Miss Jill's Lexicon of Slang

This first comment is irrelevant to the rest of the post, but today I was teaching sixth period and my contact unexpectedly flew out of my right eye. A student in the front row got excited and shouted, "She's blind. Everybody run!"

Because I spent four years teaching non-native English speakers, I have picked up the habit of constantly over enunciating (I originally spelled this "annunciate"-too much Catholic School, I guess). I never noticed it, but an actress pointed it out and she was right. For that reason, I think it is really funny to use slang once in a while, because it sounds so unnatural coming out of my mouth. Kind of like Cousin Mitt inexplicably saying "Who let the dogs out?" on Martin Luther King Day (but not as offensive):



Listen carefully-his tone of voice doesn't change at all.

I am quick to ask for a definition every time that I hear a new word and the kids are often incredulous at the paucity of my vocabulary. I learned my lesson about pretending to know things in seventh grade, when a girl said, "I love Alice Cooper" and I replied, "Me too. She is great!"

Alice Cooper:



I teach this special class about developing social skills every Wednesday and that is a good vocabulary opportunity. After I asked for a few definitions in a row, a girl warned, "Stop! She will know too much!" I don't want to keep this knowledge to myself, so I am going to share a few vernacular nuggets. I have received some help from urbandictionary.com in my studies.

Bougie- Someone who aspires to a higher economic status or anything perceived as upscale from a working class point of view. Derived from "bourgeoisie." I like to use this to describe my social justice friends when they have a sweet ride and live in luxury condos.

O.D. (New York)- To overdo or exaggerate. If your teacher gives you 200 math problems for homework, that's o.d.

Jonin (DC)- It means to bother or tease someone. How I learned it, "Miss, those other kids are jonin me!" Me: I need a definition of "jonin" before I can help you with this issue.

Tight- This usage depends where you are. I think it is usually positive, as in, "Your new car is TIGHT!" Or "that new student is really tight. I wonder if he would date me." However, in New York the kids always used it to make fun of people. For example, if you raised your hand and said something weird and the teacher said you were incorrect, "You tight!" If your girlfriend breaks up with you, "You tight!" If you stepped on a ketchup packet and it squirted onto your pants, "You tight!"

Abuse Case (New York, I think)- Someone who does a lot of embarrassing stuff, like hooking up with tons of different guys, which forces everyone to talk about them in a negative manner.

I am falling asleep, to be continued.