Read Dictionary of Contemporary Slang Online
Authors: Tony Thorne
Dictionary of Contemporary Slang (88 page)
Jimmy Durante(s)
n pl Scottish
female underwear. The name of the jazz pianist of the 1940s has been borrowed as a rhyme for
panties
.
Compare
big jimmies
jimmy-hat
n
a condom. The term, common in the USA since the 1970s, also occurs in the form âjim-hat' and was used by the black comedian Lenny Henry in a televised monologue in November 1993.
Jimmy Riddle
n British
an act of urination. A childish and jocular term derived from rhyming slang for
piddle
.
jinelz, ginuls, ginulz
n Jamaican and British
a fraud, swindle or a fraudster, âcon-artist'
Those high-street special offers are a
rip-off
, your classmates are out to trick you out of your pocket money â and that girl who says she likes you just wants to be paid the Cineplex ('treated to a movie'). UK
Youth
suffer from self-doubt just like the rest of us and âyoof-speak' has its own term to describe both the schemers and the schemes.
Probably borrowed from a Jamaican grannie but re-spelled to make it look cool, it's a fair guess that the youngsters, of a range of ethnicities, who say or text it are ignorant of its colourful history. âGinnal' is Caribbean patois, a local pronunciation of â(con)genial', and it describes a sort of anti-hero of Afro-Caribbean folklore, a smooth-talking trickster, typically an urban loafer who swindles out-of-towners or a woman who deceives a naïve suitor. In the UK playground, just as in the original folk-tales, the one who successfully
jams
or
jumps
(outwits) you is often admired while the poor victim is mocked.
That bargain phone contract is just a jinelz. Don't trust 'im, 'e's a jinelz
.
jingle
n
1.
British
cash, money, coins. A term used in raffish circles since the 1930s, if not earlier. It has also been recorded in Australian speech.
I'm a bit short of jingle
.
2.
American
a telephone call. An American version of the British
bell
or
tinkle
, as in âgive me a jingle'.
jissom, jiss, jizz, jism, jissum, gism
n
semen. A word of unknown origin, dating from the 19th century in the USA and by the early 1970s in use all over the English-speaking world.
jitter
n, adj British
(something or someone) unpleasant, obnoxious. In playground usage since the 1990s.
jive
1
n
1.
deceitful or pretentious talk or behaviour, nonsense.
See also
jive talk
2.
a style of fast dancing to accompany swing music or rock 'n' roll
Both senses of the term originate in black American slang of unknown etymology (it may be from jibe in the sense of change tack, manoeuvre â in conversation or dance â but is more probably derived from a West African dialect term).
3.
American
marihuana. A now obsolete usage.
jive
2
vb
1.
to deceive, tease, browbeat. A black American term from the early 20th century which enjoyed a vogue among black and white speakers in the late 1980s. For the possible origins of the word, see the noun form.
âIt was always about the man, how they were going to jive the man into giving them a million dollars.'
(
The Switch
, Elmore Leonard, 1978)
2.
to dance in a fast energetic style which corresponded in the 1940s to swing music and from the 1950s to rock 'n' roll
jive-ass
adj American
deceitful, pretentious, worthless. A black expression combining
jive
(worthless or deceitful talk or behaviour) and the suffix
-ass
.
I don't want no jive-ass honky lawyer jerkin' me around
.
jive talk
n
a style of speech using black musicians' slang and picturesque rhythmic phraseology, originally developed to accompany swing music of the 1930s and 1940s. The vocabulary and cadences of jive talk were adopted by American teenagers in the early 1950s. Jive talk was combined with
bop
talk to influence much of the vocabulary of the later
hipsters
and
beatniks
.
jizz-ball
n American
an obnoxious, repellent, despicable person. A teenage insult based on the variant form of
jissom
and coined by analogy with earlier terms such as
scuzz-ball
.
JK
phrase
âjust kidding'. The reassurance is usually written, typically online or in texting.
JLD
adj
âjust like dad' in medical shorthand, sometimes added after
FLK
, e.g., on a patient's notes
joanna
n British
a
piano
. A rhyme on the cockney pronunciation of the instrument.
Give us a tune on the old joanna
.
See also
Jewish typewriter/piano/pianola/joanna
Joan of Arc
n Australian
a
shark
. A piece of native Australian rhyming slang. An alternative is Noah's Ark.
job
n
1.
a crime. This widespread term occurs in expressions such as âpull a job' and in specific forms such as âbank-job', âsafe-job', etc. The word was first used in this sense in the 17th century, usually in the context of theft.
2.
a person, thing or action. An allpurpose term for a contraption, specimen or piece of handiwork.
a six-cylinder job
Who's the little blonde job by the door?
job (someone)
vb
1.
to hit or beat (someone) up. Job is an old dialect variant of jab which has been preserved in this working-class Australianism. The word was used in the same sense in Britain in the 1950s, by street gangs for instance.
2.
American
to deceive, cheat or ruin (someone). A rare late 1980s usage which is a shortening of âdo a job on (someone)'.
jobbed
adj
framed
,
fitted-up
, informed upon, deceived, victimised or otherwise taken advantage of. An item from the vocabulary of the underworld.
jobbie
n British
1.
also
jobbies
an act of defecation, excrement. A mock nursery word which is used euphemistically by adults, deriving from expressions such as
big jobs
.
2.
an allpurpose word for âthing'. This variation of the colloquial
job
may also be used as a replacement for a forgotten word or name. The term was defined on the internet by
Bodge World
in 1997.
Hand me that big jobbie on the top thereâ¦
jobbie-jabber
n British
a male homosexual. The term was one of many synonyms denoting âactive' or âpredatory' homosexuality heard since the 1990s.
Fudge-nudger
and
turd burglar
are synonyms based on the same supposed association with excrement.
jock
n
1a.
British
a Scot. Since the 19th century this has been the universal nickname for Scottish males, derived from the northern diminutive for John.
1b.
British
an unnamed male. The word is used, sometimes dismissively, either as a term of address or as a description.
Ask jock over there what he's drinking
.
2.
a disc jockey. A piece of American radio jargon adopted in other English-speaking areas in the 1970s.
3.
American
an athlete or sportsman. This campus term can now also apply in some cases to sportswomen, in spite of its origin as a shortening of jock strap. Although it can be said affectionately and is a term used by sportsmen about themselves, the word often has overtones of excessive heartiness, brawn, aggression or lack of intelligence.
âAnd the jock shall dwell with the nerd and the cheerleader lie down with the wimp and there will be peace upon the campus.'
(
Observer
, 29 May 1988)
jockey
vb South African
to help, particularly by a temporary loan of money. Recorded as an item of Sowetan slang in the
Cape Sunday Times
, 29 January 1995.
jocks
n pl Australian
underpants, usually male. The word is a shortening of âjockey-pants' or âjockey-shorts'.
joe
n
1.
an ordinary man, chap,
bloke
. Originally an Americanism, this use of the name spread to other English-speaking areas in World War II.
2.
a fool, dupe, victim or weakling. In this sense the word is used by tricksters, prostitutes and prison inmates, among others, and probably derives from the cockney
joey
, itself short for Joey Hunt, rhyming slang for
cunt
. (Cunt previously meant a foolish, unfortunate or pitiable person, rather than a despicable one.)
3.
American
coffee
âI'm not just some kind of machine you can turn on. I need a cup of joe, a trip to the little boys' room, a glance at the sports pages. Then we'll talk.'
(
Moonlighting
, American TV series, 1988)
Joe Blake
n Australian
a
snake
. An item of native Australian rhyming slang. The eponymous Joe Blake is probably fictitious.
Joe Blakes, the
n Australian
the D.T.s
(delirium tremens): a fit of uncontrolled trembling as a result of alcoholism. Australian rhyming slang for the
shakes. See also
Joe Blake
joey
n
1.
British
a fool, dupe, victim or weakling. The word is from London working-class usage, deriving from
joe
or Joey Hunt, rhyming slang for
cunt
which, in cockney speech until the 1950s, referred to a foolish or unfortunate, rather than a despicable person. Joey is currently used by teenagers to refer to a timid or unpopular fellow-pupil or gang member.
2.
Australian
an effeminate man, fop, hermaphrodite or sodomite. It is uncertain whether this usage is derived from the previous sense or the following one.
3a.
Australian
a young kangaroo. The origin of this term is not the English Christian name but an identical Aboriginal name.
3b.
Australian
a baby
4.
British
a package smuggled in or out of a prison, in the jargon of prison inmates
john
n
1.
a prostitute's customer. John was a 19th-century term for a male sweetheart which was adopted by prostitutes as an allpurpose form of address and later as a synonym for client.
âHe liked it during the day, the cute ladies sitting around playing music, laughing at things he said. But he didn't care for the white Johns any, their attitude.'
(
The Switch
, Elmore Leonard, 1978)
2. the john
a toilet. Originally a more genteel American version of the archaic âjack' or âjock' and the almost obsolete
jakes
, all euphemisms for a privy.
3.
British
an arrest. A rare example of police and criminal jargon of the 1960s, from the rhyming slang âJohn Bull':
pull
.
4.
the penis. A fairly rare but recurring usage. Other personifications, such as
John Thomas, willie, peter, percy
, etc., are much more common.
5.
British
a condom. A shortening of âjohnnie (bag)' or
rubber johnny
.
John Bull
adj Australian
drunk. This witticism is a rhyme on
full
in its euphemistic sense of intoxicated.
He was totally John Bull by three-thirty in the arvo
.
johnnie, johnny
n British
a condom, contraceptive sheath. This is the most widespread slang term in British
use since the 1940s, although in the 1960s and 1970s it was more usually in the phrases âjohnnie bag' or
rubber johnny
. John or johnny is, among many other appellations, a 19th-century personification of the penis.
Johnny (Vaughan)
n British
1.
porn(ography)
2.
yawn
The rhyming slang borrows the name of the TV and radio presenter.
Johnny Cash
n
1.
Australian
cannabis. An item of native Australian rhyming slang for
hash
, appropriating the name of the late American country music star.