Ghetto Slang Words: Hood Slang Meaning
Slim Shady
Answer: A term of endearment used to express appreciation of someone or something. Often used to praise a person’s effort or achievement or to express sympathy.
Smoke ‘n’ Mirrors
Answer: A euphemism for masturbation, often used when a person is sexually aroused or nervous.
Smoke Weed, Man Smoke Weed, Man
Answer: A derogatory term for someone or something of low status or value.
Slacktivism
Answer: A term used to refer to any form of advocacy of radical, leftist or liberal causes.
Snicker
Answer: An exclamation of amusement at another person’s foolishness or incompetence
Ace
Answer: Best friend, main man, a person who has someone’s back, or protection or who will go down for there friend or crew.
Aight
Answer: Short for “all right”, everything is cool,
or, a way of saying something is not great, and not bad, but in the middle like.
Ak
Answer: AK 47 gas-operated assault rifle.
All that
Answer: You think you hot, or the hottest, or the coolest.
B
Answer: An east coast term short for brother, or bro.
Baby Mama Baby Daddy
Answer: A person you had a child with.
Back/Back up
Answer: 1- Booty, but, nice looking round butt. Remember the song “Baby got back”.
2- Crew, people that will defend you and back you up in a situation.
Bail
Answer: To Leave, or go. Short for leaving someplace (usually
Bangin/ Bang
Answer: 1- Short gang term for “Gang Bangin”
2- Girl with a ghetto body, big booty, slim waist
3- Term for sexing a girl.
Banger
Answer: Knife or a sharp weapon.
Bank
Answer: Money, cash
Baller
Answer: Ghetto term for money makers in the hood, be it by legal or illegal activities.
Also a term for a street basketball player.
Beef
Answer: Serious trouble with an individual, or group, or gang. It’s to have arguments or war.
Benjamins
Answer: $100 bills.
Benz
Answer: Short for Mercedes Benz.
Biscuit
Answer: Gun/butt
Blew it up/ Blew up the spot
Answer: When a Hip Hop crew (MC’s, BBOYS, WRITERS, DJ) gives a great performance that leaves the crowd or observers screaming.
Blunted
Answer: High Off of marijuana rolled in a Philly blunt (cigar).
Bolo/ BOLOS
Answer: 1) Meaning: Be on the lookout.
2) Term used to describe a wild punch that was invented by famous boxer Kid Chocolate and used by Sugar Ray Leonard.
Bomb
Answer: 1- A graffiti rampage on trains and walls, where you try and flood as many tags and throw ups as possible.
2- When fighting to throw as many big punches as to end the fight quick.
Break
Answer: 1-The percussive part of an 70’s James Brown style record, where the drums play a funky beat. This we called the break, and is one of the key roots to Hip Hop music.
2- original NYC gang term for getting violent on someone, or a situation. Stems from the word Breaking Point.
Booya
Answer: 1- sound of a shot gun blast
2- Used as an exclamation point
3- Name of a west coast Samoan Gangsta rap group
Break it down
Answer: 1- To dissect a knowledge situation or concept, and explain it in a simple format
2- to get down in any aspect of culture, especially dance.
Buggin
Answer: Buggin means you trippin or wilen
Bust / Bus
Answer: To take action or fight/hit/punch/shoot gun.
Also can mean to dance, or get down
note: saying “bust a move” is incredibly corny and old now.
Busta
Answer: A person who is fake, phony, or a punk who can’t fight, or snitches.
Butter
Answer: When someone, something, or someone’s Hip Hop skills are great and smooth.
Buck/ Buck Wild
Answer: 1- To shoot someone, or at someone.
2- To get crazy one someone, or violent on someone.
3- To get crazy with ones Hip Hop skills.
Bum Rush
Answer: 1- When a crew or group of people rush the door or gates of a party without paying. Bum meaning person with no cash, rush meaning forcing there way in.
2- A person getting jumped/ beat up by a group of people.
But/Booty
Answer: 1- When someone, someone’s skills or something is not good or is lacking.
2- Someone’s butt
Cheese/Cheddar
Cheese/Cheddar
Money, cash
Chill
Answer: Relax, stay cool.
Chin Check
Answer: Punch someone in the chin/ face, To test someone’s chin with a punch to see if they can take it.
Chips
Answer: Referring to casino chips, money, cash.
Chrome
Answer: 1- Guns
2- Chrome car rims
Chucks
Answer: Short for Chuck Taylor Converse all stars sneakers, made popular in the 1970’s and were heavily popular in East coast Hip Hop and West coast Gangs.
Cipher
Answer: 1- refers to a circle of people where Mc’s battle, and freestyle, or BBoys battles and get down. It is where BBOYS and MC’s get there real training and work on there skills.
2- in 5% religion (an NYC based religion made popular by rap artists like Brand Nubian and Wu Tang) it refers to the chosen and the non chosen, 5% and non 5%, and angels and devils..so forth.
Clock, Clockin
Answer: 1- Killin time
2- Punch someone in the head.
Clown walkin
Answer: New young Hip Hop dance style. Uses allot of footwork.
Cold
Answer: 1- Short for cold hearted. Not nice, that’s not cool, what you did was cold.
2- Great, nice, good. Young people now use it to mean when something is great.
3- a word that expresses an attribute of something. Cold chillin, cold knock you out, Cold gettin down.
4- When your wrist cold
Cop
Answer: To buy, originally a term for buying drugs.
Crab
Answer: 1-A ghetto girl with nothing happening and too much attitude. A slutty girl.
2- A person who has nothing to show for him or herself, and still likes to talk crap
Crackin/ What’s crackin/ Crackalackin
Answer: Whats happening.
Crew
Answer: A group of people who work together for a common cause. Originally a slang used by the Mob for a crew of men who work to rob, steel and extort money.
In Hip Hop a crew can also be a group of MC’s (rappers), BBOYS, WRITERS (graffiti artists).
Crib
Answer: A persons home.
Crooklyn
Answer: Slang for Brooklyn
Cut up/ Cuttin the rug
Answer: Refers to gettin down, dancing.
Dead Presidents
Answer: Paper money.
Deep
Answer: 1- A wise person, a person who speaks with great knowledge.
2- A large group of people traveling together to a party, or how a person rolls up to a club, or spot.
Def
Answer: Old school term for something great.
Deuce
Answer: Ghetto way of saying the number 2
22 caliber gun = deuce deuce
42nd street = forty deuce
Dilly/Dealy/What the Dealy
Answer: Whats the deal?, whats going on?.
Dip
Answer: 1- Time to go, to leave.
2- Original Hip Hop rhyme started by members of the Furious 5.
Dip dive socialize
trying to make yall realize
that we are qualified
to rectify
to satisfy
to burn in desire, set them on fire
to boogie
Digits
Digits
Phone number
Dime
Answer: 1- bag of weed
2- A snitch, the amount for a phone call in the 60’s and 70’s and that’s what it took for a snitch to make a call.
3- a way to tell a female or male to call you.
4- referring to Bo Derrick’s move TEN, a perfect woman with pretty face, and ghetto body
Dis
Answer: Short for disrespect
Dog/Dawg
Answer: 1- friend that you can count on in times of trouble. A person who watches your back.
2- Old school NYC word for beating someone up.
Dome/Dome piece
Answer: A persons head. Usually referring to fighting and punching someone in the head, or shooting someone in the head.
Don
Answer: Spanish and Italian word for God father, or person of great respect.
They will put the word before there real name.
Dope/dopenes
Answer: 1- Another word for someone or something great
2- Drugs, heroin
Do or Die
Answer: Slang for Bedstuy Brooklyn. Do or Die Bedstuy.
D.L/Down Low
Answer: To keep something quiet, to protect a secret, shhh don’t tell anyone, or to lay low and not be seen for a while because of a situation.
Down by Law
Answer: An old school term for a person who is certified, or who has great credentials, great repoir in the streets
Dozens
Answer: A back and forth game of making fun of each others mothers, family, disabilities. This is no holds bar jokes where people get there feelings hurt, but you have suck it up. Mama jokes seem to be the most common and popular.-Your girlfriend is so stupid, the first time she used a vibrator she cracked her two front teeth.
-Your sister is so stupid, she went to the baker for a yeast infection.
-Your mother is so dumb, she couldn’t pass a blood test.
Your mother is so ugly, when he sits in the sand the cat tries to bury he
Drop Science
Answer: To teach street knowledge to other people, knowledge of self
Easy, Be easy
Easy, Be easy
Be smooth.
Ends
Answer: Short for make ends meet, to have or keep money.
Fade/Faded
Answer: 1- refers to the Philly haircut where they fade the sides and the back to your skin
2- It’s to be high on drugs or liquor
Fakin jacks
Answer: To be phony or acting phony.
A person telling lies.
Fasho
Answer: For sure
Fiend
Answer: To be desperate for something, like a crackhead.
Fifth
Answer: A fifth of bacardi.
Flava
Answer: To have style, pizzazz.
Flex
Answer: Referring to flexing muscle. To try and intimidate someone, or to prepare to fight someone.
Fly/Fly Girl/Fly Guy
Answer: A person who looks, dresses, and smells good. Always got there hair done, spends allot of time and money to make themselves look good.
Flow
Answer: 1- to have plenty of money/ income flowing in due to legal or illegal activities.
2- An MC or Dancer who can move or rhyme nonstop smoothly without breaking there flow.
Forty
Answer: Referring to a forty ounce of beer.
Freestyle
Answer: 1- Original term for a style of dance that came before house dance.
2- Off the top of the head, when an MC (rapper) rhymes with no pre written rhymes.
3- term for a form of Hip Hop dance that borrows from many styles of dance in and outside of Hip Hop and then freestyle’s it off the top of the head with no routines.
Fresh
Answer: To be great, or brand new. To dance or rhyme, or do a great wild style graffiti piece. To dress nice and look good.
Front
Answer: To fake something your not. Pretending to be tuff. To not show up for a situation or a fight.
Funk/Funky
Answer: 1- It refers to a music style that originated with drummers in New Orleans like earl Palmer describing the type of sound they want to play.
2- It was a term also coined by James Brown referring to the music making people move and dance so much that at the end of the night the club would be/ smell funky from all the sweating and perspiration. so James Brown would say
3- refers to a style of music originated by the African American community. heavy bass, syncopated drums, and funky grooves.
JAMES BROWN, PARLIAMENT FUNCADELIC, SLY STONE.
4- FAKIN THE FUNK means to be fake in music or Hip Hop or on the streets. Or not really
funky.
Foreally/Foreals/Foriila/Forealdo.
Answer: Slang for “FOREAL”
G
Answer: 1- short for gangsta
2- short for grand, $1,000
Game
Answer: 1- To have rap or the words to talk to a fly girl. Or to have words to get out of trouble.
2- To be down to do something, or ready to forward in a situation.
3- To be good at basketball, to always have a good game.
Geese
Answer: To rob a house. And fly like geese.
Get Down/Get Loose/Get buzy
They all mean to dance, jam, rock turntables, rock a graffiti piece.
Ghetto Bird
Answer: Police helicopter.
Ghost
Answer: To disappear, to leave inconspicuously, without know one seeing you.
2016 Rolls-Royce Car
Go Off
Answer: 1- To let off physical energy like a bomb. To let loose and fight or get violent on someone.
2- To get down and dance with massive energy.
Grill/Grillin
Answer: 1- another word for face.
2- To be stared at by another person with a mean face.
3-A thing in someones teeth
Grind/Grinding
Answer: When a drug dealer is on the streets selling drugs, he’s on the grind or grinding.
A person who is constantly hittin the streets to find ways to make money to survive in the hood legally or illegally.
Gritty
Answer: Street, dirty, diggin deep.
Gully
Answer: Ghetto tuff, gutter, raw, gangsta.
Hard Core
Answer: 1- Real street raw. A person into street raw style Hip Hop music about street life, guns, murder, drugs. Raw Hip Hop, Not the party stuff.
2- when a person is into something, or an activity more than others.
Hard Rock
Answer: An old school term for a New York thug or gangsta.
Hawk
Answer: 1) To stare at or be stared at hard.
Originally this was from people of color who were stared at by store or shop owners/ workers who thought that you were gonna steal something. So the shop owner/ worker will follow you around the store and stare at you.
referring to a bird of prey with great vision.
2) Weapon
Heart
Answer: To have courage, to be brave
Holla
Answer: To call someone out, or contact someone.
Herb
Answer: 1- A punk, or someone who is soft.
2- Marijuana, weed.
Home Skillet/Home Boy/Homey
Answer: 1- Close friend from around the way.
2- Used to be a dis, when calling someone homely meant like a mamas boy, who never goes out.
Hood
Answer: Short for neighborhood, but refers to ghetto neighborhood.
Hood Rat
Answer: Refers to a girl from around the way (your block, hood) who has sex with every guy on your block/ hood.
Hot 110
Answer: And old school original graffiti term. When a writer (graffiti) writer or crosses out his enemies name, or a toy (week graffiti writer). He or she will write “hot 110” over there name.
Hottie
Answer: Mid eighties term for a fine young lady. meaning she’s hot, She’s a hottie.
Hummin
Answer: 1- Rhymes with bummin so was used to call someone a bum.
2- Person with bad breath.
Hustler
Answer: Person who is always on the grind trying to make money.
A person who never sits on his or her riches, but stays grinding for more money.
A person who does what ever it takes to make money legal or illegal.
Hype/Hype Man
Answer: 1- To perform (Hip Hop)or play ball with great energy. To get hype with a burst of energy.
2- It is an MC who backs up a main rapper (in a rap group) to keep the crowd/ audience hyper during the performance.
I Ain’t the one
Answer: Short for “I ain’t the one to be messed with”.
Ice
Answer: Jewelry covered with diamonds
Ill
Answer: Way of saying something is so great it is sickening.
Iron Horse
Answer: Subway train.
Jack
Answer: 1- Term for robbing a person, or car jacking, steeling someone’s car.
2- Also a word similar to dude.
Jake
Answer: A cop, police officer.
Jam
1- Name of an old school original Hip Hop party in the parks, school yards, small night clubs, youth centers, and so forth.
2- A term for a cool funky record that someone really likes.
Jet
Answer: To leave in a hurry.
Juice
Answer: A persons street credibility. In the streets it means to have what we called Pull. Meaning we can make something happen.
Kicks
Answer: Sneakers, tennis shoes
Kickin
Answer: Good, appealing, great.
Know the ledge
Answer: To have knowledge or self and everything around you, to have street knowledge
Krump/Krumpin
Answer: New Hip Hop dance that just came out of the streets of LA, made popular by the movie “RISE”. Affiliated with dances styles like clown walkin, the stripper dance.
Krunk
Answer: 1- To have a good time, and party hard
2- new style of Hip Hop music made popular in the Dirty South (Southern States) by artists like Lil John.
L
Answer: 1- Short for elevated train platforms. Outside train stations.
2- joint
Lifted
Answer: A person who is high off drugs or liquor.
Mc
Answer: Master of ceremonies. In Hip Hop an MC was the original term for Rapper. Mic Controller.
Mack
Answer: Ladies man, a guy who can get any girl he wants. Made popular by the blaxploitation movie in the 70’s.
Mad
Answer: A term used to explain when something is extra huge, or great.
Math
Answer: Phone number
Murk
Answer: 1- To kill.
2- To leave.
Newjack
Answer: A person wet behind the ears, who has no street experience, a rookie.
Non stop
Answer: Term takin from subway train terminology. Used to describe a party or situation or activity that won’t end for a long time. made popular in early Hip Hop rhymes.
Off
Answer: Shoot, Kill.
Old School/Old Schooler
Answer: A way of saying Back in the days in the streets, school of hard knocks. A person who was representing the streets back in the days. Early days of the streets.
One/One love
Answer: Street way of saying good bye. Bidding someone peace.
Latino people will say Uno.
Ox
Answer: A box cutter or razor blade
Parlayin
Answer: Chillin, relaxing
P.C
Answer: Punk City, a term for a special protective jail cell for inmates who are in danger within prison population. Usually meant for inmates who can’t fight or have no pull in the prison (they don’t know any one).
Piece
Answer: 1- A gun
2- An outlined graffiti artwork with color fill ins, and decorated on a train, wall, or black book (hardcover graffiti book)
Played/Play yourself
Answer: 1- To be discovered that your pretending your something your not, or to get caught in a lie.
2- when someone takes you for a fool. You usually get played by a so called friend or boyfriend/ girlfriend cheating on you.
Playa/Playa Hater
Answer: 1- a guy who has tons of girls and manages to play them all at the same time.
2- A person who can play the streets and system to get what he wants.
3- It is a person who down plays another playas game.
Played Out
Answer: When a fad is over and old, and no one is doing it no more.
Pop/Poped
Answer: 1- To shoot someone
2- To get busted by the police and sent to jail.
Rikers Island
Answer: A prison
Run it/ Run it back
Answer: 1-What a stick up kid (robber) would say to a victim, if it’s for a bike, or a wallet or a chain.
2- Mean rewind, or try again, or bring it back.
Saggin
Answer: Wearing you pants low and most of the time with no belt. This style of dress originated in the prison system because they confiscated belts and shoe laces so an inmate can’t hang himself.
Sawed off
Answer: A sawed off shotgun, in which the barrel(s) are sawed off to become shorter, for the purpose of the pellets inside the shells to spread out over a vast area. The accuracy is lessened by this but a sawed off 12 gauge is a gully weapon to have.
Sazon
Answer: A type of Puerto Rican food seasoning that gives Spanish food it’s flavor. The term is used by Puerto Ricans to describe someone with style and flavor.
Scrilla
Answer: Money
Scrub
Answer: 1- Originally a sports term for a person who sucks at a particular sport.
2- A term used by material girls/ gold diggers to describe A dude with no money, no car, no class, but he fronts and tries to get material girls.
Serve
Answer: To beat someone in a Hip Hop Battle. MC battle, BBOY battle, Graffiti battle, DJ battle.
Shank
Answer: A home made knife made in prison out of any object that can be sharpened.
Shorty
Answer: 1- Originally a gang term for a young kid from the neighborhood.
2- A cute/ fly ghetto girl/ honey.
Skeezer
Answer: 80’s term for slut.
Snuff/Sneak/Snuck
Answer: To sneak a punch or an attack on someone when there not lookin.
Spittin
Answer: 1- When an MC (rapper) starts rhyming.
2- It is when a person is flirting with a female.
Stack chips
Answer: To make money and save it, or put it away, then go out and make more money. A term for hustlers.
Straight
Answer: Everything is OK.
An individual is OK.
Strapped
Answer: Packing a gun.
Tag
Answer: Writing your nick name on a wall or train.
Tax
Answer: Forcibly take your money like the government. To rob.
Thorough
Answer: When something is cool, good , or safe it’s thorough.
Toy Cop
Answer: Security guards who act like there real cops.
True Dat
Answer: Means that is true.
Twisted
Answer: Don’t get it wrong, or don’t get me wrong. Don’t mess around.
Up North
Answer: A prison North of NYC. Clinton Correctional Facility.
Uptown
Answer: The upper parts of Manhattan. Anything above 100st. Harlem, Spanish Harlem and upwards.
Up/Get up
Answer: A writers (graffiti) main goal is to gain fame. To get up, is to gain fame by bombing the system (trains, walls, busses) with as many tags and throw ups.
Vic
Answer: Short for victim. A stick up kid (robber) term for a potential victim.
Wack
Answer: Not good, terrible. Referring to someone’s skills, clothes, situations.
Wax
Answer: 1- An LP or record. A DJ term for records.
2- Means to keep it cool
Whip
Answer: 1- a nice looking expensive car.
Wreck/Wreck Shop
Answer: To accomplish or destroy.
Xerox
Answer: To Copy
Youngin
Answer: A young person
Zootie/Zooted/Zootie Bang
Answer: High on angel dust, PCP.
22
Answer: 22 caliber gun
24/ 7
Answer: 24 hours 7 days a week. Meaning your doing something all day and all night.
38
Answer: 38 caliber gun
40
Answer: 40 ounce of beer
44
Answer: 44 caliber gun
411/What’s the 411
Answer: Imformation, gossip, rummors. Stems from telephone information servcice.
808
Answer: Roland 808 drum machin sounds. Refering to one particular bass beat sound made popular in early 80’s NYC Hip Hop, now used in most Dirty South music as well as Miami Bass music.
No half steppin
Answer: Don’t half step, don’t half fast. Put 100 % into your efforts not 50%.
Catch this fade
Answer: When you wanna fight
Ginsu
Answer: Knife
C4
Answer: C-4 (explosive)
RDX
Answer: RDX, an initialism for Research Department explosive,[2] is an explosive nitroamine widely used in military and industrial applications. It was developed as an explosive which was more powerful than TNT, and it saw wide use in World War II.
Marquise
Answer: A diamond; Marquise cut diamonds are very sparkly.
AMC Pacer
Answer: Ugly car.
Ford Excursion
Answer: Ugly car 2.
Toe tag
Answer: 1. A method of identification of bodies in a morgue. A label on string tied to a deceased persons toe with their name and other information on it. Anklebands (like the wristbands you get when you visit a hospital) are now more common.2. (Slang) To kill somebody.
Maafa
Answer: Maafa (or African Holocaust, Holocaust of Enslavement, or Black holocaust as alternatives) are terms used to describe the history and ongoing effects of atrocities inflicted on African people.
Echelon
“Answer: Echelon” is a level of rank, achievement or reputation.
Ted DiBiase
Answer: He was a wrestler. He was called the “Million Dollar Man”, a millionaire who wore a gold-studded, dollar-sign-covered suit.
Cheeba & Ganja
Answer: Marijuana
Strong Island
Answer: Nickname of Long Island
Sheepskin
Answer: It is a jacket that were popular in East Coast cities in the ’70s and ’80s.
New York Hot Tracks
Answer: It is another classic NYC throwback. It was a television show guest hosted by The Beastie Boys and Run DMC, among others. It was cancelled in 1989.
Mr. Magic
Answer: John Rivas, was a prominent hip hop radio DJ.
Nu Nile
Answer: Nu Nile is a hair product that made African-textured hair look really slick back in the day.
Stush
Answer: Conceited, superior, having an air of rude hauteur particularly with regard to personal appearance – but with good reason.
Sirat al-Mustaqim
Answer: It is an Arabic term for the Islamic concept of the straight path, or the way of life which makes God happy (it’s a quote from the first Surah in the Quran: Surat Al-Fatiha)
Deen
Answer: It is a common Arabic term that is associated with religion. In Islamic context, it refers to a way of life that that is pleasing to God
“Talking out your neck”
Answer: It is a jive phrase that essentially means to lie.
Jezebel
Answer: A woman who is regarded as evil and scheming.
“Poppin’ yang”
Answer: Means talking trash.
Clock G’s
Answer: It’s ambiguous: It means sell drugs, but also receive thousands of dollars.
NSFW
Answer: Not Safe For Work.
Cap peeling
Answer: It’s the act of shooting someone in the head.
Fugazi
Answer: Means fake in Italian slang.
Tanqueray
Answer: A London Dry Gin. It is sold a various proofs, but the lowest seems to be 80 (or, around 40% abv). It is, in other words, a very strong drink.
Gazelle
Answer: It was a popular brand of glasses.
Jellies
Answer: They were shoes made of plastic.
Cazal
Answer: A pair of sunglasses
Tote
Answer: Synonym for carry
Ringolevio
It is a game, in which the seeking team would try to grab kids on the hiding team and hold them Answer: long enough to say ‘Ringolevio 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3’.
Inf
IAnswer: nfrared beam
Bogart
Answer: Means to hold something, usually a drink, joint, cigarette, etc., for a long time without sharing it.
Herringbone
Answer: It refers to a weaving pattern of broken V-shapes, called such because it resembles the skeleton of a herring fish
PCP
Answer: Angel Dust
Big up
Answer: A Jamaican term of encouragement or otherwise good cheer.