Those who watch American and British movies and soap opera may be familiar with the following terms: Dude, buddy, bloke, chap, fag, cool, hot, cop, good egg (moral person), bad egg (immoral person) and bobby (police officer). The words ‘dude’ and ‘buddy’ are examples of American slang whereas ‘bloke’ and ‘chap’ are examples of British slang and the meaning of all these four terms is ‘man’.
We may come across many slang expressions while reading the work of native speakers of English. When we are unable to understand certain slang words, we may refer to standard dictionaries. Not all standard dictionaries list slang terms because they are not considered standard in the speaker’s language. For example, what is the meaning of the phrase ‘to get papped’ in the news headline: Michelle Marsh gets papped? The phrase is not listed in Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (2003 edition). According to the dictionary, the word ‘pap’ is an uncountable noun and has two meanings: Food which is soft and has little taste, and, television, cinema or literature which is entertaining, but has no artistic or educational value. According to Webster’s Dictionary, the meanings of the word are: Soft food for infants or invalids; an idea, talk, book, or the like, lacking substance or real value; and a teat, nipple, or something resembling a teat or nipple. Based on these meanings, it is not possible to guess the real meaning of the phrase.
In Urban Dictionary, a web-based dictionary of slang words and phrases, ‘to get papped’ has the following meanings:
1. To be made a fool of online.
2. To be photographed by paparazzi.
3. To be tricked into something that is not real.
4. To be a butt of someone's practical joke.
In the news headline, ‘Michelle Marsh gets papped’, the phrase ‘gets papped’ refers to the second meaning (to be photographed by paparazzi) as there is a mention about paparazzi rushing to the garden to take photos.
What is the difference between slangism and colloquialism? Slangism refers to non-standard informal words and expressions used by certain social groups such as college students, soldiers and prisoners whereas colloquialism refers to standard informal words and expressions used in casual speech by any group of people. The slang ‘pull’ has different meanings: To sexually attract someone, to get passionate, and, to arrest.
The informal expression ‘be packed out’ means very crowded, as in these sentences:
• The seminar hall was so packed out that I couldn’t enter the hall. I had to wait for more than 90 minutes to get inside.
• This super market is packed out and you can’t buy anything.
The slang term ‘pull’ with the meanings listed above is not used by non-native speakers of English whereas the colloquial term ‘be packed out’ is commonly used by both native and non-native speakers. Here are links to websites on slang expressions: www.slangdictionary.com, www.urbandictionary.com and www.peevish.co.uk/slang
— rayanal@yahoo.co.uk