Brooklynisms
CliffB
http://www.lampos.com/brooklyn.htm
Brooklynisms
Collected by Jim Lampos and Michaelle Pearson
Collecting Brooklynisms is an ongoing project for Michaelle and
me. These are slang words or expressions that have originated in, or are
unique to the great and colorful borough of Brooklyn, NY--one of the last
places in this country that hasn't been flattened by TV and the shopping
mall culture. We've avoided terms that are strictly ethnic, such as
Sicilianisms or Yiddishisms, unless they are generally used among different
groups within Brooklyn. We invite all Brooklyn natives and scholars to
contribute words, phrases, and corrections.
(6/11/02: We've gotten so many great emails lately---I've
decided to put all the credits at the end so the site is easier to read.
Thanks everybody for your contributions. Keep 'em comin!)
Wallear: (Wah LEE ah) To have an uncontrollable jones for
something. " I've got such a wallear for a calzone."
Chips: You break it, you bought it. Example: "Hey man, can I
borrow your bike?" "Sure, but chips" (Denis Hammil recalls the use of
"chips" in his NY Daily News column of March 5, 2002: "Chips on the ball,"
Ivanicich would call, which meant that if any of us "roofed" his Spaldeen,
everyone would have to chip in to pay for a new ball.)
Johnny Pump: Fire hydrant.
"Not For Nuttin' But.....": A phrase often used before telling
someone the truth. As in, "not for nuttin' but, that guy you hang out with
is a real duh-ta-duh."
Duh-ta-duh: A mook, idiot or oaf.
Skully Cap: A bottle cap filled with melted wax, usually from
crayons. Used in playing skelsie, or skully.
Skelsie/Skully: A children's street game.
Skel: A junkie, street-person, or lowlife. Usage picked up by
the cops in the 1980's.
Boss: What your local deli or bodega guy calls you when he
doesn't know your name. It's a term of good will. He might even call you
"Big Boss", which is even better. You don't want to be called "Pal" or
"Buddy", since it usually has sarcastic overtones. If he calls you "Chief",
you're really in trouble.
Weasel Deal: A deal that's not quite on the up and up...like
getting that cheap stereo that "fell off the truck" or getting a "discount"
on your cable hookup.
Stoop: The front stairs of your building, where you sit and
gossip about the neighbors.
"She Thinks Who She Is.....": She's got a very high opinion of
herself.
Schmeboygah: A slob of a guy.
Salugi/Saloogi: A game of "keep away" that kids play, whereby
some kid's hat is stolen, and other kids continually taunt him by throwing
it past him or over his head to someone else. Usually the same kid is picked
on all the time. It is a widely-held theory that mayor Rudy Giuliani was
often the victim of salugi. (Mr. John Burke wrote us to say that he heard
"salugi" used in the 1940's on his block--115th St. between Amsterdam and
Morningside in Manhattan. Thanks for your email John!)
Scootch (Or Scutch): A real pain in the ass.
Putting Chinese on the Ball: To "jinx" the ball during a game.
"You Got a Lotta Shit Wichoo": You have some nerve.
Ring a Leevio/Ringolievio: A children's streetgame.
"Shakespeare, Kick in the Rear": Something you're supposed to
say when two people say the same thing simultaneously.
Agita: Heartburn, or a general pain from stress. As in "you're
giving me agita". Made widely popular by The Sopranos.
Fins (Or Finsies): To say "fins" is little like saying "not it".
To say it during a game means that you can't be touched, or it grants you
immunity.
Break the Devil's Dishes: To fly in the face of reason. Or
alternately, to have a really wild time. Used on the CD Sacred Avenue by
Artie Lamonica/Rome56.
Hindoo: A do-over during a game.
Dutch: See Hindoo.
Wiesenheimer: A wiseguy.
Cugine: (Coo JEEN) A self-styled Saturday Night Fever kinda guy.
Usually has slicked back hair, and sports a lot of gold. Cruising 86th
Street in Bensonhurst ls sometimes derogatively referred to as "going up the
cugine".
Cujinette: The consort of the Cugine. Saturday Night fever gals.
Big hair, tight outfits, gum, and of course the platforms!
Goombah: Kind of like a Brooklyn Italian version of a "Bubba" or
"Good Ol' Boy". A somewhat ridiculous, or inflated figure who is
nevertheless influential to a greater or lesser degree in some aspect of his
community's affairs.
Gavoon/Cafone: A knucklehead.
Itchy Balls: Prickly seed pods from a tree common in Brooklyn.
Corner Man: A guy who spends much of his day sitting on a milk
crate in front of a store, or on the corner. Some guys do it just to watch
the world go by, other guys are "working".
Coney Island Whitefish: Condoms that wash up on the beach at
Coney Island.
Skank Ho: A woman of questionable hygeine and morals.
Wack/Whack: Depending on what part of Brooklyn you're from, this
either means "crazy", as in "he is wack"; or it means "to rub someone out"
as in "he's a rat, so he got whacked."
Stood: Past tense of "stay". As in "What a lousy day. I shoulda
stood in bed".
Hiya: A greeting. The Brooklyn version of New York City's more
widely used "hawarya?"
Carfare: A subway token, or money for the subway. A holdover
from the days when streetcars were the primary form of public transit.
Jeet?: Did you eat?
For all intensive purposes: A Brooklynization of the phrase "For
all intents and purposes." Others in this category include "the piece of
resistance", and "it's a mere bag of shells."
Keep Chicky: To keep an open eye (keep guard) while something
mischievous is being done.
Gates Are Closed: If a game is in progress, no one else can be
admitted or join the game..... or if someone was not well liked, this was a
perfect way of keeping the individual out of the game.
Fugazy: Not on the up and up....if someone pulled a con....a
fugazy was pulled.
Mush (pronounced MOOSH): A sandwich made on a hot dog roll with
sauerkraut but without the frank.
Earl: Oil
Spaldine: Little pink ball made by Spalding
Stick Ball: Baseball played with a broom handle and a 'Spaldine'
"Who died and made YOU boss?": Phrase used for letting someone
know they're not running the show
"Right here!": Insulting phrase uttered while motioning to one's
crotch
Scash-a-bang (or Scash): A beat up old, decrepit car on its last
legs. If you remember in "Fatso" when Anne Bancroft sends Dom Deluise out
for Chinese food she tosses him the keys and says "here, take the scash."
Skinny Molink: Someone who is really, really, thin---almost
skeletal.
"He has more (whatever) than I have hair on my head": He's got a
lot of it. Example: "He's got more money than I have hair on my head" means
that he's loaded
"Your sister's got a head": An expression used instead of
cursing.
"He's so cheap he still has his communion money": Also heard as
"he's still got the first two cents he ever made."
Skeeve : To totally dislike something
"Hey, was your father a glazier?!?": Said to someone who's
blocking your view. Also heard as "What, was your daddy a glassmaker?"
And by popular demand, we had to add:
Fuggedaboudit: Never mind
A note on Rap slang: Words and phrases like Hoop-Dee, Da Bomb,
Fly, Hook you up, Phat, Dope, Buggin, Illin', Chill, Dissed, Blunt, All
That, Homes, Home Slice, Word Up, Shoutout, G, B, Dog, God, Mack Daddy, and
the like all appeared on the streets of Brooklyn long before they entered
the national vocabulary. However, due to the widespread influence of rap
music, it's difficult to determine which ones originated in Brooklyn and
which ones came from the South Bronx, South Central LA, or even Kingston,
Jamaica. Anyone with insights as to the the true geographic origins of these
words--please let us know and we'll add the appropriate ones to the list.
A big thank you to the following Brooklyn natives for their
contributions: Robert Couteau, JR Rost, Artie Lamonica, Al Lee Wyer, Melody
Henry, Ellen Grove, June, Maria Casali, Nancy Mone, Jeanette Grasso, Tommy
'Dean' Najarian.
To return to the Jim Lampos website, click on any of the links below:
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email: jiml...@aol.com
PO Box 355, Cooper Station NY NY 10276
Jayne Doe
CliffB wrote:
Use that one all the time. From me it's more like "not for nothin'"
>
>
> Duh-ta-duh: A mook, idiot or oaf.
>
> Skully Cap: A bottle cap filled with melted wax, usually from
> crayons. Used in playing skelsie, or skully.
>
> Skelsie/Skully: A children's street game.
>
> Skel: A junkie, street-person, or lowlife. Usage picked up by
> the cops in the 1980's.
Used that phrase alot when running ems.
>
>
> Boss: What your local deli or bodega guy calls you when he
> doesn't know your name. It's a term of good will. He might even call you
> "Big Boss", which is even better. You don't want to be called "Pal" or
> "Buddy", since it usually has sarcastic overtones. If he calls you "Chief",
> you're really in trouble.
Am a female and have been called "boss" a whole lot, esp by "service" workers.
>
>
> Weasel Deal: A deal that's not quite on the up and up...like
> getting that cheap stereo that "fell off the truck" or getting a "discount"
> on your cable hookup.
>
> Stoop: The front stairs of your building, where you sit and
> gossip about the neighbors.
Stoop: sat on it today in fact.
>
>
> "She Thinks Who She Is.....": She's got a very high opinion of
> herself.
that and : she thinks she's all 'dat (originated from the black slang)
>
>
> Schmeboygah: A slob of a guy.
>
> Salugi/Saloogi: A game of "keep away" that kids play, whereby
> some kid's hat is stolen, and other kids continually taunt him by throwing
> it past him or over his head to someone else. Usually the same kid is picked
> on all the time. It is a widely-held theory that mayor Rudy Giuliani was
> often the victim of salugi. (Mr. John Burke wrote us to say that he heard
> "salugi" used in the 1940's on his block--115th St. between Amsterdam and
> Morningside in Manhattan. Thanks for your email John!)
>
> Scootch (Or Scutch): A real pain in the ass.
Still use that phrase, my friends boyfriend was a real Scutch, and when I told
her that, she looked at me like I had 4 heads.
goombah: like a buddy or confidant.
>
>
> Gavoon/Cafone: A knucklehead.
an asshole.
>
>
> Itchy Balls: Prickly seed pods from a tree common in Brooklyn.
>
> Corner Man: A guy who spends much of his day sitting on a milk
> crate in front of a store, or on the corner. Some guys do it just to watch
> the world go by, other guys are "working".
>
> Coney Island Whitefish: Condoms that wash up on the beach at
> Coney Island.
yup
>
>
> Skank Ho: A woman of questionable hygeine and morals.
know lots of them.
>
>
> Wack/Whack: Depending on what part of Brooklyn you're from, this
> either means "crazy", as in "he is wack"; or it means "to rub someone out"
> as in "he's a rat, so he got whacked."
use it as crazy = whack
>
>
> Stood: Past tense of "stay". As in "What a lousy day. I shoulda
> stood in bed".
>
> Hiya: A greeting. The Brooklyn version of New York City's more
> widely used "hawarya?"
always used the how ya doin' greeting
>
>
> Carfare: A subway token, or money for the subway. A holdover
> from the days when streetcars were the primary form of public transit.
same usage for me.
>
>
> Jeet?: Did you eat?
also can be like, jew'eet, or ja'eat?
>
>
> For all intensive purposes: A Brooklynization of the phrase "For
> all intents and purposes." Others in this category include "the piece of
> resistance", and "it's a mere bag of shells."
>
> Keep Chicky: To keep an open eye (keep guard) while something
> mischievous is being done.
>
> Gates Are Closed: If a game is in progress, no one else can be
> admitted or join the game..... or if someone was not well liked, this was a
> perfect way of keeping the individual out of the game.
>
> Fugazy: Not on the up and up....if someone pulled a con....a
> fugazy was pulled.
>
> Mush (pronounced MOOSH): A sandwich made on a hot dog roll with
> sauerkraut but without the frank.
>
> Earl: Oil
dad always had to put a quart of earl in the car.
>
>
> Spaldine: Little pink ball made by Spalding
had many of them as a child
>
>
> Stick Ball: Baseball played with a broom handle and a 'Spaldine'
beats softball any day now!
>
>
> "Who died and made YOU boss?": Phrase used for letting someone
> know they're not running the show
>
> still use that one, especially with some over eager co-workers.
>
> "Right here!": Insulting phrase uttered while motioning to one's
> crotch
>
> Scash-a-bang (or Scash): A beat up old, decrepit car on its last
> legs. If you remember in "Fatso" when Anne Bancroft sends Dom Deluise out
> for Chinese food she tosses him the keys and says "here, take the scash."
>
> Skinny Molink: Someone who is really, really, thin---almost
> skeletal.
>
> "He has more (whatever) than I have hair on my head": He's got a
> lot of it. Example: "He's got more money than I have hair on my head" means
> that he's loaded
>
> "Your sister's got a head": An expression used instead of
> cursing.
>
> "He's so cheap he still has his communion money": Also heard as
> "he's still got the first two cents he ever made."
"he's so cheap he's got the first dollar he ever made"
>
>
> Skeeve : To totally dislike something
That fuckin' skeeves me out (in reference to something nasty)
>
>
> "Hey, was your father a glazier?!?": Said to someone who's
> blocking your view. Also heard as "What, was your daddy a glassmaker?"
have used that more like, "hey, are you transparent?", or "hey, since when were
you made outta glass..."
Liam Devlin
>
> CliffB wrote:
(snip)
>>
>> Scootch (Or Scutch): A real pain in the ass.
>
>
> Still use that phrase, my friends boyfriend was a real Scutch, and when I told
> her that, she looked at me like I had 4 heads.
I think this is a variant of "scortch", short for "scorth-a-gullione"
(phonetically), i.e., ballbreaker.