Urban Dictionary may have originally started as a joke, but the online authority of all things slang is now a legitimate source on what popular sayings mean —and a ton of the words published in their pages are commonly accepted vernacular.
As raunchy as it can be at times, Urban Dictionary has gone mainstream — I mean, it’s even used in some courtrooms to define culturally acceptable slang terms. Doesn’t get much more legit than that. Of course, being the crowdsourced slang resource that it is, none of the words were actually invented by Urban Dictionary. However, many (including some of the words below) have since been added to more traditional dictionaries— and others may have been in old-school dictionaries first, but the peeps at Urban Dictionary just defined them better.
In honor of our ever-changing English language, here are the big pop culture words we think everyone needs to know.
Warning: Some strong language ahead (NSFW)
1. A crapella — singing (badly) while listening to music through headphones
2. Ann Curry-ed — being fired unexpectedly and/or without cause
3. Askhole — an individual who asks ridiculous, obnoxious or irrelevant questions (this is often chronic behavior)
4. Awesome sauce — something that is more awesome than awesome (awesome topped with awesome sauce)
5. Baby bump — the protruding abdominal region of a woman when she starts to become noticeably pregnant (often creates speculation a woman is pregnant even when it’s the result of bloating or the way clothes fall)
6. Badassery — actions or behavior that are amazing or unbelievable; the act of being a badass
7. Beer me — please, get me a beer (can also be used figuratively to ask for anything to be passed or retrieved for the speaker)
8. Bitchy resting face — the state of a face while not emoting in which the individual looks hostile or judgmental
9. Bitcoin — electronic currency that can be transferred securely without the need of a third party (such as a bank or PayPal)
10. Blamestorming — usually in a business setting, the act of attempting to identify who was to blame for a failure or problem, rather than trying to brainstorm a solution
11. Boomerang child — a child who moves out to start his or her own life, then returns home to live (often as a result of the economy, but possibly due to irresponsibility of some kind)
More: Why Do People Ask for ‘Bump Pics’ on Facebook?
12. Bromance — 1) as a noun or adjective, two heterosexual males with such a close relationship they appear to be romantically involved; 2) as a verb, the act of attempting to become closer to a fellow heterosexual male (usually through acts similar to romancing a woman, such as flattery, gifts and spending alone time)
13. Bropocalypse — a large gathering of adult males with the sole mission of getting drunk (such as at a fraternity party)
14. Bye Felicia— exclamation used when a person announces they are exiting, but other people in the area don’t care; adapted from 2005 film Friday starring Chris Tucker and Ice Cube
15. C-note — a $100 bill (where C stands for centum, the Latin word for 100)
16. co*ck block — 1) referring to a slang term for male genitalia, the act of preventing a man from getting somewhere (getting to know, getting a date or having sexual relations) with a man or woman he is interested in; action may be committed by a male or female; 2) in traffic, to cut someone off
17. Cougar — an older woman who prefers the romantic company of much-younger men
18. Crackberry — a slang term for a mobile phone brand (BlackBerry) that implies its user is addicted to the device
19. Crunk — 1) a replacement for foul curse words (popularized by a joke on Conan O’Brien); 2) a combination of crazy and drunk, meaning crazy drunk (may also refer to people who are high); 3) a style of rap music popular in the South; 4) something at a high level (e.g., volume) or something awesome; 5) to have a good time
20. Cyberslacking— using one’s employer’s Internet and email for personal activities during work
Next Up: Words from Urban Dictionary – Designated drunk
A version of this article was originally published in January 2014.
