Dictionary of Californian Slang

Please alphabetize when you get the chance.

Level 1: Beginner/recently moved to Cali.

Bail – to leave a place. For example, if you’re at a friend’s house and you want to go home, you can say, “Hey man, I’m tired. I’m gonna bail.”

Bomb(ie) – you can say something is bomb when you really like it. When a girl is very attractive, you can call her a bombie. For example, “Angelina Joline is so bomb,” or “Angelina Joline is such a bombie.”

Bum – to borrow/have. (Bum is also another word for a homeless person.) For example, if you order food that costs $8.25 you can ask your friend to bum a quarter.

Butthurt – when someone gets upset over a small thing. You use this to emphasize how easily someone got upset about something so small. For example, Joe got butthurt when Cami didn’t answer her phone.

To call (someone) out – to say someone is wrong. For example, I decided to wait until after the speech before calling him out on his mistake.

Claimin‘ it – what you say when someone is bragging. For example, if someone’s talking about how cool they are because they can do a backflip on a snowboard, you can say while rolling your eyes, “Claimin’ it,” or “he claims so hard.”

Clutch – when someone unexpectedly has something that helps a situation. For example, if you buy some wine but you don’t have a wine opener at your house, but your friend has one in his backpack, that’s clutch.

Cruise – another way to say “come” or “leave.” (Cruise also means to sail about for pleasure, often with no desitination.) For example, “Hey man, you wanna cruise over to my place after work?” Or, “Hey man, it’s getting late. I’m gonna cruise.”

Dank – another way to say something is good. This originated from marijuana, but is commonly used for other things as well. For example, “This food is dank, I could eat it every day.”

Drag – to inhale cigarette smoke. For example, if someone is smoking a cigarette, you can say, “Hey man, can I get a drag?”

Heavy – when something is very sad or depressing. For example, if someone tells you their cousin died yesterday, you could say, “Damn, dude. That’s heavy...”

Mob – similar to cruise, but it usually implies to come quickly, often by foot, bike, or skateboard. For example, if you ask someone to cruise over to your house after work, and they say they don’t have a car you can say, “Just mob, dude.

Post up – to stand around (often leaning against a wall) without doing much. You can use this when telling some to wait for you, “Just post up here, I’ll be right back,” or if you’re in the club, “hey let’s post up by the bar.” This is a little bit like hang out.

Put (someone) on blast – to make fun of someone in front of other people. If someone is making fun of your new haircut at a party in front of other people, you could say, “Yo dude, why’re you putting me on blast?”

To rock (something) – to wear clothes/accessories with style. For example, if someone asked to borrow white sock from me, I could say, “Sorry man, I only rock black socks.” Also, asking someone, “Can I rock this?” is another way of saying, “Does this look good on me?”

Swooped – to steal/take. This is also used when you’re trying to get with a girl and someone else ends up hooking up with her. For example, if you’re sitting in the front of a car and you leave to go to the bathroom, and someone takes your spot, they swooped you (or you “got swooped”).

Level 2: Getting there/ 3 year resident

Ballin’ – something that’s really cool or fancy. You can also say balla‘, which can refer to a person. This comes from a basketball player with lots of money. For example, I put diamonds on my food because it’s the most balla‘ thing you can possible do to your food.

Boss – When something is really cool or flashy. A boss is a man in charge, leading his own life. If you’re driving an expensive car, you can say you feel like a boss. Or if someone at a party is yelling and screaming and some dude easily quiets her down, you could say about the guy, “Damn, what a boss!” Check out this funny music video about boss.

Bust – when something is dangerous, not a good idea, or a waste of time. For example, having sex without condom is a bust.

Crossfaded – when you’re drunk and stoned (intoxicated from marijuana) at the same time. For example, if you’re drinking beer and someone asks you if you want to smoke weed you could say, “No thanks man. I don’t function well when I’m crossfaded.”

Dub – $20. For example, if someone asks you if you have change for a $10 bill, you could say, “Nah man, I’ve only got a dub.”

Fresh – something that is new, in really good condition, or simply stylish. For example, if you see your friend with a cool pair of shoes you could say, “Damn, those shoes are fresh!”

Gnarley – when something is intense or scary. This started as a surfer slang term that but it’s commonly used by many young people living in California. For example, if you see someone get hit by a car you could say, “Oh my God, that was gnarley!”

Heads ­- another way to say people. This is usually used to refer to guys. For example, if your inviting your friend to a party you could say, “How many heads are you coming with?”

Hella – a lot or very. This is common in Northern California (NorCal), but people in Southern California (SoCal) tend to hate this word. For example, there were hella people at the beach today.

Hyphy – to go crazy, without inhibition. This is generally used when partying. For example, if you’re planning on drinking a lot and dancing a lot, you could say to your friends, “Let’s get hyphy tonight!”

Poppin’ – when a party or other similar event is really fun, usually because there’s a lot of cool people. For example, “The party’s poppin’, get over here!”

Psyched – when you’re excited for something. For example, “I’m so psyched for this concert!”

Pumped (up) – similar meaning as psyched. When you’re excited and have a lot of energy. For example, “I’m so pumped up to go snowboarding this weekend.”

Sketch(y) – something that is dangerous, stupid, or just doesn’t feel right. When used to refer to a person it can also mean they are untrustworthy, creepy, or just someone you don’t feel comfortable being around. For example, “Look at that sketchy guy over in the corner talking to himself.”

Stunnas – sunglasses (usually big and fancy). You can also say “stunna shades.” For example, if you’re going to the beach you could say to your friend, “Make sure you bring your stunna shades.” Music video about wearing stunna shades indoors.

Trip (out) – trip can have many meanings. The most common is when someone is tripping out they are making a big deal out of a small problem. For example, you can tell someone who is over-reacting to “stop tripping out,” or simply, “don’t trip.”

Level 3 coming soon!

Yup. This is 2+2=5's vast vocabulary.