Silicon Valley teen slang

[Allan Metcalf]

FWIW. . . .

 Published Tuesday, May 11, 1999, in the San Jose Mercury News
           ROSEMARY JACOBS -- CLASS ACTION

 Here's the 411 on teenage slang
 BY ROSEMARY JACOBS

 HAVING trouble keeping up with your teenager's vocabulary? Here are some
slang words popular with students. Learn them fast before they change.
 Teens, you can help. Next time you're coasting, take a minute to send me the
411 on new words. I'm here 24-7.
    Coasting (v) -- Relaxing.
 We were coasting at Sara's house until the party started.
    Digit (n) -- A phone number.
 Sam and Lena switched digits so they can call each other tonight.
    Dog or dawg (n) -- A close acquaintance or friend.
 Jake waited for his dogs to go to the amusement park.
    Dog (n) -- A guy who takes advantage or cheats on his girlfriend or wife.
 Jeff is known as a dog because he has two girlfriends and a wife.
    Folks (n) -- A group of buddies or friends who socialize together.
 I'm supposed to meet the folks after I finish my homework.
    411 (n) -- Information or gossip.
 What's the 411 on the fight Jeff and Sue had at the mall?
    Grubbing (v) -- Eating.
 I was grubbing when Laura called.
    Jabroni (n) -- An idiot; a big-time loser.
 That guy's a jabroni because he can never do anything right.
    Kick (adj) -- Out of style.
 Those jackets are kick.
    Kickin' it (v) -- Hanging out; being with friends; having fun.
 Joey was kickin' it at Monica's house.
    Kicks (n) -- Shoes; sandals.
 Those kicks cost him $150.
    Late (n) -- A form of saying goodbye, derived from ``later.''
 After five rings, a voice said, ``You have reached Michelle's voice mail
pager. Leave me a message after the beep. Much love, late.''
    Raw (adj) -- Wonderful, awesome, great. (syn. cool, tight, dope, fly,
phat).
 The special effects in the movie were raw.
    Scrub (n) -- A person who has no money or anything of value and lives off
others; a guy who gets no respect or attention from females.
 No girl would go out with Jack because he was a scrub.
    Shout-out (n) -- Giving respect to someone; saying hi.
 Jerry wanted to give his girlfriend a shout-out on national television.
    Slammin' (adj) -- Really good.
 She made a slammin' roast beef sandwich.
    Smack (n) -- Hurtful gossip or rumors said about an individual, usually
started by a jealous person.
 She was beaten up for talking so much smack about Eve.
    Teeniebopper (n) -- A young person who follows all the trends, fashions
and styles and tries to be older than she really is; a wannabe.
 Janice was such a teeniebopper that she had to have the latest before anyone
else.
    Twenty-four seven or 24-7 (adv) -- Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a
week; all the time; always.
 My brother talks on the phone twenty-four seven.
    Whack (adj) -- Not cool; not good; undesirable.
 The boat dance was whack because the DJ was playing CDs instead of mixing
records.

 Rosemary Jacobs is a Bay Area teacher. Write to Class Action, Silicon Valley
Life, Mercury News, 750 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, Calif. 95190; fax (408)
271-3786; or e-mail features at sjmercury.co