Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions

(Amelia) #1

hang a BA (at someone)tv. to display
one’s buttocks to someone in derision. (A
BA is a bare ass.) Victor was angry and
hung a BA at the cop. He went to the
window and hung a BA—just for the hell
of it.


hang a few ontv. to take a few drinks; to
have a few beers. They went out to hang
a few on. TLet’s hang on a few and then
go on to the meeting.


hang a huey[“hAN @ “jui and “hAN @ “hjui]
tv. to make a U-turn. (The first pronun-
ciation ofhuey with no hjis probably the
original version.) Hang a huey at the
next corner. Right here! Hang a huey!


hang a lefttv. to turn left. He hung a left
at the wrong corner. Hey, here! Hang a
left here!


hang a louie[“hAN @ “lui] tv. to turn left.
You have to hang a louie at the stop sign.
Go another block and hang a louie.


hang a ralph[“hAN @ “rAlf] tv. to turn right.
He skied down the easy slope and hung
a ralph near a fir tree. Don’t hang a
ralph until you get past the traffic light.


hang a righttv. to turn right. Hang a
right about here. I told him to hang a
right at the next corner, but he went on.


hang (around)in. to loiter; to waste away
time doing nothing. Don’t just hang
around. Get busy with something. 
Move. Don’t just hang. There’s work to be
done.


hang five and hang tentv. to stand
toward the front of a surfboard or div-
ing board and hang the toes of one or
both feet over the edge. (Teens and col-
legiate.) The coach told her to hang ten
and not to look down. Get out there and
hang five. You can swim. Nothing can go
wrong.


hang in therein. to keep trying; to perse-
vere. Hang in there. Keep trying. I’ll
just hang in there. Maybe things will get
better.


Hang it all!exclam. Damn it all! Oh,
hang it all! I’m late. He’s late again!
Hang it all!


hang it uptv. to quit something. I finally
had enough and decided to hang it up. 
Oh, hang it up! It’s hopeless.
hang loose and stay loosein. to relax and
stay cool. Just hang loose, man. Every-
thing’ll be all right. Stay loose, chum.
See ya later.
hang one ontv. to get drunk. Fred was
hacked and went out to hang one on. 
Fred hangs one on about once a month.
hangout[“hANaUt] n. a place to loaf or
hang (around). I dropped by one of his
favorite hangouts, but he wasn’t there. 
We went over to the hangout and sat
around talking.
hang tenGo to hang five.
hang tough (on something)in. to stick
to one’s position (on something). I de-
cided I’d hang tough on it. I tend to give
in too easy. Yes, just hang tough.
hang up 1. n. a problem or concern; an ob-
session. (Usually hang-up.) She’s got
some serious hang-ups about cats. I
don’t have any hang ups at all. Well, al-
most none. 2. in. to say no; to cancel out
of something. I hung up. That’s not for
me anyway. If you don’t want to do it,
just hang up. I’ll understand.
hang with someonein. to hang around
with someone. Dave spent the after-
noon hanging with Don, and neither one
got anything done. I’m going down to
the corner and hang with the guys.
hanky and hankie[“hANki] n. a handker-
chief, especially if lacy and feminine. 
Do you have a hanky I can borrow? 
Here, use my hankie.
hanky-panky[“hANki”pANki] 1. n. funny
business; deceitfulness. There’s some
hanky-panky going on in the treasurer’s of-
fice. I am going to get this hanky-panky
straightened out. 2. n. sexual play; sex-
ual misconduct. (See also mifky-pifky (in
the bushes).) Sam and Mary are up
to a little hanky-panky, I’ve heard. 
There’s some hanky-panky going on in the
storeroom.
happening 1. mod. fashionable; trendy;
positive. (Collegiate.) Oh, Tiffany, your

happening
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