United States Slang, Jargon, and New Words from Double-Tongued Dictionary

Associated with or special to the United States or American people, places, or things. You can also see entries assigned to this category.

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bacunclíner n. For instance, the thing that frightens cats as it sucks dirt from the carpet? In Spanglish, it’s a bacunclíner. Breakfast cereal of any sort: confley or sometimes, chirio. A job of less than 40 hours is un partain, perhaps at Berguerquín. [Spanglish United States Florida] [full cite] (Dec. 26, 2004)

bahl gorms n. The “Boontling” Knox refers to is a sort of argot or private language valley locals developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries using the syntax of English but substituting parts for wholes or referring to things by their uses or their most famous users. For example, a pay telephone rendered in Boontling is a “bucky walter” because a man named Walter Levi owned the first telephone in Anderson Valley and a call on early pay phones cost a nickel, which in those days was the buffalo nickel, nicknamed a “bucky.” Phone booths on the streets of Boont (Boonville) still bear signs identifying each of them as a bucky walter, such as the one outside the Horn of Zeese Cafe (the name is Boontling for cup of coffee), where a bright- lighter (city slicker) can score some bahl gorms (good food) unless he/she wants to drive the extra six miles to Poleeko (Philo). [English United States California] [full cite] (Jul. 8, 2004)

bajadero n. Since the black market abhors a vacuum, it was perhaps inevitable that the border would see the rise of the bajadero—loosely translated, a chicken-stealing member of the underworld, who makes money kidnapping illegal immigrants from their smugglers, holding them for ransom and in the worst case killing them if not paid promptly. [Spanish Mexico United States] [full cite] (Oct. 21, 2004)

bammer adj. bammer adj., n.—We don’t smoke that shit in the SFC. Don’t gimme no bammer weed. In fact don’t give me no bammer anything. [English United States California Slang] [full cite] (Nov. 11, 2004)

bang the books v. When I went to the field, I saw things like voucher fraud and banging the books—which means time and attendance fraud—and some of us were bitterly disappointed about that. But we rationalized that we were fighting a bigger enemy and every [organization] has fraud. [English United States Crime & Prisons Money & Finance Police] [full cite] (Oct. 6, 2004)

Bangalored adj. An online anti-outsourcing website is marketing a T-shirt with the legend “Don’t Get Bangalored,” a term suggesting losing one’s job to outsourcing. [English India United States Technology] [full cite] (Jul. 23, 2004)

bank v. The 16-year-old said she was “banked,” a street word meaning she was ganged up on, by East Side girls. She was hit and scratched and her hair weaves were pulled out. [English United States Slang] [full cite] (Jun. 14, 2004)

bank v. Candy, constantly sucking her finger, says she thinks her nose is broken from a recent fight. “Two girls banked me,” she explains. [English United States Slang] [full cite] (Jun. 22, 2004)

bank v. The Bella Vista Boys—named, in a fashion, after the Baltimore neighborhood Belle Vista—didn’t just blame Rabb, they “banked” him, or ganged up on him to teach him a lesson. [English United States Slang] [full cite] (Jun. 22, 2004)

bark mitzvah n. In the long walk of history between man and dog, the bark mitzvah could be seen as an unexpected pit stop. Yet it was celebrated on Saturday night in the Bronx in a traditional way, with a party for family and friends of the 13-year-old that included a chopped-liver sculpture, choruses of “mazel tov!” (or, in this case, “muzzle tov!”), a cantor and gifts. [English Hebrew United States Animals, Insects, & Birds] [full cite] (Dec. 20, 2004)

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