Jamaica Slang, Jargon, and New Words from Double-Tongued Dictionary

Associated with or special to Jamaica or Jamaican people, places, or things. You can also see entries assigned to this category.

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bammy n. At breakfast in his Kingston hotel next morning, a somewhat discouraged Satin was browsing through the local newspaper when his eye fell on a small news item: a group of women in the village of Brown’s Hall were struggling to make ends meet selling something called Bammy bread. “I asked the waitress about it and she told me Bammy was a local bread made from the cassava root that people ate years ago. It was once the favourite accompaniment to a number of dishes, including fish, but you hardly saw it anymore.“ [English Jamaica Food & Drink] [full cite] (Mar. 23, 2007)

batty boy n. The star, who is signed to Virgin Records, told BBC London his lyrics had been misconstrued. He said the term “batty boy”—widely perceived to be a derogatory term for a gay man—actually meant a child molester. [English Jamaica Sex & Sexuality] [full cite] (Mar. 19, 2005)

batty man n. In Jamaican patois slang, “batty man” and “chi chi man” are the equivalent of “poof” and “faggot.“ [English English-based Creole Jamaica Sex & Sexuality] [full cite] (Jun. 26, 2004)

bills n. I remember the first time I saw a Jamaican $100 bill. It was at home in St. Thomas and an “uncle’ was visiting from the United States.…I do not know when the $100 became a “bills,“ as it is commonly referred to (it has been more recently referred to as a “dollar,“ no doubt as its purchasing power falls). Of course, the $500 note is known as a “Nanny.“ [English Jamaica Money & Finance Slang] [full cite] (May. 31, 2007)

bly n. “Bly,“ for instance, is an opportunity to escape an unwanted chore, as in “De rain gimme a bly—me na haffe go a wuk.“ [English Jamaica] [full cite] (Jan. 9, 2005)

bowing n. She has ruffled many a feather by taking on the great masculine taboo of “bowing” (cunnilingus) with her single “Do It to Me,“ and sees testosterone-fuelled dancehall’s tendency toward homophobia as “ridiculous.“ [English English-based Creole Jamaica Sex & Sexuality] [full cite] (Dec. 26, 2004)

browning v. I am what Jamaicans call a “Browning”…So what is a “Browning” exactly. I am a Jamaican of mixed ethnicity. [Jamaica] [full cite] (May. 18, 2004)

browning n. The assumptions are that beauty is not obviously black; although, in the context of Jamaica, and perhaps the rest of the English-speaking Caribbean, it is not overtly Caucasian and aquiline. Something in between translates in Jamaican parlance to “browning,“ the mixed-raced person legitimised by beauty contests and endorsed in popular culture. [English Jamaica Race] [full cite] (Jan. 23, 2007)

browning n. Some students once met a radio personality and marvelled that she was a “browning.” This host speaks the real Jamaican patois and they thought she would be “jet black.” Why? Because brownings don’t talk like that of course. [English Jamaica Race] [full cite] (Nov. 11, 2007)

butu n. Whichever of these two political parties form the next government, Jamaica would have lost because they have clearly demonstrated an unwillingness and inability to stop political violence. We, Jamaicans, will therefore continue to be ridiculed by other Caribbean nationals and peoples of the world who consider us barbarians or as we say in Jamaica parlance “butu.” [English-based Creole Jamaica Derogatory] [full cite] (Jul. 24, 2007)

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