ace: To finish something easily, with success. “Tammy aced her math test!”
action: n 1. sexual activity. “Did you get some action last night?”
afro: n 1. a large, almost spherical hair style generally attributed to people of African descent. Often abbreviated “fro”.
airhead: stupid person. “Believe it or not, John can sometimes act like an airhead!”
amigo: friend (from Spanish). “I met many amigos at John’s ESL Cafe.”
amped : adj 1. excited. “Dude, I’m so amped that the concert is this weekend!” 2. angry or upset. “Damn, he was amped!”
antifreeze: alcohol. “I’m going to need a lot of antifreeze tonight!”
armpit: dirty, unappealing place. “This cheap motel is an absolute armpit!”
awesome: Amazing. “That was an awesome movie.”
awesome: great and impressive “John’s ESL Cafe is truly awesome!”
a-yo: 1. a greeting. Synonymous with “Hey!”, “What’s up
baby boomer: a person born from the end of World War II- 1957 “Hugh was born in 1957, so he’s considered a baby boomer.”
bad adj 1. very good, excellent; COOL, AWESOME.
bag n 1. to acquire “I bagged the job I interviewed for!”
bah exclamation 1. used to convey surprise or disgust. “Bah! Did that really just happen?”.
bail on v 1. to leave or abandon. “You’re not going to bail on me, are you?” leave abandon
bail out v 1. to leave or abandon. “Are you bailing out on me?”
ball (1): a fun time. “I really had a ball in John’s ESL class.”
bananas adj 1. unbelievable; RIDICULOUS, CRAZY. “That Chris tucker movie was bananas.”
bang (1): a very powerful thing. “Disneyland is really a bang!”
bang (2): a powerful effect. “Japanese sake really has a bang!”
banging v 1. to be very attractive. “She’s banging!”
barf (1): vomit. “My dog barfed all over the carpet.”
barn door n 1. the fly (zipper) on one’s pants. “Your barn door is open.”
Barney n 1. an unattractive male. “He is such a Barney.”
bash: big, exciting party. Did you go to Dan’s bash last night?
Batman and Robin adj 1. inseparable. May also mean that one person is the leader and the other is the sidekick. “Those two are so Batman and Robin.”
be real v 1. to be truthful. 2. to act as oneself – to not put on a facade.
be straight-up v 1. to be truthful. 2. to proceed immediately to the matter at hand. To “get to the point.” “I’ll be straight-up with you and tell you what’s really going on at the factory.”
beat adj 1. tired. “After running a few miles, I was beat.”
big dog n 1. the best at something; THE MAN. “He is the Big-Dawg!” superior
big-time adj 1. in a grand way “After she wrecked her parents car, she was in trouble big-time.”
bimbo n 1. an unintelligent female. See also mimbo.
bird n 1. a female, usually attractive. Origin: British. “That bird is fine!”
bitching adj 1. very good, excellent; COOL, AWESOME. Origin and notes: Bitching is a somewhat dated term that has made several comebacks. It is rare to hear it today. Believed to have originated in the surfer crowd of California, USA. (“That’s a bitching bike!”) cool
bite v 1. to be of poor quality, displeasing. “That movie really bites.”
bite me 1. a command, similar to “F_ck off!” (i.e. “Leave me alone!” “Go away!” etc.) Note: not considered vulgar but usually considered inappropriate in more formal settings. insults (list of)
bite the big one v 1. to die or to get killed. (“Do you think Joe will bite the big one?”) Submitted by TJ DeDe, Phoenix, AZ, USA, 19-04-1998.
bite the dust v 1. to die.
blast adj 1. extremely fun. (“That party was a blast!”) fun cool
blow v 1. to be of poor quality, displeasing. “That movie really blew.”
blow up v 1. to become extremely angry. “He totally blew up at me after I wrecked his car.”) 2. to significantly increase in one’s socio-economic status. “I’m go blow up when my album is released.”
blue: Sad. “Mary is feeling blue because her cat died.”
bogart v 1. to steal or hog. “Don’t bogart my cookies!”
bomb v 1. to fail. (“That movie bombed in the theatres.”) 2. to be disappointing. (“That party bombed.”) 3. to put graffiti on something; TAG. Also bomber (a person who “bombs,”) etc. (“Phase one was one of the best train bombers.”)
bomb, the adj 1. very good, excellent, the best; COOL, AWESOME. Also bomb. (“That new CD is the bomb!” “That movie is bomb!”)
boogie: To dance. “Rick likes to boogie for hours!”
boot-leg n 1. an unauthorized copy. “I got a boot-leg tape of the concert last night.” -v 1. to transfer unauthorized material. “He boot-legs music on the black market.”
bouncer n 1. security, generally at a club, bar, or party. “I pushed the girl that slapped me and the bouncers threw me out.”
boy toy n 1. a male with whom one has an intimate relationship. Note: carries heavy sexual connotations, implies that the male is nothing more than a toy.
bozo adj 1. general insult. Approximately “moron” or “idiot.” “You are such a bozo.”
bra n 1. brazier. “Why don’t you buy your girl a lacy bra for her birthday?”
brain: very intelligent person. “Bill Gates must be a brain”
brainy: Very intelligent, like a genius. “Sue is brainy.”
bread n 1. money. (“I need to drop by the bank to get some bread.”) money
break camp v 1. to hurry. “Come on, guys, break camp!”) Submitted by Butterfly, TX, USA, 24-10-1997. hurry
break wind v 1. to flatulate. (“It stinks in here, somebody is breaking wind.”) Submitted by Greg Young, South Lake Tahoe, CA, USA, 21-03-1998.
breezy n 1. a female. 2. a girlfriend. (“You could be my breezy.”) Submitted by Joanne, San Diego, CA, USA, 05-12-2002.
brick-and-mortar n 1. a “traditional” business with a physical presence. Contrast with dot-com.
broke: Without money. “Lou spent all his money at the casino so now he’s broke.”
broken adj 1. neat, good, etc.; COOL. (“Man, thats pretty broken.”)
brutal 1. extremely horrendous, embarrassing or harsh. Also brutes and bruty. (“It was brutes when Stanford got knocked out of the Final Four.” “Dude, that was a brutal way to break up with your girlfriend!”)
buck wild adj 1. uncontrollable, uncivilized; CRAZY. (“I’m tired of going to parties where everybody is buck wild.”)
buff adj 1. muscular. (“He is buff.”) muscular
built adj 1. muscular. (“She is built.”) muscular
bum v 1. to be sad. (“Are you bumming about her again?”) 2. to “borrow” something that you need but don’t have. Etymology: from bums (homeless people,) who “borrow” money, cigarettes, etc. (“Do you mind if I bum a few dollars from you for lunch?”) 3. butt. Origin: British. (“He fell his bum.”) sad buttocks borrow request
bust adj 1. with a displeasing outcome. (“That party was a bust.”)
butch adj 1. masculine. Used to describe masculine females. Typically connotes that the woman is (or may be) a lesbian. (“That girl is so butch
buzz v 1. to call on a telephone. (“Give me a buzz when you reach home.” “I’m going to buzz them later.”)
catch some rays: get some sunshine. “Let’s go to the beach and catch some rays.”
check out: To look at, watch, examine. “We’re going to check out that new movie.”
cheesy: cheap; outmoded. “Why are you wearing such cheesy clothes?”
chicken out: To lose the courage. “Mary was planning to race but then chickened out.
chicken: coward. “Don’t be such a chicken!”
chocoholic: Person addicted to chocolate. “I ate a box of chocolates. I must be a chocaholic!”
deck: to hit someone. “His wife almost decked him when he returned home with lipstick on his shirt.”
dicey: unpredictable; risky. “Gambling is a dicey occupation.”
dinero: money (from Spanish). “I wish I had more dinero!”
drip: A boring person. “Lisa says her new roomate is a drip.”
el cheapo: something cheap. “Since I don’t make much money, I always purchase the el cheapo brand.”
evil: great; excellent. “Your car is really evil!”
eyeball: to stare long and hard at someone or something. “John eyeballed his daughter’s new boyfriend.”
fab: fabulous. “John’s Cafe is really fab!”
face-off: confrontation. “I think it’s time we had a face-off.”
fart [offensive]: to expel intestinal gas. “It’s embarrassing to fart on the first date.”
fishy: Suspicious. “Mrs. Smith thought it was fishy that her neighbor had so many visitors at night.”
gab: To chat. “Amy likes to gab on the phone with her best friend.”
geek: someone who works too hard, is more intelligent than usual, and is slightly unattractive. “Bill Gates is kind of a geek.”
get it: to understand something. “Sorry, but I just don’t get it.”
get naked [possibly offensive]: to completely relax and have a good time. “Let’s get naked tonight!”
grand: a thousand dollars. “ I made 30 grand last year.”
grub: food. “I’m hungry. Let’s get some grub.”
hairy: difficult; dangerous. “The steep and windy road was really hairy.”
hammered: drunk. “Jim had nine beers so now he’s hammered.”
hang a left: make a left turn. “Hang a left at the next corner.”
hang a right: make a right turn. “Hang a right at the next corner.”
hot: Sexy. “Sam says his new girlfriend is hot.”
hot: Sexy.”That stereo is hot!”
hungover: Tired from drinking too much the day before. “He’s really hungover!”
hunk: handsome man. “Sue thinks that Tom Cruise is a hunk.”
I.D.: identification. “If you want to order a beer, you’ll need your I.D.”
icky: unpleasant. “The food is really icky in the school cafeteria.”
I’m outta here: I’m leaving; I’m departing. “Sorry, but I’m outta here, dude.”
jack around [possibly offensive]: waste time. “Will you please stop jacking around?”
jam (2): improvise (musically). “I’d love to jam with Bon Jovi!”
jam, in a (1): trouble. “If you’re in a jam, I promise to help you.”
K (k): a thousand. “I could retire with 100 K (k)!”
kick back: relax and enjoy. “I wish I could kick back at the beach today.”
kick off: die. “My dog finally kicked off.”
knockout: beautiful woman. “Miss Universe is a knockout.”
laid back: relaxed; calm. “I always feel laid back at the beach.”
lame: incompetent. “John is really lame when is comes to fixing his car.”
lift: To steal. “While Bob was on the train, someone lifted his wallet.”
lip: cheeky talk. “My students are always giving me lip!”
loaded: Rich. “Many people who live in Beverly Hills are loaded.”
make waves: cause problems. “Teachers don’t like students to make waves.”
max, to the : maximum. “I’m happy to the max.”
mega: Big. “American restaurants serve mega portions of food.”
mula: Money. “I took a lot of mula to the casino but when I returned, I didn’t have as much!”
munchies: Snacks, like potato chips, popcorn, pretzels. “Let’s get some munchies at the baseball game.”
nada: nothing (from Spanish). “I know nada about politics.”
neat: cool; great. “Isn’t my new car neat?”
noid: someone that’s paranoid. “Why are you so noid?”
on cloud nine: Very very happy. “Chris just won a million dollars so he’s on cloud nine!”
pad: someone’s home. “Can I sleep at your pad tonight?”
party animal: someone that loves parties. “Dave has been known to sometimes be a party animal.”
party: celebrate. “Let’s party tonight!”
penny pincher: cheap, stingy person who rarely spend money. “Megan never goes to restaurants because she’ssuch a penny pincher.”
quarterback: leader. “Dave is the quarterback of Dave’s ESL Cafe.”
racket (1): noise. “Small kids can make a lot of racket.”
racket (2): something that’s dishonest or deceptive. “The Tobacco Industry is quite a racket.”
racket (3): an occupation. “I’ve been in the ESL racket for fourteen years.”
scarf: to eat. “I can easily scarf an entire banana split.”
screw up: to make a mistake. “I screwed up on the driving test, so I didn’t pass.”
screw-up: a person who makes a mistake. “Why are you such a screw-up?”
shopoholic: person who is addicted to shopping. “Sandra is a shopholic. She always goes shopping!”
snooze: To sleep.I snoozed on the bus for a few minutes this morning!
stuff: things (but used as a singular, non-count noun). “I have to buy some stuff at the grocery store”
super: Great. “Tom is a super singer.”
take off: To leave. “Ann took off before the meeting was announced.”
thou: thousand. “I need to borrow a hundred thou.”
threads: clothing. “My wife spent $900 on new threads.”
ticked: Angry. “He’s really ticked because his friend had a party but didn’t invite him.”
umpteen: many; countless. “I’ve asked you umpteen times to show me the money!”
unlax: relax. “Dave needs to definitely unlax with his family.”
upbeat: Positive. “Theresa is very upbeat.”
upchuck: vomit. “She got sick and upchucked three times.”
vanilla (1): plain. “She drives a vanilla car.”
vanilla (2): Caucasian. “The Midwest is too vanilla for me.”
wacko: crazy person. “Some reporters say that famous pop singer is a wacko.”
wad: roll of money. “It’s dangerous to carry a big wad in your pocket.”
wasted: killed. “A lot of people get wasted in the streets of New York.”
wheels: car; motorcycle. “If you want to live in Los Angeles, you’ve got to get some wheels.”
whine: To complain. “I wouldn’t want to work with Chris because he always whines about everything!”
wicked: Amazing. “That was a wicked movie.”
windbag: a boring person who talks too much (negative). “Joe’s speech was over an hour long at the meeting. His co-workers think he’s a windbag.”.
workaholic: person who is addicted to working. “Bob works very long hours. His wife thinks he’s a workaholic.”
yank (1): bother; harass. “Stop yanking me, okay?”
Yank (2): a Yankee; an American. “Dave is a Yank.”
zero: an unimportant person. “If you don’t work hard, you’ll end up a zero.”
zip (1): nothing. “I don’t know zip about you.”
zip (2): energy; vigor. “I need something that will give me more zip. “
Ideas on how to use this reference material in the ESL classroom at:
http://foxhugh.com/list-of-lists/
WereVerse Universe Baby!
