We Southern Californians have our own dialect. You can understand us if you visit but you may not understand some of the funky ways we use the English language or our lilting accent where we end many sentences in a question. We’re not really asking a question we just sound like we are. It’s what gives stand-up comedians fodder for their late-night TV acts. We consider it our contribution to helping them make an over-inflated living.

If you’re planning a visit you might want to consider printing off this glossary to consult for speaking with the locals. Who knows. They may be so impressed they will think you live here. But if you have a very distinct accent yourself (ie – you come from New York, Boston, the South or Texas) don’t try using Southern California speech, you’ll just embarrass yourself.

• Airhead — dimwit
• Awesome – amazing, used frequently to express how impressed you are with something
• Big Kahuna – the big guy or the guy in charge everyone considers the leader
• Blast – fun, as in “what a blast”
• Bogus – phony
• Brew – a beer
• Bummer – a big disappointment. Extends to bummed, as in “I am so bummed”.
• Bum – borrow, as in “can I bum a buck off of you?”
• Busted – caught
• Butt floss – a thong type bikini that appears as if the wearer is not wearing anything on the back side.
• Check it Out – investigate
• Chill – calm down
• Cool — hip
• Da bomb – the best
• Dork – idiot
• Drag – as in ‘what a drag’. A nuisance or pain
• Dude – term for addressing any and everyone, regardless of gender, dudette sometimes used for a female.
• Dweeb – usually used interchangeably with ‘geek’, someone who is brainy and socially inept except with other dweebs.
• For sure – positively. Used frequently to acknowledge agreement in a conversation
• Freakin’ out – upset and going a bit crazy
• Gnarly – means both good and bad depending on how it’s used
• Gross – bad, disgusting
• Hammered — drunk
• Killer – really great
• So lame — pathetic
• Later – bye
• Like – used before every description such as “it was like so cool”.
• Mondo – really big
• Nads – a man’s testicles, short for gonads
• No way! – impossible
• Rad – short for radical, an expression of acceptance
• Rays – sunshine as in “I’m so pale I gotta get some rays”.
• Righteous – totally awesome or amazing
• Scarf down – to eat quickly
• Sick – superb, outstanding
• Sketchy – iffy, vague
• Smokin’ – when something on someone is really on fire, excellent
• Spaz – idiot. Often used as a verb as in “I’m spazzing out” meaning “freaking out”.
• Stoked – excited
• Sweeeeeet – great, completely cool
• Tight – being close to someone
• Totally – completely, utterly. Often used at least once per sentence.
• Veg – rest
• Wannabe – someone who wants to be something but currently isn’t
• Way – short for very cool
• Yo – hey you!