The words you use matter

The Appropriation Dictionary

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Why you need this resource

Hello and welcome to the Appropriation Dictionary. As a creator, blogger, copywriter, coach or entrepreneur with a digital presence, you have a duty of care to those who follow you, interact with you and consume your content. I, by no means, am an expert in the field of cultural appropriation (the unacknowledged or inappropriate adoption of the customs, practices, ideas, etc. of one people or society by members of another and typically more dominant people or society) but, like you, I am committed to learning and educating myself.

On this webpage you will find links to Black creators who have spoken extensively on this subject. You will find a list of words and phrases that you should be considerate of when creating copy, either for yourself or for your client. Alternative phrases and wording is given, where possible, and contributors will be linked. I encourage you to use this as a springboard for your own education – not a be-all-and-end-all script of diversity. 

Please share this webpage with those in your circle who may the content useful. If there are words or phrases you believe should be added, please use the form at the bottom of this page.

This resource was created with support and collaboration from Aleise Kay and Lauren Vanessa Zink.

(In no way, shape or form is this resource created to take credit for the work of Black creators. If you share knowledge you have gained from this, please tag, link or credit the creators, academics and authors listed on this page)

Links to check out

Berrion Berry – Why You Can’t Say Sis. Period.

Anisha Phillips – Using Black Vernacular English (BVE) as a Non-Black Person Isn’t “Woke” if You Don’t Understand the History

Brian Josephs – How Do Rappers Handle “Nigga” During the Rise of White-Dominated Festivals?

Eleanor Tremeer – Is It Cultural Appropriation To Use Drag Slang And AAVE?

Lisa Hofmann-Kuroda – DEAR NON-BLACK ASIAN-AMERICANS (AND OTHER NON-BLACK FOLKS), WE HAVE A REAL ISSUE WITH APPROPRIATING AAVE, AND IT NEEDS TO STOP.

Alternatives and Substitutes for Appropriative or Problematic Language

Sesali Bowen – The Black History Behind Your Favorite Slang

 

The Dictionary

  • Bae

    • Etymology: Came into widespread use around 2013 and 2014 through social media and hip-hop and R&B lyrics.
    • Meaning: Babe, baby, term of endearment
    • Alternatives: Babe, hun, honey, love, darling.

  • Bitch, please

    • Etymology: “Bitch Please”, also known as “Trick Please” for the amended radio version, or “B**** Please” and “B Please” for clean versions, is a song by Snoop Dogg featuring Nate Dogg and Xzibit
    • Mean: “Oh c’mon”, “Seriously?”. Connotations of violence or confrontation.
    • Alternatives: Hang on a second, “yeah, right!”, ARE YOU SERIOUS? 

  • Boo

    • Etymology: Originally derived from the French word “beau” which came to mean boyfriend in the English language. Beau sounds enough like ‘boo’ to were eventually the sound shifted as well as the spelling to a more conventional English word. The word came through the African-American lexicon and can be heard in music from that genre.
    • Meaning: Babe, lover, partner, term of endearment.
    • Alternatives: Babe, hun, honey, love, darling. 

  • Bless up

    • Etymology: Jamacian greeting
    • Meaning: To show appreciation for someone. “My boyfriend got me a new bag. Bless up”
    • Alternatives: Love you, cheers pal, so grateful.

  • Catch dirt

    • Etymology: Unknown
    • Meaning: ‘Dirt’ meaning gossip. I.e ‘Listen to this gossip’
    • Alternatives: “check out this gossip”, “get a load of this”, “dishing the goss”

  • Catch feelings

    • Etymology: Unknown – Urban Dictionary
    • Meaning: Falling for someone, having feelings for someone
    • Alternatives: Falling in love, starting to like someone, having a crush

  • Extra

    • Etymology: Unknown – Suggested to be from Dominos ‘extra’ toppings
    • Meaning: Someone being over the top
    • Alternatives: OTT, too much, over the top, dramatic, exaggerated

 

  • Finna

    • Etymology: African-American Vernacular and Southern US form of fixing to.
    • Meaning: ‘Fixing to’, going to,
    • Alternatives: Gonna, trying to, about to. 

  • Fire

    • Etymology: Anything that is beyond great. Something that is ‘fire’ is good, ‘straight fire’ is beyond that.
    • Meaning: “The outfit is fire!”, i.e that outfit is hot/nice/sexy/cute.
    • Alternatives: awesome, great, amazing, hot, sexy, perfect.  

  • Girl, bye

    • Etymology: This is said when a female has a confrontation with another female (usually a hater),usually when the hater accuses her of something that isn’t true or says something that isn’t true.
    • Meaning: Shut up, whatever, that’s a lie.
    • Alternative: Hell no, that’s BS, see-ya.

  • Gucci

    • Etymology: Taken from the designer, Gucci.
    • Meaning: Something is positive or luxurious
    • Alternatives: Cool, luxe, awesome.

  • Hella

    • Etymology: American slang term that originated in Oakland, California but has since spread to become native slang to all of northern California.
    • Meaning: Extremely, ‘a hell of a lot of’, really, very
    • Alternatives: “I was crazy mad”, “I was proper unhappy” etc. 

  • Hey, girl, hey!

    • Etymology: Unknown
    • Meaning: A greeting or to exclaim disbelief.
    • Alternatives: “Hey babe”, “Omg, no way!” 

  • I feel you

    • Etymology: Originated and first heard in rap music.
    • Meaning: Showing understanding or agreement with someone.
    • Alternative: “Yeah, I get that”, “I get what you’re saying”, “Totally” 

  • Lit

    • Etymology: Old English word for being/getting very drunk.
    • Meaning: Has been used in rap music to mean something is cool or positive.
    • Alternatives: That’s awesome/cool/exciting/amazing

  • Oh grrrr (Cardi B style)

    • Appropriation – should not be used.

  • On fleek

    • Etymology: Coined by Kayla Newman, credited with creating the saying ‘on fleek’ for something “perfectly executed.”
    • Meaning: Often used to describe someone’s appearance or style, but can describe anything that’s “flawless,” sometimes shortened to just fleek.
    • Alternatives: Perfection, perfect, slick, cool.

  • Peanut gallery

    • Etymology: This phrase intends to reference hecklers or critics, usually ill-informed ones. In reality, the “peanut gallery” names a section in theaters, usually the cheapest and worst, where many Black people sat during the era of Vaudeville.
    • Meaning: ‘Shouting from the peanut gallery’ is being heckled etc.
    • Alternatives: “Don’t listen to the haters”

  • Ratchet

    • Etymology: Ratchet is a slang term in hip hop and may be a Louisianan regiolect version of the word “wretched”or a variation of the word “ratshit.”
    • Meaning: An uncouth, slutty or badly presented woman.
    • Alternatives: Hot mess, bad state, total mess.

  • Shade/Throwing shade

    • Etymology: Often attributed to gay/drag culture but also found in BVE. (The term can also be found in Jane Austen’s novel Mansfield Park (1814). Young Edmund Bertram is displeased with a dinner guest’s disparagement of the uncle who took her in: “With such warm feelings and lively spirits it must be difficult to do justice to her affection for Mrs. Crawford, without throwing a shade on the Admiral.”) 
    • Meaning: Gossip, respecting someone, showing someone in a bad light.
    • Alternatives: “She was totally disrespecting me”, “He was really badmouthing him”.

  • Sis

    • Etymology: Term of endearment between Black women. (Akin to Queen).
    • Meaning: Close friends, best mates, allies.
    • Alternatives: Babe, honey, hun, love, darling. 

  • Slay

    • Etymology: Used in the 1800’s for someone saying something comical. More recently found in Black Vernacular English and drag culture.   
    • Meaning: Being in charge, doing an amazing job/killing it – “she’s slaying the game”
    • Alternatives: smashing it, nailing it, on top, great form.

  • Sold down the river

    • Etymology: Originated in the Mississippi region of the USA during slave trading days. Slaves who caused trouble were sold from the northern slave states into the much harsher conditions on plantations in the lower Mississippi.
    • Meaning: Sold out, ratted on, dobbed in, snitched on, betrayed.
    • Alternatives: See above.

  • Spill the tea

    • Etymology: Derived from black drag culture.
    • Meaning: To share gossip, to spread something, to share a truth/non-truth.
    • Alternatives: “I’ve got gossip”, “Let me tell you something”, “I’ve got juicy news’

  • Tribe

    • Etymology: Originally a social division in a traditional society consisting of families or communities linked by social, economic, religious, or blood ties, with a common culture and dialect, typically having a recognized leader. Problematic word that has a lot of racial weight.
    • Meaning: Friendship group, followers, colleagues.
    •  Alternatives: Crew, squad, pals.

  • Thicc/Thick

    • Etymology: Stolen from Black Twitter.
    • Meaning: A curvy woman with a slim waist.
    • Alternatives: Curvy, shapely, hourglass.

  • Uppity

    • Etymology: Originally coined to describe Black people who ‘acted above their station.’
    • Meaning: It has been reported that during Segregation racist southerners used “uppity” to describe Black people “who didn’t know their place,” socioeconomically speaking. Originally, the term started within the Black community, but the racists adopted it pretty quickly.
    • Alternatives: ‘stuck up’, snobby, rude.

  • Woke

    • Etymology: Woke as a political term of African American origin refers to a perceived awareness of issues concerning social justice and racial justice. It is derived from the African-American Vernacular English expression “stay woke”, whose grammatical aspect refers to a continuing awareness of these issues.
    • Meaning: Someone who is enlightened, can see something or has had their viewpoint altered.
    • Alternatives: “I’ve woken up to injustice”, “I’ve had my eyes opened”.

  • Yas Queen

    • Etymology: Often felt to have originated in drag culture, but also has ties to BVE/
    • Meaning: Show of appreciation.
    • Alternatives: ‘Go babe!’, ‘Love her!’, ‘You’re smashing it’. 

  • Yeet

    • Etymology: Originally a basketball term, denoting celebration,
    • Meaning: To throw something – “just gonna yeet that in the trash”
    • Alternatives: Throw, hurl, lob, chuck.

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