So I've been busy revising. (Which I am thrilled about.) And it's funny, once I get my butt in the chair (a writer's biggest challenge, no?) it's amazing how fast I fall into that teenage voice. My girls are blabbling away a million miles a minute and it's like I'm just taking notes. I surprise myself with their sarcasm and witty phrases. Sometimes I laugh out loud and think, "Where do they come up with this stuff?"
And then I think long and hard about the weirdos I hang out with and the strange vernacular we've developed. For example, the Jersey boys call hair "lettuce." Here it is in a sentence:
"Suzie, that's some crazy lettuce you got goin' on this morning."
We also use the word "melon" as a synonym for head:
"H, look at the size of that girl's melon. It's enormous!"
And when one of us wants to bail from a sticky situation or disappear into a shady one, we call it a "houdini." Used as a verb:
"Gregg Bell, I cannot believe you houdinied again last night! Where did you go?"
Sometimes these words pop up in my work. And sometimes they just riddle my real life. What wacky terms are in your vocabulary?
xoxo,
Suzanne
About Me
- Suzanne Casamento
- Author of Fingerprints, Choosing Tally, and All the Moments in Between. Tweet me @suzannecasamento
Cheese weezle - Used for many occasions but mostly when someone is just being bad (in a dorky funny kind of way). Then they get the "You're such a cheese weezle!!"
ReplyDeleteOh Cheez-its!! - Used instead of Oh Jesus!! Cheez-its don't mind if you take their name in vain.
Why are they both cheeze related?
When I was in highschool a group of guys made up all these weird expressions and before long everyone was using them. Instead of saying, "Who cares?" we'd say "Oranges" and long before people were texting lol, we'd say "Goomf" for "Get out of my face." We actually had a whole section in the yearbook for all the phrases. It wouldn't surprise me if some of those guys are working for Websters, looking for strange new ways to inject weirdness into society :)
ReplyDeleteI usually manage not to cuss in front of the kids. That doesn't mean the desire is gone. Kid friendly curses in my repertoire include Jiminy Christmas, Holy Moly, Good Grief (I feel like I'm in a Peanuts comic strip when saying this), Gadzooks!, Fudgesickles!, and Jeepers!. My husband and I also enjoy the word Wisenheimer, as in, don't be such a wisenheimer.
ReplyDeleteThose are funny terms! I am going to use the houdinied one...
ReplyDeleteI say "Judas Priest" instead of swearing (okay I sometimes slip and say sh@t) in front of my kids...but I TRY not to. :0)
OMG too many to list. We do use melon and houdini - but never lettuce. I will be adding lettuce into my repertoire.
ReplyDeleteSome of my favorites:
lid = hair usually but also used for head
man up = grow up, grow a set, get it together
suck it up = quit complaining & get it together
rack = boobs, chest
shade out = get all weird, become shady, disappear similar to a houdini
revolving door = when you have multiple men/women in your romantic life, one is always coming or going
overlap = to date/hook up with multiple people or to never break up with someone until you have the next one lined up
choppers = teeth
dawgs = 2 meanings: feet or guys
holes & poles = girls & guys
fark = f**k
shillnitz = s**t
And many, many more.
I think I used the word brainage yesterday. Does that count?
ReplyDeleteBeing a computer geek, we do have our own slang and math humor is a high art. But the average guy on the street is not going to care.
ReplyDeleteI once came up with a pronunciation dictionary for a high school teacher who mangled the English language regularly - in an honors class that was a mix of English and History.
But what do I use? There's some Southern slang in my vocabulary. I might could do this or that. I'm usualy not fixing to do it though.
Did you know the plural of y'all is all y'all?
We did talk about the fruit basket turnover which generally happened in the Spring when most of the people I knew changed partners. But this is a gay term, hence the fruit. Not sure what to use for, um, breeders. ;-)
I am SO using "shaded out."
ReplyDelete"Dude, what happened to ____________ last night? He totally shaded out..."
Hee hee hee.
Hmm! A lot of the lingo above I actually know and use! I'm so excited. Years ago a delivery driver I had used the phrase " I almost ate tree"
ReplyDeleteI still love that phrase even though it meant my van almost hit a tree!!! (as I recall with my daughter in it)
Holy moly!! I must be getting older :)
I'll houdini now. ;)
"For the love of monkeys!" = for crying out loud.
ReplyDelete"I smell your shrimp" = I get your meaning.
"Spark plugs" = tampons
"Jelly bear" = an excrutiating leg cramp that occurs in the middle of the night when sleeping
"fantabulous" = fantastic and fabulous
Dang, this post makes me realize how old I am. I'm so old I can't even think of one.
ReplyDeleteMy rememberizer aint working ...