I heard this today and laughed at how much people used to say it:
"you lie like a rug"
And then I cringe every time I hear people say:
"I know - right"
"shot at point blank range" projectile weight, propellant mixture and volume, temperature, barrel length, all effect what is point blank range.
"decimated the forest" so they cut down 1 tree out of 10?
Five Dollar footlongs - When you buy two Just say 2 for 10.
I haven't heard it today yet, but it almost never fails on some football day I hear "Johnny on the spot".
The two I hate are:
"My bad"
"Fake News" - At least when it is used to mean "news I refuse to believe" without any verification.
I also hate "people are saying" when nobody is saying that.
"decimated the forest" so they cut down 1 tree out of 10?
Lots of words change meanings over time, and the historical Roman use of "decimate" has not been used in our lifetime. It's been used as a synonym for "devastate" or "lay waste to" for several centuries. Plenty of Latin words have expanded meanings over the past millennia - century, forum, ovation, sinister. Not saying you can't be bothered by it, but you must be an old soul to have heard its historical use.
@2112 how about "a lot of people don't know" when referring to things that are commonly known.
It has always bothered me to hear people call me or others "Dude". Feels so disrespectful to not use our name. Maybe its why they use it?
It has always bothered me to hear people call me or others "Dude". Feels so disrespectful to not use our name. Maybe its why they use it?
I think it depends on the context and tone, like if you see a friend "hey dude" in an upbeat voice as in hello. Or they could say "hey dude" in an annoyed voice as in stop what you are doing, why are you doing that, etc.
Or if somebody only says "dude" in response meaning I don't like what you just did, I don't believe what you just said or something like that.
In certain instances I wouldn't want to be called dude and other times I'd be fine with it.
Suppose Bro and Brah is the new 'dude'.
I also do not like being told "safe travels". I have two friends and a few other people who always say this to me. Me on the other hand, since I don't like that phrase, I come up with different ways to say that like 'hope your travel goes well today' or something like that. More wordy...I'm not sure why I don't like that one. I don't like "no worries" either. That one started out as more of a hipster type thing which didn't bother me much, then when it got adopted by random regular people it started to annoy me.
Oh, and I also don't like "my bad".
I hate "safe travels" especially back when we used to fly all the time. We don't have any control over how safe our travels are & that saying immediately injects the idea that our trip might be unsafe. I prefer someone to say "have a good trip."
I also hate this newish tendency to shorten everything - like obviously becomes obs. Just sounds lazy.
The two I hate are:
"My bad"
"Fake News" - At least when it is used to mean "news I refuse to believe" without any verification.
I also hate "people are saying" when nobody is saying that.
agreed
old one I liked, more of an insult in jest - Eat xxx and choke on the corn
I hate mindless bridging phrases like "that being said" or "at the end of the day". Just reflexive filler. It's even more annoying when it's in written correspondence like an email - just get to the point. Some people write like they are trying to hit the word count on a college paper.
One of my favorite old sayings is, "well if a chicken had lips, it could whistle".
I hate "safe travels" especially back when we used to fly all the time. We don't have any control over how safe our travels are & that saying immediately injects the idea that our trip might be unsafe. I prefer someone to say "have a good trip."
I also hate this newish tendency to shorten everything - like obviously becomes obs. Just sounds lazy.
That is annoying, especially since the correct abbrev is obvi, obvi.
😉
I hate mindless bridging phrases like "that being said" or "at the end of the day". Just reflexive filler. It's even more annoying when it's in written correspondence like an email - just get to the point. Some people write like they are trying to hit the word count on a college paper.
One of my favorite old sayings is, "well if a chicken had lips, it could whistle".
In the final analysis...I agree!
I heard Johnny on the spot today. A full day of watching enough games, you're going to hear it.
@nebish football commentators are full of dumb sayings. When you have to talk for 3 hours straight, dumb phrases become a crutch.
Reminds me, I worked in a mail room years ago. My boss had the same small talk conversation with every delivery person - FEDEx, UPS, USPS, DHL, etc. Then you realize the delivery person has the same conversation with everyone they see through out the day. Most would just go on auto-pilot - "how's the weather?"; "Working hard or hardly working?"; "Is it Friday yet?" No wonder some of them are cranky, every day is a small series of groundhog days. Made me think of the "Making copies" character on SNL. Inane, reflexive chatter.
It is what it is 😬
Side-hustle. Dislike!
Sounded too hipster-ish for Willie Geist to be saying a couple months ago, now when radio ads and my square friend start using it, yeah, it is a big dislike.
It's not a saying, but one of my pet peeves is abbreviations or initials that aren't universal. Whether it's universities (UT, OSU, UW, even FIT, can refer to several schools) or internet short hand (if you need to abbreviate "For What it's Worth" as FWIW you probably don't need to write it at all) whatever time saved writing or saying it is wasted after having to clarify it.
And I see grown ups doing it. I corresponded with a musician thinking his name was "Ty" for a week before he told me his name was "Brian". Another guy I know would write "SMH" at the end of his posts which could have gone in a lot of directions.
At one of my wife's races, one of her fellow runners kept saying "bequeued" so often that I had to ask what it meant. It sounded like a cool word. "B.Q.", she clarified. Like, Brooklyn-Queens? No, Boston Qualified. Oh, of course!
I mean, sure, if you're in Tennessee, then University of Tennessee is "UT", but if you're in Texas it no longer is. I think the rule in academic writing is you have to establish the short hand once. When in doubt, just say or type the whole word(s)!
@porkchopbob All those cutesy abbreviations! I'll scream if I hear BOLO, YOLO or especially any of those tabloid labels applied to celebrity couples (Brag-gelina, TomKat etc). I am about as open-minded a person as you can find but I can never get the abbreviation for LGBTQ ... is that correct? And I swear - for the longest, I thought Q-anon was a support group for gay people who wanted to stay in the closet.
Can't stand permutations of "the greatest witch hunt in American History" to cover lies and guilt.
@cyclone88 Color me old and confused. That acronym - especially the "Q" part - not unlike the "N word". A little uncomfortable with it. Should a "hetero" use this word in mixed public?
I find the entire LGBTQ language & thought police exhausting. How are we supposed to know if someone is Queer (I hear it used every day by straights so I assume it's ok) or Questioning? Maybe it should be LGBTQQ. The real problem for me is "gender fluid" & "gender identity." Again, if someone is fluid and identifying w/a different gender each day, it's hard to keep up. I had a recent grad tell me the most stressful thing about his high school was keeping up w/everyone's shifting pronouns. He's going the USNA so I don't think it will be an issue there.
It's all been downhill since the Jazz Era.
A
- A hummer (n.): exceptionally good. Ex., “Man, that boy is a hummer.”
- Ain’t coming on that tab (v.): won’t accept the proposition. Usually abbr. to “I ain’t coming.”
- Alligator (n.): jitterbug.
- Apple (n.): the big town, the main stem, Harlem.
- Armstrongs (n.): musical notes in the upper register, high trumpet notes.
B
- Barbecue (n.): the girl friend, a beauty.
- Barrelhouse (adj.): free and easy.
- Battle (n.): a very homely girl, a crone.
- Beat (adj.): (1) tired, exhausted. Ex., “You look beat” or “I feel beat.” (2) lacking anything. Ex, “I am beat for my cash”, “I am beat to my socks” (lacking everything).
- Beat it out (v.): play it hot, emphasize the rhythm.
- Beat up (adj.): sad, uncomplimentary, tired.
- Beat up the chops (or the gums) (v.): to talk, converse, be loquacious.
- Beef (v.): to say, to state. Ex., “He beefed to me that, etc.”
- Bible (n.): the gospel truth. Ex., “It’s the bible!”
- Black (n.): night.
- Black and tan (n.): dark and light colored folks. Not colored and white folks as erroneously assumed.
- Blew their wigs (adj.): excited with enthusiasm, gone crazy.
- Blip (n.): something very good. Ex., “That’s a blip”; “She’s a blip.”
- Blow the top (v.): to be overcome with emotion (delight). Ex., “You’ll blow your top when you hear this one.”
- Boogie-woogie (n.): harmony with accented bass.
- Boot (v.): to give. Ex., “Boot me that glove.”
- Break it up (v.): to win applause, to stop the show.
- Bree (n.): girl.
- Bright (n.): day.
- Brightnin’ (n.): daybreak.
- Bring down ((1) n. (2) v.): (1) something depressing. Ex., “That’s a bring down.” (2) Ex., “That brings me down.”
- Buddy ghee (n.): fellow.
- Bust your conk (v.): apply yourself diligently, break your neck.
C
- Canary (n.): girl vocalist.
- Capped (v.): outdone, surpassed.
- Cat (n.): musician in swing band.
- Chick (n.): girl.
- Chime (n.): hour. Ex., “I got in at six chimes.”
- Clambake (n.): ad lib session, every man for himself, a jam session not in the groove.
- Chirp (n.): female singer.
- Cogs (n.): sun glasses.
- Collar (v.): to get, to obtain, to comprehend. Ex., “I gotta collar me some food”; “Do you collar this jive?”
- Come again (v.): try it over, do better than you are doing, I don’t understand you.
- Comes on like gangbusters (or like test pilot) (v.): plays, sings, or dances in a terrific manner, par excellence in any department. Sometimes abbr. to “That singer really comes on!”
- Cop (v.): to get, to obtain (see collar; knock).
- Corny (adj.): old-fashioned, stale.
- Creeps out like the shadow (v.): “comes on,” but in smooth, suave, sophisticated manner.
- Crumb crushers (n.): teeth.
- Cubby (n.): room, flat, home.
- Cups (n.): sleep. Ex., “I gotta catch some cups.”
- Cut out (v.): to leave, to depart. Ex., “It’s time to cut out”; “I cut out from the joint in early bright.”
- Cut rate (n.): a low, cheap person. Ex., “Don’t play me cut rate, Jack!”
D
- Dicty (adj.): high-class, nifty, smart.
- Dig (v.): (1) meet. Ex., “I’ll plant you now and dig you later.” (2) look, see. Ex., “Dig the chick on your left duke.” (3) comprehend, understand. Ex., “Do you dig this jive?”
- Dim (n.): evening.
- Dime note (n.): ten-dollar bill.
- Doghouse (n.): bass fiddle.
- Domi (n.): ordinary place to live in. Ex., “I live in a righteous domi.”
- Doss (n.): sleep. Ex., “I’m a little beat for my doss.”
- Down with it (adj.): through with it.
- Drape (n.): suit of clothes, dress, costume.
- Dreamers (n.): bed covers, blankets.
- Dry-goods (n.): same as drape.
- Duke (n.): hand, mitt.
- Dutchess (n.): girl.
E
- Early black (n.): evening
- Early bright (n.): morning.
- Evil (adj.): in ill humor, in a nasty temper.
F
- Fall out (v.): to be overcome with emotion. Ex., “The cats fell out when he took that solo.”
- Fews and two (n.): money or cash in small quantity.
- Final (v.): to leave, to go home. Ex., “I finaled to my pad” (went to bed); “We copped a final” (went home).
- Fine dinner (n.): a good-looking girl.
- Focus (v.): to look, to see.
- Foxy (v.): shrewd.
- Frame (n.): the body.
- Fraughty issue (n.): a very sad message, a deplorable state of affairs.
- Freeby (n.): no charge, gratis. Ex., “The meal was a freeby.”
- Frisking the whiskers (v.): what the cats do when they are warming up for a swing session.
- Frolic pad (n.): place of entertainment, theater, nightclub.
- Fromby (adj.): a frompy queen is a battle or faust.
- Front (n.): a suit of clothes.
- Fruiting (v.): fickle, fooling around with no particular object.
- Fry (v.): to go to get hair straightened.
G
- Gabriels (n.): trumpet players.
- Gammin’ (adj.): showing off, flirtatious.
- Gasser (n, adj.): sensational. Ex., “When it comes to dancing, she’s a gasser.”
- Gate (n.): a male person (a salutation), abbr. for “gate-mouth.”
- Get in there (exclamation.): go to work, get busy, make it hot, give all you’ve got.
- Gimme some skin (v.): shake hands.
- Glims (n.): the eyes.
- Got your boots on: you know what it is all about, you are a hep cat, you are wise.
- Got your glasses on: you are ritzy or snooty, you fail to recognize your friends, you are up-stage.
- Gravy (n.): profits.
- Grease (v.): to eat.
- Groovy (adj.): fine. Ex., “I feel groovy.”
- Ground grippers (n.): new shoes.
- Growl (n.): vibrant notes from a trumpet.
- Gut-bucket (adj.): low-down music.
- Guzzlin’ foam (v.): drinking beer.
H
- Hard (adj.): fine, good. Ex., “That’s a hard tie you’re wearing.”
- Hard spiel (n.): interesting line of talk.
- Have a ball (v.): to enjoy yourself, stage a celebration. Ex., “I had myself a ball last night.”
- Hep cat (n.): a guy who knows all the answers, understands jive.
- Hide-beater (n.): a drummer (see skin-beater).
- Hincty (adj.): conceited, snooty.
- Hip (adj.): wise, sophisticated, anyone with boots on. Ex., “She’s a hip chick.”
- Home-cooking (n.): something very dinner (see fine dinner).
- Hot (adj.): musically torrid; before swing, tunes were hot or bands were hot.
- Hype (n, v.): build up for a loan, wooing a girl, persuasive talk.
I
- Icky (n.): one who is not hip, a stupid person, can’t collar the jive.
- Igg (v.): to ignore someone. Ex., “Don’t igg me!)
- In the groove (adj.): perfect, no deviation, down the alley.
J
- Jack (n.): name for all male friends (see gate; pops).
- Jam ((1)n, (2)v.): (1) improvised swing music. Ex., “That’s swell jam.” (2) to play such music. Ex., “That cat surely can jam.”
- Jeff (n.): a pest, a bore, an icky.
- Jelly (n.): anything free, on the house.
- Jitterbug (n.): a swing fan.
- Jive (n.): Harlemese speech.
- Joint is jumping: the place is lively, the club is leaping with fun.
- Jumped in port (v.): arrived in town.
K
- Kick (n.): a pocket. Ex., “I’ve got five bucks in my kick.”
- Kill me (v.): show me a good time, send me.
- Killer-diller (n.): a great thrill.
- Knock (v.): give. Ex., “Knock me a kiss.”
- Kopasetic (adj.): absolutely okay, the tops.
L
- Lamp (v.): to see, to look at.
- Land o’darkness (n.): Harlem.
- Lane (n.): a male, usually a nonprofessional.
- Latch on (v.): grab, take hold, get wise to.
- Lay some iron (v.): to tap dance. Ex., “Jack, you really laid some iron that last show!”
- Lay your racket (v.): to jive, to sell an idea, to promote a proposition.
- Lead sheet (n.): a topcoat.
- Left raise (n.): left side. Ex., “Dig the chick on your left raise.”
- Licking the chops (v.): see frisking the whiskers.
- Licks (n.): hot musical phrases.
- Lily whites (n.): bed sheets.
- Line (n.): cost, price, money. Ex., “What is the line on this drape” (how much does this suit cost)? “Have you got the line in the mouse” (do you have the cash in your pocket)? Also, in replying, all figures are doubled. Ex., “This drape is line forty” (this suit costs twenty dollars).
- Lock up: to acquire something exclusively. Ex., “He’s got that chick locked up”; “I’m gonna lock up that deal.”
M
- Main kick (n.): the stage.
- Main on the hitch (n.): husband.
- Main queen (n.): favorite girl friend, sweetheart.
- Man in gray (n.): the postman.
- Mash me a fin (command.): Give me $5.
- Mellow (adj.): all right, fine. Ex., “That’s mellow, Jack.”
- Melted out (adj.): broke.
- Mess (n.): something good. Ex., “That last drink was a mess.”
- Meter (n.): quarter, twenty-five cents.
- Mezz (n.): anything supreme, genuine. Ex., “this is really the mezz.”
- Mitt pounding (n.): applause.
- Moo juice (n.): milk.
- Mouse (n.): pocket. Ex., “I’ve got a meter in the mouse.”
- Muggin’ (v.): making ’em laugh, putting on the jive. “Muggin’ lightly,” light staccato swing; “muggin’ heavy,” heavy staccato swing.
- Murder (n.): something excellent or terrific. Ex., “That’s solid murder, gate!”
N
- Neigho, pops: Nothing doing, pal.
- Nicklette (n.): automatic phonograph, music box.
- Nickel note (n.): five-dollar bill.
- Nix out (v.): to eliminate, get rid of. Ex., “I nixed that chick out last week”; “I nixed my garments” (undressed).
- Nod (n.): sleep. Ex., “I think I’l cop a nod.”
O
- Ofay (n.): white person.
- Off the cob (adj.): corny, out of date.
- Off-time jive (n.): a sorry excuse, saying the wrong thing.
- Orchestration (n.): an overcoat.
- Out of the world (adj.): perfect rendition. Ex., “That sax chorus was out of the world.”
- Ow!: an exclamation with varied meaning. When a beautiful chick passes by, it’s “Ow!”; and when someone pulls an awful pun, it’s also “Ow!”
P
- Pad (n.): bed.
- Pecking (n.): a dance introduced at the Cotton Club in 1937.
- Peola (n.): a light person, almost white.
- Pigeon (n.): a young girl.
- Pops (n.): salutation for all males (see gate; Jack).
- Pounders (n.): policemen.
Q
- Queen (n.): a beautiful girl.
R
- Rank (v.): to lower.
- Ready (adj.): 100 per cent in every way. Ex., “That fried chicken was ready.”
- Ride (v.): to swing, to keep perfect tempo in playing or singing.
- Riff (n.): hot lick, musical phrase.
- Righteous (adj.): splendid, okay. Ex., “That was a righteous queen I dug you with last black.”
- Rock me (v.): send me, kill me, move me with rhythm.
- Ruff (n.): quarter, twenty-five cents.
- Rug cutter (n.): a very good dancer, an active jitterbug.
S
- Sad (adj.): very bad. Ex., “That was the saddest meal I ever collared.”
- Sadder than a map (adj.): terrible. Ex., “That man is sadder than a map.”
- Salty (adj.): angry, ill-tempered.
- Sam got you: you’ve been drafted into the army.
- Send (v.): to arouse the emotions. (joyful). Ex., “That sends me!”
- Set of seven brights (n.): one week.
- Sharp (adj.): neat, smart, tricky. Ex., “That hat is sharp as a tack.”
- Signify (v.): to declare yourself, to brag, to boast.
- Skins (n.): drums.
- Skin-beater (n.): drummer (see hide-beater).
- Sky piece (n.): hat.
- Slave (v.): to work, whether arduous labor or not.
- Slide your jib (v.): to talk freely.
- Snatcher (n.): detective.
- So help me: it’s the truth, that’s a fact.
- Solid (adj.): great, swell, okay.
- Sounded off (v.): began a program or conversation.
- Spoutin’ (v.): talking too much.
- Square (n.): an unhep person (see icky; Jeff).
- Stache (v.): to file, to hide away, to secrete.
- Stand one up (v.): to play one cheap, to assume one is a cut-rate.
- To be stashed (v.): to stand or remain.
- Susie-Q (n.): a dance introduced at the Cotton Club in 1936.
T
- Take it slow (v.): be careful.
- Take off (v.): play a solo.
- The man (n.): the law.
- Threads (n.): suit, dress or costume (see drape; dry-goods).
- Tick (n.): minute, moment. Ex., “I’ll dig you in a few ticks.” Also, ticks are doubled in accounting time, just as money is doubled in giving “line.” Ex., “I finaled to the pad this early bright at tick twenty” (I got to bed this morning at ten o’clock).
- Timber (n.): toothpick.
- To dribble (v.): to stutter. Ex., “He talked in dribbles.”
- Togged to the bricks: dressed to kill, from head to toe.
- Too much (adj.): term of highest praise. Ex., “You are too much!”
- Trickeration (n.): struttin’ your stuff, muggin’ lightly and politely.
- Trilly (v.): to leave, to depart. Ex., “Well, I guess I’ll trilly.”
- Truck (v.): to go somewhere. Ex., “I think I’ll truck on down to the ginmill (bar).”
- Trucking (n.): a dance introduced at the Cotton Club in 1933.
- Twister to the slammer (n.): the key to the door.
- Two cents (n.): two dollars.
U
- Unhep (adj.): not wise to the jive, said of an icky, a Jeff, a square.
V
- Vine (n.): a suit of clothes.
- V-8 (n.): a chick who spurns company, is independent, is not amenable.
W
- What’s your story?: What do you want? What have you got to say for yourself? How are tricks? What excuse can you offer? Ex., “I don’t know what his story is.”
- Whipped up (adj.): worn out, exhausted, beat for your everything.
- Wren (n.): a chick, a queen.
- Wrong riff: the wrong thing said or done. Ex., “You’re coming up on the wrong riff.”
Y
- Yarddog (n.): uncouth, badly attired, unattractive male or female.
- Yeah, man: an exclamation of assent.
Z
- Zoot (adj.): exaggerated
- Zoot suit (n.): the ultimate in clothes. The only totally and truly American civilian suit.
My father had two expressions that came probably from WWII or were from 1930's or 40's San Francisco expressions
1. Your a$$ sucks canal water
2. You sound like a man with a paper a$$hole
I cracked up every time he said either...of course they both meant that you were full of $hit
A whiskey glass & a woman’s ass has made a horse’s ass out of many a good man
old expression I like
