Heard on The Judges: "hold" = "borrow"

[Benjamin Zimmer]

On Wed, May 7, 2008 at 2:19 AM, Wilson Gray <hwgray at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> >  I was struck by this use in the 1999 Destiny's Child song "Bills, Bills,
> >  Bills":
> >
> >  And you have the audacity
> >  To even come and step to me
> >  Ask to hold some money from me
> >  Until you get your check next week
> >
> >  As I may have mentioned before, the song is also notable, to me, for its
> >  repeated use of the word "triflin'," a word frequently used by my
> >  parents.
>
> And let me be the first to inform yo' ass that "triflin'" has always
> been fresh among the colored. ;-)

Cf. also Jamie Foxx's introduction to Kanye West's "Gold Digger",
wherein he revises the lyrics for Ray Charles' "I Got A Woman" to:
"She take my money when I'm in need / Yeah she's a triflin' friend
indeed."


--Ben Zimmer

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org