STAYING HIP
“WORD UP." BILL’S JABBERING SLANG. Last Tuesday night, The Santa Monica City Council wisely voted 5 to 1 to deny an appeal by Santa Monica Treesavers to overturn a Landmarks Commission ruling that ficus trees on Second and Fourth Streets downtown didn’t meet the criteria for landmark status.
This helps clear the way for the city to remove some 23 ficus trees that have safety and structural issues and to replant 31 other trees elsewhere in the community. Seeking landmark designations for these trees was a futile move on behalf of the group and it’s publicity-seeking leader. But, this isn’t going to end anytime soon.
Landlord attorney, Thomas A. Nitti, is assisting Treesavers in securing legal means to prevent the city from cutting down or replanting the trees. Unfortunately, this will cause further delays and even more money. In the end, Treesavers will run out of legal options and lose. When this happens, Treesaver’s leaders have vowed to “chain themselves to the trees.”
After watching the hysterical antics of some ficus supporters at the City Council meeting last Tuesday, I’ve come to the conclusion that all this is all a ridiculous and embarrassing exercise in civic silliness.
Unfortunately, this circus gives the impression that we’re all crazy wack jobs to the rest of the world. Enough is enough.
As a writer, I love words especially coined phrases and slang. It seems that every culture, occupation, age group and special interest has its own special language which constantly changes.
Teens are especially good (awesome, excellent, kick ass, killer, badass, superb) at wordplay. “Sick” is awesome, neat or cool. “Cool” is a relaxed version of hot. “Hot” is cool or even “yumalicious” (delicious and yummy) and “fresh” (off the hook). Did you know a “stunna boy” is a kid between 12 and 17 who wears a lot of bling (flashy jewelry) and has loads of money? "Craxy” is extra crazy. “Twitterpated” is being enthralled by someone, usually of the opposite sex.
The technical age has its lingo, too. Do you “textsex” — use text messaging to communicate about sexual subjects? Ever had a “digital crush?” It’s a usually short-lived infatuation that takes place on the Internet, usually followed by being “Facebooked” (looking somebody up or communicating via Facebook on the ‘Net).
There’s a lot of slang about love, sex and body functions. Most I can’t mention but a girl with “fritty pies” has beautiful eyes or is seductive. “Harboring a Wookie” is having an excess of body fat and/or body hair. Going “commando” means not wearing underpants. A “tramp stamp” is a tattoo just above a woman’s buttocks. “Brokeback” is anything of a “gay” or questionable sexual nature. ”Phone grope” isn’t what you think. Its patting your self down while searching for your cell phone. ”Rolling thick” is traveling with an entourage.
Most drugs have multiple slang names such as chronic, Mary Jane, ganga, grass, bud, herb, cheeba, Tex-Mex and skunk for Marijuana, "Pothole” (a combination of a pothead and a**hole) and “speed humps” are both annoying persons. If someone has “gangstrocity,” it means he/she has achieved the highest level of gangsterism or is a long time "O.G.” (Older Gangster.) Santa Monica even has its own slang. If you’re in “NOMAland,” you’re “North of Montana” (Avenue) where the neighborhood organization is the North of Montana Association. “AWOL,” (Always West of Lincoln) was coined by the Ocean Park Association neighborhood group.
Santa Monica High School is “Samohi.” Some people know "PSF" as the Public Safety Facility behind City Hall. "Drescherville,” between Olympic Boulevard and Nebraska Avenue, is the funky, six acre, studio/workspace complex built by the late Johnny Drescher and used by artists and firms in the entertainment and Internet industries.
Some of our local landlords coined a couple of endearing phrases. The “Peoples Republic” and “Soviet Monica” are digs at the socialistic bent of the ruling political machine in the city, Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights.
Speaking of SMRR, most civic organizations are “SMRR’d up” — controlled by people who are active in SMRR or on SMRR’s steering committee. The Santa Monica Democratic Club has so many SMRR power brokers in it and touts the SMRR party line so fervently, its often called “little SMRR.”
“Skid Row by the Sea” was a phrase also coined by a landlord organization to describe a city overrun with vagrants.The Ocean Park and North Venice Beach neighborhood was tagged “Dogtown”by the early skateboarders.
My thanks to the urbandictionary.com for much of the slang in this column. After all of this, I’m “tired as a chicken” (exhausted) so I’m going to “unwrap the soap” (be the first into the shower) and “rack it" (go to bed). “Word out” (signing off).
Put on your best guitar face and reach out. Bill’s e-dress is
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 25, 2008. Read the original PDF.