Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions

(Amelia) #1
like it or lump it! Too bad! Like it or
lump it!

Like it’s such a big deal.phr. You are
making an incredible fuss over some mi-
nor issue. So I broke the table. Like it’s
such a big deal.


like madGo to like crazy.


like nobody’s businessmod. very well;
very much. She can sing like nobody’s
business. What a set of pipes! My mom
can cook chocolate chip cookies like no-
body’s business.


like stinkmod. rapidly. (As fast as a smell
spreads.) Those kids moved through the
whole test like stink. Real eager-beavers. 
As long as she can run like stink, swim like
stink, and smell like a f lower, she gets my
support.


like there was no tomorrowmod. as if
there would never be another opportu-
nity. She was drinking booze like there
was no tomorrow. He lived like there
was no tomorrow.


like the white on rice and as the white
on ricephr.as close as anything can be.
Those two are really close—like the
white on rice. They are inseparable as
the white on rice.


like, you knowinterj. a combining of the
expressions likeand you know. (Never
used in formal writing.) She is, well,
like, you know, PG. This is, well, like,
you know, too much!


lily-liveredmod. cowardly. Don’t be so
lily-livered. Give it a try. That lily-liv-
ered guy is up hiding under his bed till this
blows over.


limboGo to lumbo.


limejuicer and limeyn. a British sailor;
and British citizen, typically a male. (The
first one is old. Both are a little deroga-
tory.) Some limey answered the tele-
phone and I could hardly understand what
she was saying.


limeyGo to limejuicer.


(limp) dishragn. a totally helpless person;
a cowardly and spineless person. He’s


sweet, but he’s a dishrag. A limp dishrag
is no help at all in a crisis.
line 1. n. a story or argument; a story in-
tended to seduce someone. (See also
lines.) I’ve heard that line before. 
Don’t feed me that line. Do you think I was
born yesterday? 2. n. a dose of finely cut
cocaine arranged in a line, ready for in-
sufflation or snorting. Let’s you and me
go do some lines, okay? See these lines
here? Watch what happens to them.
line one’s own pocket(s)tv. to make
money for oneself in a greedy or dishon-
est fashion. They are interested in lin-
ing their pockets first and serving the peo-
ple second. You can’t blame them for
wanting to line their own pockets.
linesn. words; conversation. (See also line.)
I like your lines, but I don’t have the
time. We tossed some lines back and
forth for a while and then split.
lineupn. a row of suspects arranged at a
police station so that a witness can iden-
tify one of them. (Underworld.) I had
to stand in the lineup with this bunch of
yahoos. When they round up all the
likely suspects and put them in the lineup,
they always stick in a desk sergeant to spy
on the rest.
lingon. language; special vocabulary. 
When you catch on to the lingo, everything
becomes clear. If you don’t like the lingo,
don’t listen.
lion’s sharen. the largest portion. I earn
a lot, but the lion’s share goes for taxes. 
The lion’s share of the surplus cheese goes
to school cafeterias.
lip 1. tv. & in. to kiss someone intimately.
The two of them were in the corner, lip-
ping intently. Hey, honeycakes, I really
want to lip you. 2. n. a lawyer. (Under-
world. See also mouth.) So I brought
in my lip, and he got me off the rap. 
How much do you pay your lip? 3. and fat
lipn. back talk; impudent talk. Don’t
give me any more of your lip! I’ve had
enough of her lip.
lip glossn. lies; deception; exaggeration;
BS.(From the name of a lipstick-like cos-
metic.) Everything he says is just lip

Like it’s such a big deal.

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