bling-bling in the OED

[Baker, John]

        Yes, I missed the formatting problem.  "Jewellery, diamonds, shiny" sounds like a closer match.  Still open is whether bling-bling moved from Jamaican Patois to hip-hop, or vice versa.

John Baker


-----Original Message-----
From: Jesse Sheidlower [mailto:jester at PANIX.COM]
Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2003 10:05 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: bling-bling in the OED


> http://www.jamaicans.com/speakja/glossary.htm#b

That list is mis-formatted; "bling-bling" is translated as
"jewellery, diamonds, shiny". The meaning "BMW" should be
associated with "bimmer", several lines above "bling-bling".
Under "bimmer" is "bizniz", which is translated as "business"
if you look at the correct line.

Jesse Sheidlower
OED