American author Elmore Leonard.
‘Here [Liberia] there is little glitz to the evangelical churches.’
(Sunday Correspondent, 17 September 1989)
glitzy adj
glamorous, showy. A vogue word from 1985 to 1987, used particularly by journalists, evoking materialistic but superficial glamour. It is generally more negative than positive in its connotations.
See also glitz
glomp vb American
to jump and hug someone from behind. An expression used on campus in the USA since around 2000.
glop vb British
to drink alcohol, particularly to swill beer. A student term of the 1980s.
‘Glop, don’t stop.’
(Slogan in urinal, University of Essex, 1987)
glory-hole n American
a hole in a partition between two toilet cubicles, enabling voyeurism or communication by (usually male) gays
glug vb, n
(to take) a drink or drinks of alcohol. A word which imitates the gurgle of pouring or swallowing.
gnarly adj American
1.excellent
2.awful, inadequate
go |
190 |
Both senses of the word have been beloved by Valley Girls and their teenage imitators in the USA since the mid-1970s. The word is thought to have originated in surfing jargon in the 1960s, referring to the texture of waves. By 1989 Tatler magazine reported the word as being in use among schoolboys at Eton. It is sometimes spelt narly.
go vb
to be sexually active and/or enthusiastic. The word is used in this sense, particularly in Britain, of women by men; its vulgarity was highlighted in the ‘Nudge nudge, wink, wink’ sketch by Eric Idle in the British TV series, Monty Python’s Flying Circus (1970), in which he badgers a fellow drinker with importunate questions such as:.
Your wife…does she go? I bet she does.
See also goer
go ape vb See ape(shit)
goat heaven n
a state of unfettered freedom, enjoyment, indulgence. The phrase, in use since 2000 and of uncertain geographical origin (it is popular in the Caribbean), evokes both bliss and excess.
go at it vb British
to have sex. A vulgar euphemism popular with adolescents in the mid-1990s. The colloquial phrase denotes any vigorous performance, but its meaning has become specified in slang usage.
‘They can’t wait to go at it, both of them!’
(Recorded, London University student, October 1996)
gob1 n British
the mouth. The word was originally Irish and Scottish Gaelic for beak or mouth, becoming a British dialect term in about the 16th century. It is still more widespread (and considered less vulgar) in Ireland, in Liverpool, where the influence of Irish speech is strong, and in the north of England, where the influence of post-Gaelic dialect lingers. In southern England it is mainly a schoolchildren’s word.
gob2 vb
to spit. The ritualistic spitting at groups performing on stage indulged in by punks from 1976 onwards was known as ‘gobbing’.
gobble, gobble off vb, n
(to perform) oral sex, particularly fellatio. A vulgarism which is most widespread in Britain.
gobby adj British
excessively loquacious, boastful. Based on gob, the term is a slang version of the colloquial ‘gabby’.
go belly-up vb
a.to die
‘Just another fat junkie who went bellyup.’
(Tatler, October 1989)
b.to fail or collapse. Said typically of a business or other venture.
‘He lost all his equity when the firm went belly-up in the recession of ’81.’
(Wall Street, US film, 1987)
These senses are based on the image of a dying fish or a supine dead animal.
c. to give in, yield, submit. This refers to the animal behaviour whereby the soft underparts are exposed to an adversary as a sign of submission.
gob-grabbing n British
passing illicit objects or substances covertly from mouth to mouth. An item of prisoners’ slang.
‘If you went to hug a fellow-prisoner, wouldn’t he suspect you of attempting a “gob-grabbing”…?’
(Will Self writing in the Evening Standard magazine, September 1993)
gob job n British
an act of oral sex, usually referring to fellatio. A vulgarism from the late 1960s.
go blow! exclamation
used for telling someone to go away
‘So take a piece of u own medicine and GO BLOW (oops did dat offend u?).’
(Recorded, contributor to www.wassup.com, November 2003)
go Borneo vb American
a.to get drunk
b.to behave outrageously, go too far
Both senses are preppie terms indicating a regression to a supposed primitive jungle mentality, influenced by the numerous ‘wild men of Borneo’ featured in travelling freak shows and the wrestling ring over the years. (The original tales of wild men living in the unexplored jungles of Borneo probably arose from the first reports of the orang-utan.)
191 |
goggy |
gobshite n British
a contemptible person. A Liverpudlian and northern term of abuse which, since the 1960s, has spread to other areas of Britain including London. It usually indicates great distaste or contempt (gob refers to the mouth and shite to excrement; both are regional vulgarisms).
gobslutch n British
a slovenly, messy person; someone with dirty personal habits, especially eating habits. A term from the north of England, heard in the long-running TV soap opera
Coronation Street. (Gob refers to the mouth, ‘slutch’ is a variant form of slush.)
gobsmacked, gob-struck adj British astonished, struck dumb, left openmouthed in amazement. From gob. These are originally Liverpudlian terms and are now widespread, used even by
Sloane Rangers and yuppies, thanks initially to usage on TV comedies set in Liverpool. The expressions enjoyed a vogue in popular speech and journalistic use from 1988. The phrases originally referred to a victim gaping after literally being punched in the mouth.
‘He had expected to pay one tenth of the price and was said to be “gobsmacked” at the final cost.’
(Independent, 21 September 1989)
gobsmacking adj British
astonishing. A more recent derivation of gobsmacked.
‘… but when Casaubon observes, “Life isn’t simple, the way it is in detective stories”, the gobsmacking banality can only be the author’s.’
(Hugo Barnacle reviewing Umberto Eco, Independent, 14 October 1989)
go bush vb Australian
to go native, become countrified.
See also bush1; bushie
go commando vb British
to dispense with underwear when otherwise clothed. The expression probably did originate in military usage but by 2005 was in use among fashion designers, journalists etc.
God-botherer n British
an excessively pious person or a clergyman. A mainly middle-class expression applied particularly to institutional holy men such as prison and army chaplains, or to members of evangelical movements. The phrase has inspired the more
frivolous non-specific insult, dog-both- erer.
God forbids n pl
children, kids. The rhyming-slang phrase is synonymous with saucepan lids and dustbin lids, and was still in use in 2004.
Try not to wake up the God forbids.
go down vb American
to take place, happen. A phrase from black street slang which became widespread in the later 1960s.
go down (on) vb
to perform oral sex. The term is used by, and applied to, both sexes; until the late 1960s it was a predominantly American expression. Elaborations used by highschool and college students included ‘go down like water/like a submarine’ (usually indicating shock at a person’s readiness to indulge in this behaviour).
God squad, the n British
the forces of organized religion, especially in evangelical form. The phrase has been applied scornfully to the Salvation Army, doorstep zealots and university Christian Unions alike, from the late 1950s to the present.
goer n
a sexually active and enthusiastic person; in the past, almost always said of women by men. The word can express admiration and approval or astonishment, though rarely moral disdain.
gofer n
a minion or assistant who runs errands or delivers messages, etc. The word, originally an Americanism from the film industry (where it is now a job title), is a pun on ‘go for (something)’ and gopher, the North American burrowing rodent
gogglebox n
a television set. This term has been in use since the late 1950s. At first used pejoratively by those disapproving of TV, then ironically by viewing enthusiasts, the word is now semantically neutral.
goggles n pl
spectacles, or someone wearing them. A schoolchildren’s word.
goggy n British
a misfit, a pupil rejected by schoolfellows. This invented term was reported by Tatler in September 1989 to be in current use at Eton College. (Synonyms are gunk, spod, Wendy and zoid.)
go home |
192 |
go home vb
to shut up, cease, desist
going for gold vb British
expending maximum energy, displaying maximum effort. This 1990s usage borrows the cliché phrase from the language of sports and competitions.
‘Everyone’s up by the speakers, going for gold.’
(New Age tribal dancer, Exodus: The Diary, Channel 4 TV documentary, 12 November 1995)
going in n British
‘chatting up’ a stranger of the opposite sex. The term is part of the language of dating in use among adolescents in the later 1990s and was included in Just Seventeen magazine’s ‘lingo of lurve’ guide to teenage jargon in August 1996.
going through n British
engaging in an argument or dispute, usually with a romantic partner or close friend. The term is part of the language of adolescents in use in the later 1990s and was included in Just Seventeen magazine’s ‘lingo of lurve’ guide in August 1996.
goit n British
a foolish and/or grotesque person. The term, possibly based on ‘goitre’, was used in and possibly coined for the cult BBC TV comedy series, Red Dwarf.
G.O.K. adj
undiagnosable or undiagnosed, it is an abbreviation of ‘God only knows’. Jocular medical shorthand, e.g. as written on a patient’s notes.
goldbrick vb American
1.to shirk, idle or loaf. In this sense the word is often used in an armed-service context.
2.to swindle. The reference is to painted ‘gold’ bricks sold by fraudsters.
golden adj American
exceptional, superlative. The standard adjective used figuratively (as in a ‘golden opportunity’) was adopted as a vogue term by Californian high-school students in the 1990s, particularly to categorise a valued or admired friend. The term was featured in the 1994 US film Clueless.
golden showers n
urine or urination. A joky euphemism derived from the jargon of prostitution, in which urination is part of the sexual rep-
ertoire. An alternative term is water sports.
gome, gomer n American
a tediously studious fellow pupil or student, a swot. A preppie and teenage term based on the name (‘Gomer’ Pyle) of a fictional comic television character who personifies cloddishness. Perhaps coincidentally, gomeril or gomerel are archaic British dialect words for a simpleton.
gomey n Irish
a stupid person. The word is related to the Scottish gommie and the American gomer, all deriving from older dialect words for a simpleton which in turn come from the Old English guma, meaning man, which is a cognate of the Latin humanus and the word from which (bride)groom derives.
gommie n British
a foolish, stupid or gormless person. The term is heard particularly in the Scottish Lowlands and the north of England. It is related to the Irish gomey and the American gomer.
gone adj
a. in a euphoric state; ecstatic from the effects of drugs or music. The term is from the slang of jazz musicians of the 1950s, adopted by beatniks and hipsters. It now seems comically dated.
I tried talking him out of it, but he was totally gone on booze and reefer.
b. inspiring ecstasy or euphoria; said especially of music and usually preceded by ‘real’
some real gone jazz a real gone chick
gonef n American
an alternative spelling of ganef
gong n
1. British a medal. The use of the word derives predictably from its resemblance to the metal gong which was ceremoniously sounded in colonial days, itself named from an echoic Malayan word.
‘Tony Hart, Tory leader of Kent County Council, may not be in line for the usual gong dished out to holders of his office.’
(Private Eye, April 1989)
2. South African a Chinese person. Recorded as an item of Sowetan slang in the Cape Sunday Times, 29 January 1995.
gongol n British
an idiot, an unfortunate simpleton or buffoon. The word is a blend of goon and
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goofball |
‘mongol’ and was briefly a vogue term among London schoolchildren from 1979.
gonk n British
a dull-witted, buffoonish or grotesque person. Gonk was services’ slang in the 1950s for sleep (probably from ‘conk out’), but the word was used as a trademark name for troll-like dolls in the late 1960s. It is from this source that the word as a term of abuse or contempt arose, just as muppet did in the late 1970s. Gonk was applied by schoolchildren to unfortunate fellow-pupils and by hospital staff and police to the mentally retarded.
gonof n American
an alternative spelling of ganef
gonzagas n pl American
female breasts. Gonzaga is a Spanish proper name, but is used in this sense by analogy with earlier humorous synonyms garbonzas and gazungas.
gonzo adj
unrestrained, hedonistic, extremist as a style, particularly a journalistic style popularised by the late Hunter S. Thompson in his articles for Rolling Stone magazine in the early 1970s. Gonzo is said to be an earlier hipster term made up of gone and the ‘-o’ ending (with a median s or z to aid pronunciation), but is more likely to be a straightforward borrowing of the Italian gonzo, meaning foolish.
‘He was responsible for pioneering the style of modern journalism known as “Gonzo”: the freewheeling and often selfindulgent method which has been copied by countless writers.’
(I-D magazine, November 1987)
goobatron n
a foolish person, a nerd. An adolescent elaboration of goober heard in the late 1980s.
goober n American
a.a spot or pimple
b.a foolish person, especially one small in stature
c.a gob of spit
All senses of the word are derived from a southern American term for a peanut which is an Americanisation of the Kongo word nguba.
good afternoons n pl South African prominent buttocks. The term is used appreciatively and jocularly, invariably by males, of a female’s posterior. It was recorded as an item of Sowetan slang in
the Cape Sunday Times, 29 January 1995.
good oil, the n Australian
the truth, an utterly accurate and/or admirable statement
good plan, Batman! exclamation British a cry of agreement or approval. An armed-forces and public-school version, possibly earlier, is ‘Good plan, that man!’.
goods, the n
1.the real thing, first rate merchandise
2.incriminating information, evidence
goody-goody, goody-two-shoes n
an offensively virtuous or diligent person. The second phrase is more often heard in the USA; it derives from the heroine of a children’s story and implies a dislikable prissiness.
‘Superman’s naïve, a goody-two-shoes. Batman busts heads.’
(Joe Lihach of Village Comics, Observer, July 1989)
gooey n American
a girlfriend. A fashionable, but probably ephemeral term among teenagers in late 1987 and 1988. It was probably influenced by ‘gooey-eyes’ (romantic looks).
How’s your gooey?
gooey nectar n American
an attractive girl, a particularly good-look- ing girlfriend. A teenagers’ vogue word from late 1987 combining gooey (a girlfriend) with ‘nectar’ (a pretty girl).
goof1 n
a gormless, awkward or foolish person. Originally a rural British dialect word, goof became widely used between the two world wars all over the Englishspeaking world, particularly in the USA.
goof2 vb American
1.to blunder, make a mistake, fail. The verb postdates the noun form of the word.
2.to stare or look vacuous. A teenage term from goofy.
3.to indulge in wordplay, improvise poetry. A word and an activity popular with the more literary beats in the 1950s.
goofball n American
1.a slow-witted and/or clumsy person. A mildly derogatory term derived from goof and goofy.
2.an illicit drug, typically a tranquilliser or barbiturate which renders the user slow or inert