Ex., “I gotta catch some cups.”Ĭut out (v.) - to leave, to depart. to “That singer really comes on!”Ĭop (v.) - to get, to obtain (see collar knock).Ĭreeps out like the shadow (v.) - “comes on,” but in smooth, suave, sophisticated manner.Ĭups (n.) - sleep. Ex., “I gotta collar me some food” “Do you collar this jive?”Ĭome again (v.) - try it over, do better than you are doing, I don’t understand you.Ĭomes on like gangbusters (or like test pilot) (v.) - plays, sings, or dances in a terrific manner, par excellence in any department. Ex., “I got in at six chimes.”Ĭlambake (n.) - ad lib session, every man for himself, a jam session not in the groove.Ĭollar (v.) - to get, to obtain, to comprehend. Ex., “That’s a bring down.” (2) Ex., “That brings me down.”īust your conk (v.) - apply yourself diligently, break your neck.Ĭhime (n.) - hour. Ex., “Boot me that glove.”īreak it up (v.) - to win applause, to stop the show.īring down ((1) n. Ex., “You’ll blow your top when you hear this one.”īoogie-woogie (n.) - harmony with accented bass.īoot (v.) - to give. Ex., “That’s a blip” “She’s a blip.”īlow the top (v.) - to be overcome with emotion (delight). Not colored and white folks as erroneously assumed.īlew their wigs (adj.) - excited with enthusiasm, gone crazy.īlip (n.) - something very good. Ex., “It’s the bible!”īlack and tan (n.) - dark and light colored folks. Ex., “He beefed to me that, etc.”īible (n.) - the gospel truth. Ex, “I am beat for my cash”, “I am beat to my socks” (lacking everything).īeat it out (v.) - play it hot, emphasize the rhythym.īeat up (adj.) - sad, uncomplimentary, tired.īeat up the chops (or the gums) (v.) - to talk, converse, be loquacious.īeef (v.) - to say, to state. Ex., “You look beat” or “I feel beat.” (2) lacking anything. to “I ain’t coming.”Īpple (n.) - the big town, the main stem, Harlem.Īrmstrongs (n.) - musical notes in the upper register, high trumpet notes.īarbecue (n.) - the girl friend, a beautyīattle (n.) - a very homely girl, a crone.īeat (adj.) - (1) tired, exhausted. Ex., “Man, that boy is a hummer.”Īin’t coming on that tab (v.) - won’t accept the proposition. I’m ready.Ī hummer (n.) - exceptionally good. Let’s blow their wigs.īust your conks in the comments section. Gammin’? Jeff? Hincty? Fruiting? Whatever you choose, I’m in. With luck some fine dinner whose star is on the rise will beef our word in public, preferably during a scandalous, much analyzed performance. The complete list is below.īy my calculation, we’ve got eleven months to identify a choice candidate, resurrect it, and integrate it into everyday speech. If only every amateur lexicographer were foxy enough to set his or her definitions to music, and creep them out like the shadow, as Calloway does above. It featured 200 expressions used by the “hep cats” when they talk their “jive” in the clubs on Lenox Avenue. It was also apparently the first dictionary authored by an African-American. The charismatic bandleader not only had a way with words, his love of them led him to compile a “Hepster’s Dictionary” of Harlem musician slang circa 1938.
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