Monday, February 9, 2009

An Urban Essential

Once in a while you come across something on the web that truly enhances your quality of life and makes you comfortable enough to feel like you could not only still be in the game but possibly ahead of the game. Living with two teens, I have recently experienced those rare moments, while they are hanging out with their friends, when I actually catch bits of their conversations and I am, more often than not, left wondering what it is they are talking about. It's like they are speaking a foreign language.

Lucky for me, I have found the greatest web invention, geared specifically to help "geezers" like me keep it real and give the young "hipsters" a place to catalog their slang terms. The Urban Dictionary. My daughter "hooked me up" with the site a few months ago. It's the sh*t! I don't know how I ever lived without it. This site most certianly warrants a book mark on both my computer and my iphone. At Urban Dictionary.com, there is a new "word of the day", every day, to keep you up to speed with the new words all the cool kids are using.
Today's word is "canniversary" which is defined as:
"A year from the date on which you were fired from a job. "
"Next week is my canniversary from Enron!"
I love this! Especially considering I will have a "canniversary" in the coming year. The words are supplied by, what I'm assuming are young people, and you can vote on the words with a thumbs up, thumbs down voting system and leave comments on a word.

I have heartily laughed out loud over more than few entries and must admit to learning more than a thing or two while trolling around the site. As a writer, a site like this proves to be invaluable when the writing needs a "grammatically correct" word to reflect it's urban content. There are also those rare, but occasional moments when someone leaves you a comment or sends you a text that left you wondering, "what the hell does that mean?" Fear not, the Urban Dictionary is there when you need it. Take for example:
GTFO
An internet acronym short for "get the fuck out".
or
AFK
Away From Keyboard.
* joe is afk
Thanks to the Urban Dictionary I will never again be left feeling like I am out on a deserted island alone! Recently, while I was reading the Tucker Max book, the Urban Dictionary came to my rescue.
He was talking about a "Cleveland Steam Roller" and "tossing his salad". While I am admitting to having no idea what these phrases meant, after quick definition check on the Urban Dictionary, I was happy to learn that I had no need for either of those terms to be defined before that moment, ever grateful for that small envelope in which I reside.
Check out these testimonials from actual Urban Dictionary users and get over to the Urban Dictionary today! You'll be so glad you did.

21 comments:

Dr Zibbs said...

That is a good site. I recently learned that, "That's sick" means, "that's cool"

My son couldn't believe I didn't know it.

Sassy Britches said...

Duly bookmarked. And just for your information, my word ver is "forsho". Bet that one's listed on Urban Dictionary forsho!

Anonymous said...

I am forwarding this post to my mom right now.
She totally didn't believe when I told her people actually use Urban Dictionary.

SkylersDad said...

Congrats on learning about a Cleveland Steamer! I am sure your life is quite a bit more complete now. He he he...

BeckEye said...

Ass monkey was my favorite term that I've picked up on that site so far.

Bella@That damn expat said...

I've stumbled on that site a few times when I googled something.

But I'm getting close to that age when you say something "hip" and the youngsters just think you are pathetic.

Also, a lot of the words from that dictionary should never be uttered by white people.

Verdant Earl said...

Yeah, I've been using that site for a while. Otherwise I would never know what things like ftw mean.

SouthernBelle said...

Haha, I love Urban Dictionary. Although I kinda wish I hadn't looked up "superman that ho".

Ed The Sports Fan said...

I thought I was the only one that's read up on Tucker Max, he is super hilarious!

Oh, and you can spend hours on Urban Dictionary, its a real problem.

-Ed.
www.edthesportsfan.com

Candy's daily Dandy said...

Belle-hahaha! yeah-kinda like the cleveland steamer.

Joe D. said...

Urban Dictionary, FTW!

Jennifer and Sandi said...

Happy Canniversary! I think?

Love that site!

Happy Funday Monday!

- Jennifer

Scope said...

I am a fan o the site, and do occasionally link to it for word definitions. While I am not young nor hip, if on an AIRPLANE I may need to speak jive.

Ugly Scott said...

i too hope you are using it for decoding rather than usage. i imagine using it in conversation with a kid is like a kid using a thesaurus in conversation with an adult.

as for salad tossing and other similar expressions, may i suggest dive bars or classrooms. i had a student who was up on any gross (especially scat related) slang. he said he had just heard about the terms; he wasn't into such things. then he emailed me. his email name? poopclown.

Tash said...

I very rarely need urban dictionary. Of course, that doesn't speak kindly of me or the company I keep.

mike said...

Did you know that some schools in our country teach Ebonics as a language credit? Terrible. But it is nice to have a reference for all the shit I don't get.

By the way, I caught Scope's Airplane jive joke. Good stuff.

Slyde said...

yes, ive been using the UD for ages now.... its quite useful for when im trying to sound relevant to my neices...

Cora said...

Ohhh, Candy, how I love thee! I needed this. With a text-happy 12 year old in the house this is gonna come in handy! Thank you. :-)

John D. said...

Yes, the UD remains my biggest bridge to coolness.

~E said...

HAHAHA! FYI Candy, teenagers ARE speaking a different language. I'm not that far away from teenager-dom myself but being around my 2, 14-year old cousins for two hours made me feel older than dust!

pure evyl said...

That is one of my favorite places to learn new and exciting vocabulary phrases and words. Such as 'Angry Pirate' and 'Rusty Trombone.'