Timothy Fay - Suburban Dictionary

Suburban Dictionary

The Subtle, the Funny,

and the Snarky

A Slang and Sarcasm Users Guide

Timothy Fay

Copyright by Timothy Fay

Copyright 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, by Timothy Fay.

Registered with the US Copyright Office:

July 16, 2017.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, or the facilitation thereof, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review. Any educational institutions wishing to photocopy part or all of the work for classroom use should obtain written permission from the author.

Cover photo by Alexander Lobanov. Photo copyright Alexander Lobanov. Used with permission.

Cover design by Timothy Fay.

Cover design copyright Timothy Fay.

The content of this book is for information and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended as investment advice. Seek a duly licensed professional for investment advice.

The entries expressed in this book are those of the author, or are the views of other parties who may be quoted. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the authors employer.

Dedicated to those who survived,

and to those who did not survive,

the housing crisis and

Great Recession of 2007 to 2013.

God bless us all.

If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.

Marcus Cicero, Rome, First Century BC

Invitation

T his book is a users guide to suburbanese, as well as a guide to the quirky behavior found in the burbs. The snarky and the cheeky make many appearances, along with generous helpings of sarcasm. Euphemisms, a hallmark of suburbanese, get special treatment. We give a nod to cul-de-sac personalities, such as the neighborhood eccentric and the Goth kids. Even the recluse a few doors down makes a (rare) appearance.

There was a need for a book about that talks about things that can get you into troublesex and drugs are examplesbut that does so with expressions that wont get you into trouble should you care to repeat them.

Words from overseas make the cut if they are amusing or if they strike a chord about family life. For instance, Nappy Valley, a Brit phrase for a neighborhood that is overrun with toddlers, squeaked by. Wet leaves, a phrase that Japanese wives use for unemployed husbands, was also included. (Unemployed husbands stay at home all day and cant easily be swept away, like wet leaves.)

Most of all, amusing terms about family and life in the burbs were admitted. Niblings, a catchall term for nieces or nephews, is an example. Lollipop lady, the British term for a crossing guard, is another. Solar panel, a term for a bald spot on the back of a bloke's head, was also included. A few fun but familiar words make appearances. Such entries include noogie, wedgie, and flat tireever-popular teen pranks .

I gathered these expressions from years of reading (nearly anything) and listening to podcasts, TV, co-workers, and family. Working as a newspaper reporter and serving in the Army Reserve also helped. In most cases if a word has an entry in this book, its being used by the public. A few exceptions are words that were coined in Suburban Dictionary and noted as such. One example is Tes-hole: a Tesla driver that is quite impressed with himself or herself.

In just a moment, well check out the words and expressions in Suburban Dictionary . But first, I should warn you that collecting slang, zingers, and bolts of sarcasm is quite addictive.

Please enjoy Suburban Dictionary and please visit our website www.suburbanese.com

Suburban Dictionary Timothy Fay

Numbers

: The key number when giving gifts at a bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah. Cash gifts should be in multiples of eighteen, such as $36, $54, or perhaps $180.

201(k): Result of frequent withdrawals from someones 401(k) retirement plan.

420: Term for pot smoking. Also a designated time (4:20 p.m.) when some smoke weed. The cannabis equivalent of beer thirty or happy hour. Also signifies the date of April 20th, which some proclaim as national cannabis day. April 20th is nearly considered a holiday in some parts of California.

B-9: The parking space number (or room number) you should opt for at a hospital, especially if youre getting a suspicious lump checked out.

R2D2: Nickname for a short, round person. Named for the resourceful droid of Star Wars fame. Filmmakers say the name sprang from reel 2, dialog track 2, later shortened to R2D2.

Symbols

#: Hashtag. Also called an octothorpe. Known as a pound sign in telephone lingo. A hashtag with a word or phrase, without spaces, highlights a (supposedly) trendy topic. E xample : #girlscoutcookies.

... : Ellipsis. These three dots, midsentence or midtext, mean that part of the message must be left to the imagination. Example : She went over to his place. They talked ... She took the bus home the next morning.