My sister Carla and I are trying to learn street talk. (I'm a firm believer that you're never too old to learn something new.)
In an effort to help us with that, my daughter Alanna taught me a few phrases which I promptly shared with Carla. Among those phrases was "True dat." To say it properly, one must make it all one word: Truedat. You need to put the emphasis on the right syllable. Otherwise, you end up sounding ridiculous. A friend, Laurie, told me that I needed pooer diction if I were going to carry off street talk.
Alanna also taught me "Bite me." It seemed an all-purpose phrase, handy in any number of situations. Once again, I shared my new- found knowledge with Carla. Carla had opportunity to use the phrase on a vacation with her children and grandchildren. When they were hurrying her along, she turned and said, "Bite me."
Her children turned to her in horrified shock. "Mom," her son said. "What did you say?"
"Aunt Jane taught it to me," she explained.
"Ah." They nodded as one.
Well, color me surprised when I learned that "Bite me" has a less than savory meaning. (Once again this was my friend Laurie who told me--and how did she know, I wondered. ) I won't spell it out here, but you can probably figure it out. (Alanna was as surprised as I was.)
Needless to say, Carla now says "Bite me" only in the most dire situations. Unfortunately (or fortunately), it has become embedded in my vocabulary. Whenever someone raises an eyebrow at my language, I simply shrug and say, "Menopause."
Gem for the day: Use "bite me" at the risk of your reputation. Mine's already in shreds, so I'm not worried.
Here's one to use as a greeting and ask someone how they're doing. "Sup." Usually said with an acknowledgement of the head, consisting of a slight chin thrust forward, like a backwards nod. "Sup" is the shortened form of "What's up" which, of course, means "Hello. How are you? What has been happening recently?" Just as most of our common greetings, no real answer seems to be required. This one will not shred your reputation. However, if said to the uninitiated in street talk, an awkward situation may result from someone thinking that you have invited them to dine with you.
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