• AREA
n. 1. 1658 obs. – a garden bed or border
n. 2. 19C sl. – pubic hair
n. 3. 1970s US college sl. – the genitals
• AREA-BIRD
n. 1941 US Military Academy usage – a cadet order to walk punishment tours in the barracks area; a cadet who has walked many such tours
• AREA CODE
n. 2000s US college sl. – a promiscuous female
• AREA DIVER
n. 19C sl. – a thief who specializes in robbing basements
• AREADY
adj. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – ready
• AREA LURKER
n. 19C sl. – a thief who specializes in robbing basements
• AREAR
adv. 1. Bk1898 Eng. dial. obs. – backward, behind
adv. 2. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – reared up, upright
int. 1762 Eng. dial. – an exclamation of surprise
• AREA SLUM
n. 19C sl. – a thief who specializes in robbing basements
• AREA SNEAK
n. 1. 1819 sl. obs. rare – the practice of getting into the lower floors of a house unobserved via the area (a sunken court giving access to the basement of a house) in order to commit petty theft
n. 2. 1832 sl. rare – a petty thief who gets into lower floors of a house unobserved in order to commit petty theft
vb. 1862 sl. obs. rare – (as ‘area-sneak’) to get into the lower floors of a house unobserved in order to commit petty theft
• AREL
vb. 1908 Sc. – to move feebly
• ARENA RAT
n. 1. 1957 Can. sl. – a young person who hangs around a skating arena
n. 2. 1990 US sl. – a woman who invites sexual relations with professional wrestlers
• ARER
adv. L19 sl. – more so, to any greater extent
• AREST
adj. Bk1852 obs. – rancid
vb. 1875 Eng. dial. – to grant rest
• ARESTENESSE
n. Bk1852 obs. – of meat: rancidity
• ARETALOGER
n. 1623 obs. – one who brags or boasts of his own virtue or accomplishments
• ARETHEDE
n. Bk1852 obs. rare – honour
• ARETT
vb. c1340 obs. – to impute
• ARE WE AWAY?
phr. Amer. sl. – shall we go? let’s go.
• ARE YOU FEELING A BREEZE?
phr. 1965 Amer. dial. – used to warn a man that his pants are torn or that his fly is open
• ARE YOU FOR REAL?
phr. 1949 US sl. – used for humorously questioning a person’s sincerity
• ARE YOU KEEPING IT FOR THE WORMS?
phr. 1. 1940s sl., orig. US – addressed to a supposed virgin, this is intended to shame or bluster her into intercourse
phr. 2. 1940s Can. – addressed to a female rejecting sexual advances
• ARE YOU KIDDING?
phr. 1949 colloq. – you can’t be serious, surely you’re joking?
• ARE YOU LOOKING AT ME?
phr. 1994 US sl. – used as a belligerent challenge to a stranger
• ARE YOU PREPARED?
phr. 1960s sl. – implying amazement or shock, both approving and disapproving
• ARE YOUR BOOTS LACED?
phr. 1930s African-American sl. – a query as to the state of affairs; is everything in order? are you ready? do you understand?
• ARE YOU READY?
phr. 1960s sl. – implying amazement or shock, both approving and disapproving
• ARE YOU READY TO THROW DOWN?
phr. 2002 US sl. – used as a call soliciting a response (‘yes, we are’) at a party
• ARE YOU SAVING IT FOR THE WORMS?
phr. 1940s sl., orig. US – addressed to a supposed virgin; the phrase is intended to shame or bluster her into intercourse
• ARE YOU STUPID OR FRENCH?
phr. 2002 Can. sl. – used for expressing a dim opinion of someone’s intellectual firepower
• ARE YOU THERE WITH YOUR BEARS?
phr. 1594 obs. – an expression of exasperation or surprise, esp. at a person’s persistence with a topic or notion; ‘are you at it again?’
• ARE YOU WRITING A BOOK?
phr. Bk1944 services’ sl. – reply for someone over-inquisitive
• ARF
n. 1. 1854 UK sl. – half
n. 2. L19 sl. – afternoon
• ARF A MO
n. 1. 1910s sl. – a cigarette, esp. when it proves hard to keep alight
n. 2. 1910s Aust. sl. – a small moustache
• ‘ARF-AN’-‘ARF
adj. B1900 Eng. sl. – drunk, lightly intoxicated with alcohol
n. B1890 Eng. sl. – ale and porter equally mixed
• ARFARFANARF
adj. L19 Cockney sl. – very drunk
• ARFISH
adj. 1. 1788 Eng. dial. – timid, fearful, apprehensive
adj. 2. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – unwilling, reluctant
• ARFNAME
n. c1000 obs. – an heir
• ARFTO
n. 1930s Aust. & NZ sl. – afternoon
• THE ARFY-DARFY
n. 1960s US tramps’ sl. – the road, in the context of a tramp, as ‘on the arfy-darfy’
• ARG
adj. Bk1898 Sc. – eager, fierce
n. 1. 1968 Amer. dial. – a faultfinder
n. 2. 1981 US sl. – in computing: an argument
vb. 1914 Sc. & Amer. dial. – to argue; to talk ill-temperedly and hot-headedly
• ARGADENT
n. 1941 Amer. dial. – any strong alcoholic drink
• ARGE
n. 1940s sl. – silver
• ARGEE
n. a1861 sl. – inferior whisky
• ARGERIE
n. 1887 Sc. – a crowd, a multitude
• ARGEY-REERIE
n. 1911 Sc. – a wrangle; a scolding
• ARGH
adj. 1. 1684 Sc. & Eng. dial. – timorous, apprehensive, afraid
adj. 2. 1813 Sc. & Eng. dial. – hesitating, reluctant, unwilling, disinclined
adj. 3. Bk1898 Sc. – scanty, insufficient
adv. Bk1898 Sc. – insufficiently; not fully or enough; nearly, approaching to
vb. 1725 Sc. – to be timid or fearful; to feel reluctant from timidity, to hesitate
• ARGHNESS
n. 1. 1721 Sc. & Eng. dial. – reluctance, unwillingness
n. 2. Bk1898 Sc. – timidity, superstitious fear
• ARGIE
adj. 1982 colloq. – Argentinian
n. 1. 1808 Sc. – assertion
n. 2. 1982 Brit. sl. – a person from Argentina
vb. 1911 Sc. – to argue, generally in a contentious or noisy fashion
• ARGIE-BARGIE
n. Bk1898 Sc. – a contention, a quarrel; a dispute in words; haggling, generally implying impatience with the speaker
vb. 1885 Sc. – to argue, to bandy words, to dispute; to contend; to haggle
• ARGIE-BARGIEMENT
n. Bk1911 Sc. – a wrangling; contention
• ARGING AND BARGING
n. L19 – an argument
• ARGISOME
adj. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – contentious, inclined to argue or dispute
• ARGIVE
adj. 1598 – Grecian, Greek
n. 1675 – a Greek
• ARGLE
n. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – an argument, a dispute
vb. 1886 Eng. dial. – to argue, to dispute; to contend; esp. in making a bargain
• ARGLE-BARGAIN
n. 1894 Sc. – disputatious argument
vb. 1721 Sc. – to dispute
• ARGLE-BARGLE
adv. 1931 Sc. – in disputatious talk
n. 1. a1881 chiefly Eng. dialect and Sc. usage – a disputatious argument; a bandying of words, a wrangling; a quarrel
n. 2. 1988 Can. sl. – the sound made by seabirds
vb. 1727 chiefly Eng. dial. and Sc. – to argue, quarrel, cavil, dispute, contend; to haggle, to bandy words
• ARGLE-BARGLER
n. 1820 Sc. – a contentious person; a caviller
• ARGLE-BARGLIN
adj. 1897 Sc. – contentious
• ARGLE-BARGLOUS
adj. 1875 Sc. – quarrelsome, disputatious
• ARGO
n. 1950s sl. – an Argentinian
• ARGOL-BARGOL
n. E19 – an argument
vb. Bk1911 Sc. – to bandy words; to cavil; to dispute
• ARGOL-BARGOLOUS
adj. 1822 Sc. – quarrelsome, contentious about trifles
• ARGOLLING
n. a1839 Sc. – argument, reasoning
• ARGOLOGY
n. 1623 obs. – idle or vain speaking
• ARGONAUT
n. 1873 US – an adventurer who went to California in 1849; a forty-niner
• ARGOSIE
n. Bk1898 Sc. obs. – anger; fury
• ARGUE
n. Bk1898 Sc. & Eng. dial. – argument, assertion; dispute, contention, quarrel
• ARGUE-BARGUE
vb. 1887 orig. Sc. – to argue, to wrangle
• ARGUE THE TOSS
vb. 1887 Eng. sl. – to dispute noisily and long; to argue over something already decided
• ARGUFICATION
n. 1. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – an argument, a dispute, contention
n. 2. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – investigation
n. 3. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – significance, import
• ARGUFIER
n. 1. 1805 Amer. dial. – a convincing or argumentative speaker
n. 2. 19C – an argument
• ARGUFY
vb. 1. 1751 colloq. – to be of importance, consequence, or use; to be evidence of something; to signify
vb. 2. 1804 colloq. – to contend, to wrangle, to argue, to dispute
vb. 3. 1853 Amer. dial. – to persuade by argument
• ARGUFYING
n. 1873 Ireland & Eng. dial. – disputing, arguing
• ARGUFYMENT
n. 1892 Ireland – an argument, a dispute
• ARGUITIVE
adj. a1665 obs. rare – characterized by argument, having the form of an argument
• ARGUTATION
n. 1641 obs. – over-refinement in arguing; subtle disputation; cavilling, cavil, quibble
• ARGUY-BARGUY
vb. 1885 Sc. – to argue, to bandy words, to dispute
• ARGY
vb. 1911 Sc. – to argue, generally in a contentious or noisy fashion
• ARGY-BARGLE
n. 19C – an argument
• ARGY-BARGY
n. 1887 orig. Sc. – an argument, wrangling
vb. 1887 orig. Sc. – to argue, to wrangle
• ARI
n. 1. L19 rhyming sl./abbreviation for ‘Aristotle’ – a bottle
n. 2. 1950s rhyming sl./abbreviation for ‘Aristotle’ – the buttocks, the behind
• ARICHTOCRAT
n. 1942 Amer. dial. – an aristocrat
• ARICHTOCRATIC
adj. 1942 Amer. dial. – aristocratic
• ARIES
n. 1994 US sl. – heroin
• ARIGATO
phr. 1947 Hawaii – Thank you (Japanese)
• ARIGHT
adv. 1874 Sc. & N. Eng. dial. – rightly
• ARIS
n. 1. L19 rhyming sl./abbreviation for ‘Aristotle’ – a bottle
n. 2. 1950s rhyming sl./abbreviation for ‘Aristotle’ – the buttocks, the behind
• ARISTIPPUS
n. 1. E17 sl. – Canary wine
n. 2. L17 sl. – a diet drink, made of sarsparilla, cinchona bark, and other ingredients
• ARISTO
adj. 1874 colloq. – characteristic of aristocrats; aristocratic
n. 1864 colloq. – an aristocrat
• ARI-STOCK-RAT
n. 1962 Can. sl. – a Canadian person of mixed Indian and French ancestry
• ARISTOCRATIC
adj. 1846 Amer. dial. – stylish, culturally superior
• ARISTOTLE
n. 1. 1897 Aust. rhyming sl. – a bottle
n. 2. 1910s rhyming sl. for ‘bottle’ – courage
n. 3. 1950s rhyming sl. for ‘bottle and glass’ = ‘arse’ – the buttocks, the behind
• ARISTOTLE’S LANTERN
n. 1990 Can. sl. – a sea urchin
• ARITHMANCY
n. Bk1991 – divination involving numbers
• ARITHMETIC BUG
n. 1920 US sl. – a louse or other verminous insect
• ARITHMETICIONAR
n. 1872 Sc. – a mathematician, a worker in figures
• ARITHMOCRACY
n. Bk1991 – rule by that group which holds the numerical majority in a state
• ARITHMOMANCY
n. Bk1991 – divination involving numbers
• ARITHMOMANIA
n. Bk1991 – a compulsion to count things; an obsession with numbers
• ARIZONA
n. 1946 US restaurant sl. – buttermilk
• ARIZONA CANARY
n. 1930s sl. – a donkey or mule
• ARIZONA CLOUDBURST
n. 1966 Amer. dial., jocular usage – a sandstorm
• ARIZONA NIGHTINGALE
n. 1940 Amer. dial. – a donkey or mule
• ARIZONA PAINT JOB
n. 1962 Amer. dial., jocular usage – no paint at all
• ARIZONA PEACOCK
n. 1956 Amer. dial. – a roadrunner
• ARIZONA PERFUME
n. 1940s US prison & criminals’ sl. – gas, as inhaled in the prison gas chamber
• ARIZONA STOP
n. 1962 US sl. – a rolling stop at a traffic signal or stop sign
• ARIZONA TENOR
n. 1. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – the tuberculosis cough
n. 2. 1942 Amer. dial. – a person suffering from tuberculosis
• ARIZONA TERRITORY
n. 1991 US sl. – an area southwest of Da Nang, South Vietnam. with imprecise boundaries and a strong Vietcong presence
• ARJI
n. 2001 US sl. – marijuana
• ARK
n. 1. 1750 Sc. & Eng. dial. – a receptacle, usually a large wooden chest, made to contain flour, corn, fruit, clothes, etc.
n. 2. 1839 Eng. dial. – clouds in lines converging to two points on opposite parts of the sky
n. 3. 1905 Amer. dial. – in logging: a houseboat used as bunkhouse, kitchen, or storage area, esp. in floating camps
n. 4. 1908 Sc. – anything large or unwieldy
n. 5. 1953 US sl. – a dance hall
n. 6. 1965 Amer. dial., jocular usage – any old, clumsy boat
n. 7. Bk1970 Amer. sl. – an old car
n. 8. a1981 US sl. – a low bar-room; a ‘dive’
• ARK AND WIN(N)S
n. L17 UK criminals’ sl. – a sculler, a rowing boat
• ARKANSAS ASPHALT
n. 1966 Amer. dial. – logs laid side by side to form a ‘corduroy’ road
• ARKANSAS CHICKEN
n. 1905 Amer. dial. rare – salt pork
• ARKANSAS CREDIT CARD
n. 1976 US sl. – a piece of hose used to siphon petrol/gas from another car into the tank of one’s own
• ARKANSAS DEW
n. 1969 Amer. dial. – a sudden heavy rain
• ARKANSAS FIRE EXTINGUISHER
n. 1962 Amer. dial. – a chamber-pot
• ARKANSAS FLUSH
n. 1950 US jocular usage – in poker: a worthless hand consisting of four cards of a single suit and one indifferent card
• ARKANSAS GRAVEL
n. 1954 US sl. – small trees used as a makeshift bridge over a mud hole
• ARKANSAS LIZARD
n. 1. 1910s US sl. – a flea
n. 2. 1918 Amer. dial., jocular usage – a louse
• ARKANSAS PAVEMENT
n. 1954 US sl. – small trees used as a makeshift bridge over a mud hole
• ARKANSAS SPECIAL
n. 1950 Amer. dial., jocular usage – an unimportant branch railroad
• ARKANSAS T-BONE
n. 1967 Amer. dial., jocular usage – bacon
• ARKANSAS TOAD STABBER
n. 1994 US sl. – a sharp knife
• ARKANSAS TOOTHPICK
n. 1. 1837 Amer. sl. – a large bowie knife, or similar knife with a long blade
n. 2. 1837 Amer. sl. – any hunting knife when used for fighting, esp. a Bowie knife; a bayonet
• ARKANSAS TRAVELER
n. 1969 Amer. dial., jocular usage – an unimportant branch railroad
• ARKANSAS TRAVELS
n. 1965 Amer. dial., jocular usage – diarrhoea
• ARKANSAS WATER
n. 1951 Amer. dial. – a term of contempt for a drink served at a picnic
• ARKANSAS WEDDING CAKE
n. 1958 Amer. dial., jocular usage – cornbread
• ARKANSAW
n. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – Arkansas
vb. 1. 1927 Amer. dial. – to kill or shoot in an unsportsmanlike manner, whether targeting animals or humans
vb. 2. 1950s US sl. – to share expenses, esp. of a meal
vb. 3. 1953 Amer. dial. – to cheat, to take advantage of
• ARKANSAWYER
n. 1904 Amer. dial. – a native or inhabitant of Arkansas
• ARK-FLOATER
n. L19 sl. – a veteran actor
• ARKIE
adj. 19C US sl. – old-fashioned; out-of-date
n. 1. 1942 Amer. dial., derogatory – a rustic person or one considered insignificant
n. 2. 1958 Amer. dial., often derogatory – a native of Arkansas or neighbouring states, esp. a migrant from Arkansas
n. 3. 20C Amer. sl. – a farmer who fled the dust-storm region of the West, spec, Oklahoma during the 1930s
n. 4. 20C US sl. – any poor Southern farmer, esp. a sharecropper
• ARK-MAN
n. E18 UK criminals’ sl. – a river thief who specializes in robbing river traffic
• ARK-PIRATE
n. L18 UK criminals’ sl. – a river thief
• ARK-RUFF
n. 18C UK criminals’ sl. – a river thief
• ARK-RUFFIAN
n. 18C UK criminals’ sl. – a river thief
• ARKY
adj. 1. 1899 Amer. dial. – old-fashioned, quite out of style
adj. 2. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – old
n. 1. 1927 US sl. – a native of Arkansas, usually White and usually poor; extended to any yokel
n. 2. 1942 Amer. dial., derogatory – a rustic person or one considered insignificant
n. 3. 20C US sl. – a farmer who fled the dust-storm region of the West, spec, Oklahoma during the 1930s
n. 4. 20C US sl. – any poor Southern farmer, esp. a sharecropper
• ARKYMALARKEY
n. 1936 US sl. – nonsense
• ARL
vb. 1929 Sc. – to tell improbable stories; to prevaricate; to weave a fictitious tale
• ARLE
vb. 1. 1866 Sc. – to beat severely, to thrash, to punish
vb. 2. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – to earn
• ARLES
n. 1866 Sc. – a thrashing
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Updated: September 5, 2022
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