美国多地俚语集锦

2017-11-17克莉丝汀亨特蓝岚

英语世界 2017年5期

文/克莉丝汀·亨特译/蓝岚

美国多地俚语集锦

文/克莉丝汀·亨特译/蓝岚

We as a nation have embraced all kinds of dumb slang, from“swag1swag一些歌手用在歌词中，显示炫酷、有型。” to “hepcat22 hepcat热爱爵士乐的人。.” (Never mind, hepcat is awesome.) But some words never get out of speci fi c pockets of America,where they easily weed out3weed out除去；淘汰。the locals from the transplants44 transplant迁移者。. Because we have an af fi nity5affinity喜好；喜爱。for funny words and inside jokes, we rounded up6round up集拢；找来。a few of our favorites from all over the US.

[2] Jawn

Philadelphia, PA

What it means: Almost anything.“Jawn” could be a person (i.e. “I was talking to this jawn...”), a song (i.e. “You hear that new Drake7=Aubrey Drake Graham奥布里·德雷克·格雷厄姆，加拿大说唱歌手、演员。jawn?”), or even a collapsed building (i.e. this real news story).

Should we all start using it? Only if we want to confuse the hell out of the general public.

[3] Bubbler

Wisconsin

What it means: A drinking fountain.The name supposedly comes from the local Kohler Co., which made fountains with a “bubbling valve8valve阀门。” in the middle of the bowl in 1915. People started calling the things “bubblers,” and the term was soon applied to any drinking fountain. (Also, while this is mostly a WI word, it pops up in Portland and pockets of New England as well.)

Should we all start using it? It’s shorter and more whimsical9whimsical异想天开的；滑稽可笑的。than “water fountain,” so sure, why not!

[4] Cattywampus10 wampus cat是美国民间传说中的一种动物，类似美洲狮。

The South

What it means: All out of sorts,askew111 askew歪；斜。, craaaazy.

Should we all start using it? If it’s good enough for Mr. Krabs12动画《海绵宝宝》里的角色，是一只螃蟹，蟹堡王餐厅的老板，本名蟹阿金，视钱如命，经常为了一块钱而去冒生命危险。, it’s good enough for us.

[5] Pre-funk

Paci fi c Northwest

What it means: Pre-game. As in,drinking before another event that likely involves more drinking.Should we all start using it? Obviously the rest of the country already has a word for that, but “funk” is more appealing than “game,” so let’s go for it.

[6] Tump (over)

Texas

What it means: To tip, fall, or spill over. While some people peg13peg固定，限定。this term solely to Texas, it also has a big following in Arkansas and other Southern states.

Should we all start using it? It is kinda funny that it’s practically an onomatopoeia14onomatopoeia象声；拟声。of the action (thump),and since we’ve been hung up on15hung up on全神贯注于；被……迷住。onomatopoeia since that one spelling bee16spelling bee〈美〉拼字比赛。,we’re going to say yes.

[7] Shoots

Hawaii

What it means: A general affirmative, like “yeah.” Can be followed with“then” or “brah.” One of the more allpurpose words from Hawaii’s pidgin17pidgin （不同语种的人在商业交往中形成的）混杂语言，混杂行话。slang.

Should we all start using it? Shoots,brah.

[8] Devil strip

Akron, Ohio

What it means: That little grassy area between the sidewalk and the street. One theory says the term was invented by West Virginian transplants who came to Akron to work the rubber factories. They told their kids the grass was the “devil’s strip” so they wouldn’t run out into the streets. Another theory maintains it was actually overworked WWII moms. They still supposedly made it up to scare their kids, though,so either way, dumb children are the root cause18root cause根本原因。.

Should we all start using it? Yes.It’ll make that very specific patch of grass so much more metal.

[9] Yamom’n’em

New Orleans

What it means: Basically, your family. People will say, “How’s yamom’n’em?” instead of, “How are your folks?” You can also tell someone to, “Say hi to your mom’n’em for me,”so go nuts, Mark Wahlberg19美国影视演员，他家有9个孩子，他是家中的老小。.

Should we all start using it? It seems like a recipe for20a recipe for很可能是造成……的原因。confusion, but also looks like fun to say. Maybe just bring it out on special occasions.

[10] Pogonip

Nevada

What it means: A freezing fog that shows up in deep mountain valleys of the Western U.S. While Nevada tends to monopolize211 monopolize独占。it as a term, you’ll hear it in other parts of the West. Also, beware it.

Should we all start using it? Yes.It’ll at least make talking about the weather more interesting.

[11] Yinz

Pittsburgh

What it means: A second-person plural pronoun. Think “y’all” or “youse guys” but with a “z.”

Should we all start using it? People from Pittsburgh are awfully proud of this word, but it doesn’t really sound anything like “you.” It sounds more like a very small, shaky dog, and no one wants to be equated22equate使等同。with a nervous Chihuahua.

[12] Pinkletink

Massachusetts

What it means: A tiny frog. The little guy’s known as a spring peeper everywhere else.

Should we all start using it? Yes. We don’t know how often specific amphibians23amphibian两栖动物或植物。come up in your everyday conversation, but seize every opportunity to casually drop the word “pinkletink.”

[13] Whoopensocker

Wisconsin

What it means: Something “extraordinary of its kind.” That could mean a lot of things, but, as theWall Street Journalnoted, it’s probably a big beer.

Should we all start using it? Are you kidding? It sounds ridiculous and can be used in bars. Yes. A thousand times yes. ■

美国人民接纳了各种让人无语的俚语，前有“帅格”，后有“爵士猫”（那啥，“爵士猫”是个好词儿）。但有些俚语地域性极强，一下就能将本地人和外来户区分开来。因为向来对喜感词汇和圈内笑话情有独钟，我们搜遍全美，找到一些深入人心的词汇在此奉上。

[2]啅

宾夕法尼亚州费城

意义：差不多能指代万物，形容人（“我正跟这个啅说话呢……”）、歌曲（“德雷克的新啅听了没？”），甚至还指倒塌的大楼（这可是新闻里的真事）。

大家都该用？只要不怕把大家都搞糊涂就行。

[3]泡泡乐

威斯康辛州

意义：自动饮水器。据说该词源于1915年威斯康辛州的科勒公司推出的一款饮水器，接水盆中央有个“泡泡阀”。人们开始把这种样子的饮水器称作“泡泡乐”，很快所有自动饮水器都被冠以这一称呼。（还有，虽然这个词大多出自威斯康辛人之口，但俄勒冈州波特兰和新英格兰某些地区也有人会冷不丁用一下。）

大家都该用？这比“自动饮水器”简短，也更好玩，当然要用，干嘛不用？

[4]奸猾狮

南方地区

意义：一切让人不爽的、跑偏的、极度疯狂的。

大家都该用？要是《海绵宝宝》里的蟹老板都可以用，我们也可以。

[5]预热

太平洋西北沿岸地区

意义：预热活动。比方说，在另一场可能让你喝高的酒局前先喝上一顿。

大家都该用？美国其他地方显然已经有了一个表达此含义的词，但是 funk比game更吸引眼球，用吧用吧。

[6]咣（或咣倒）

得克萨斯州

意义：翻倒、摔倒或泼洒。这个词有人认为仅限得克萨斯用，但其实在阿肯色和其他南方州也有很多拥趸。

大家都该用？这个词挺有意思，它实际上是“暴打”这个动作发出的声音。既然我们自小参加过拼字比赛后就对象声词念念不忘，那“咣”或“咣倒”也可以接受。

[7]是呜茨

夏威夷

意义：常见的肯定词，和“是的”差不多，后面经常接“那么（then）”或者“老兄（brah）”。夏威夷的“洋泾浜”俚语很多，“是呜茨”是其中的百搭词之一。

大家都该用？是呜茨，老兄。

[8]魔鬼地带

俄亥俄州阿克伦

意义：人行道和街道之间狭窄的草坪。有一种说法是，这个词是到阿克伦橡胶厂工作的西弗吉尼亚州外来户发明的。他们吓唬孩子说这种草坪是“魔鬼地带”，这样孩子就不敢越过草坪跑到街上去了。还有一种说法是，这个词其实是二战期间超额工作的妈妈们造的。不过也说是为了吓唬孩子，所以不管哪种说法，反正这个词就是为傻孩子而造的！

大家都该用？用吧。这会让那一小片草地显得更迷人。