# Do You Use (Know) These Slang Expressions? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 23, 2021, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-know-these-slang-expressions/931293 "2021-01-23T16:57:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-know-these-slang-expressions/931293/21 "2021-01-24T15:41:19Z")
That would require impressive range and resonance. Perhaps it could start with something simpler. _I’m Every Woman?_ ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-know-these-slang-expressions/931293/22 "2021-01-24T16:15:51Z")
> [@Madam\_Librarian](#): > > Please don’t force me into Urban Dictionary Problem is, it tends to yield questionable results. “Clitterati” or “cliterati” brings up several different definitions, as does “hasselhoff”, and you often cannot be sure which one is the most common. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-know-these-slang-expressions/931293/23 "2021-01-24T16:26:38Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Problem is, it tends to yield questionable results. I find Urban Dictionary to actually be useful, as long as you look at the vote counts. Plus, remember these terms can mean more than one thing and it may depend on where it’s being used (i.e. regional). I know “clitterati” as being something like significant figures in the women’s rights movement. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-know-these-slang-expressions/931293/24 "2021-01-24T16:42:07Z")
Have not heard of any of either batch, unless I count control-Z, but I don’t use that in a slang sense, only to refer to the computer command. I would have guessed “bitgod” to mean something like “coding being obsessed on” – ‘that person thinks computer work is the only thing that matters, it’s their bitgod’. I am old. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-know-these-slang-expressions/931293/25 "2021-01-24T16:58:32Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I find Urban Dictionary to actually be useful, as long as you look at the vote counts. Plus, remember these terms can mean more than one thing and it may depend on where it’s being used (i.e. regional). I know “clitterati” as being something like significant figures in the women’s rights movement. I, too, like Urban Dictionary. I haven’t heard of most of those. One new-to-me term that I really like, though, is the verb “hep”. It means "pretend to be helpful but actually just get in the way. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-know-these-slang-expressions/931293/26 "2021-01-24T22:04:05Z")
Never heard of any of them, but I live under a rock. I only talk to dogs. Some of them sound like they would work in the Porn World. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-know-these-slang-expressions/931293/27 "2021-01-24T22:11:40Z")
This whole conversation is pretty suss. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-know-these-slang-expressions/931293/28 "2021-01-24T22:26:01Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Goo diligence (use Google to confirm something or settle an argument) I like this one. There used to be a column in the Atlantic Monthly called “Word Watch.” A quick search and I now have only 1 more free article this month… > **dead ringer** “Hello? Hello? Helloooo? The annoying silence you hear on the phone line may be … a ’ _dead ringer._ ’ It happens when a telemarketer’s automatic dialing system, called a predictive dialer, simultaneously phones many homes. If too many people pick up, the machine disconnects some of the calls” ( _U.S. News & World Report_ ). > > BACKGROUND: The established sense of the term _dead ringer_ – an exact counterpart or duplicate – can be traced back to 1891. The telemarketing sense is the only new meaning of the term to emerge in the years since. _Dead ringers_ have been increasingly reported in recent months and are coming under the scrutiny of the Federal Trade Commission and some state attorneys general: not only are they an annoyance, but recipients find them indistinguishable from the hang-up calls associated with pre-burglary stakeouts and with stalking. > **[Word Watch](https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2000/12/word-watch/378476/)** > > The Atlantic covers news, politics, culture, technology, health, and more, through its articles, podcasts, videos, and flagship magazine. The stories behind them were often pretty interesting. They put some in a book. > **[Word Watch: The Stories Behind the Words of Our Lives: Soukhanov, Anne H.:...](https://www.amazon.com/Word-Watch-Stories-Behind-Words/dp/0805045449)** > > Word Watch: The Stories Behind the Words of Our Lives \[Soukhanov, Anne H.\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. Word Watch: The Stories Behind the Words of Our Lives It was the first place I saw the term “trustafarian.” > **[Urban Dictionary: trustafarian](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=trustafarian)** > > priviliged white kids who subsribe to the hippie lifestyle (because they can) since they have no worries about money, a job etc. They can then devote their lives to eating organic, following Phish, and wearing dreadlocks (no need for job interviews). ---
**Author:** ![Esprise\_Me](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprise_me/32/2947_2.png) [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-know-these-slang-expressions/931293/29 "2021-01-24T22:36:40Z")
I’m 37. Never heard any of the OP’s terms. I recall reading about the term “cliterati” making Merriam-Webster’s neologism of the year or something a while back, but never encountered it in the wild. Just as well; I find it quite off-putting and demeaning to refer to prominent feminists in that way. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-know-these-slang-expressions/931293/30 "2021-01-24T22:49:00Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Anyone want to guess what these mean? > > - California King > - clitterati > - expresshole > - gradumacate > - hasselhoff > - nintendonitis Until recently, I was sleeping on a California King size bed. The new one is a King. _Clitterati_ is a joke for women literati (famous for being authors.) Similarly, _Clitty Litter_ is a joke name for used tampons. _Gradumacate_ and _Edumacation_ are joke words among my in-laws. My MIL was an elementary teacher. _Hasselhoff_ could mean several things. David Hasselhoff is apparently a bigger celeb in Europe than in the US. I’ve seen exercise gear and some silly stuff like the soap dispenser where the foam comes out of his picture’s groin. _Nintendonitis_ is a real thing. Some gamers develop severe repetitive motion trauma in their thumbs, much like _Blackberry Thumb_. ---
**Author:** ![Esprise\_Me](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprise_me/32/2947_2.png) [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2021, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-know-these-slang-expressions/931293/31 "2021-01-25T00:13:09Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > _Clitterati_ is a joke for women literati (famous for being authors.) No, it refers to prominent feminists. Some of them may be authors too, but that’s not how the term is used. I Googled it just now to be sure, and learned it’s also a band. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2021, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-know-these-slang-expressions/931293/32 "2021-01-25T01:12:23Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > _Hasselhoff_ could mean several things. I suspect the primary meaning pertains to [sloppy eating](https://youtu.be/dkGUI4bnQbQ), perhaps due to being inebriated. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2021, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-know-these-slang-expressions/931293/33 "2021-01-25T01:22:54Z")
Oh, it’s an awful word. It made the American Dialect Association’s most outrageous words of the year list for 2003. [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:American\_Dialect\_Society\_most\_outrageous\_words\_of\_the\_year](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:American_Dialect_Society_most_outrageous_words_of_the_year) ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2021, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-know-these-slang-expressions/931293/34 "2021-01-25T01:32:08Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Same here. But I’m 59. > [@BrickBat](#): > > As am I. 😀 You young people… I’ve never heard any of those. > [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Anyone want to guess what these mean? > > - California King > - clitterati > - expresshole > - gradumacate > - hasselhoff > - nintendonitis Don’t know any of those, either. ---
**Author:** ![Honoria](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/da6949/32.png) [@Honoria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honoria)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2021, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-know-these-slang-expressions/931293/35 "2021-01-25T01:53:49Z")
I’ve never heard of any of the words in the list in the OP. Of those on the second list, for at least three decades, multiple generations of my family have used _expresshole_ for people who jump into the grocery store limited-items checkout line with more than the maximum number of items allowed in accordance with the lane signage. (Not out loud, at least in my case - I have a strong aversion to instigating physical violence upon myself. 😉) I think the term came from a book titled, _Sniglets - Words That Don’t Exist But Should_ or something similar to that. Never heard of any of the other words. (For those factoring in age of respondents I’m in my late 50s.) ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2021, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-know-these-slang-expressions/931293/36 "2021-01-25T03:38:37Z")
That is correct, for expresshole. But I’d also give credit for folks who, when one lane is blocked and cars are asked to merge, drive to the very end to just before the blockage - then try to cut into the longer line of more patient and observant people. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2021, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-know-these-slang-expressions/931293/37 "2021-01-25T19:45:28Z")
Yes, I like that expresshole term for “me first” attitude toward merging. I once witnessed an unbelievable display of chutzpah on a crowded city expressway of backed up creeping stop and go traffic. There were exits ( and exit ) ramps every 8th of a mile or so This one aggressive jerk in a dump truck got off at _every_ exit, allowing him to temporarily gain ground on the traffic, and bullied his way back on into the traffic. Over and over. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2021, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-know-these-slang-expressions/931293/38 "2021-01-25T20:15:57Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > But I’d also give credit for folks who, when one lane is blocked and cars are asked to merge, drive to the very end to just before the blockage - then try to cut into the longer line of more patient and observant people. I believe the term for this is [know how to drive](https://www.codot.gov/projects/co9-wideningsummitco/the-zipper-merge-techniques-to-keep-traffic-moving). In Colorado they’ve had to put up signs reminding people to not merge before the merge point since it slows traffic so much. In other words early mergers are the asshole. I’m 38 and the only one of these terms I have any guess on is Hasselhoff for someone too drunk to be in public ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2021, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-know-these-slang-expressions/931293/39 "2021-01-25T21:33:23Z")
68 and never heard any of them before. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2021, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-know-these-slang-expressions/931293/40 "2021-01-25T21:38:53Z")
Does anyone know this slang expression? portmantlame [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-know-these-slang-expressions/931293.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-know-these-slang-expressions/931293.md?page=3)