Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions

(Amelia) #1

barfly 1. n. a person who frequents bars. 
Who will trust the word of an old barf ly
like Wally? There were only a few of the
regular barf lies hanging over their drinks
when I walked into Mike’s place. 2. n. a
drunkard. You’re nothing but an old
barf ly! Some barf ly staggered out of the
tavern straight into the side of a car.


barfolaGo to barf.


Barf out!exclam. This is awful! (Califor-
nia.) Look at that scrungy wimp! Barf
out! Barf out! Get a life!


barf-outn. an unpleasant person or thing.
What a barf-out! I want my money
back. That guy is a real barf-out.


barf outin. to become very upset; to freak
out; to psych out. I nearly barfed out
when I heard he was coming.


barf someone outtv. to totally disgust
someone. God! That kind of music just
barfs me out! Who can stand all that slow
stuff?


(bargaining) chipn. something to be used
in negotiations. I want to use this inci-
dent as a bargaining chip in future nego-
tiations. I need a few chips to use when
we get down to drawing up the contract.


bari and bary[“bAri] n. a baritone saxo-
phone, the saxophone with a pitch range
approximating that of the human bari-
tone voice. (Musicians.) Wa lly pl ay e d
the bari when he was in college. A fine
bary will cost thousands of dollars.


barking spider and trumpet spidern. the
imaginary source of the sound of an au-
dible release of intestinal gas. Hey,
Chuck! Did I hear a barking spider over
there? Heidi, do you know anything
about the trumpet spider I keep hearing?


barnburnern. an attention-getting event
or development. The current barn-
burner in Washington is the Wilson inves-
tigation. This is a real barnburner!
Everyone will want to see it.


Barney 1. n.the penis, especially if erect.
(Usually a nickname. Alludes to color.)
Now, put Barney away and let’s talk
about our relationship. Barney wants to
come out and play. 2. n. a nerd; a wimp;


an unattractive male. (From the Flint-
stones character or the children’s di-
nosaur character.) Sam’s an old Bar-
ney—a real loser. If you weren’t such a
Barney, you’d stick up for your own rights.
barnstorm 1. tv. & in. [for an entertainer]
to perform in small towns for short en-
gagements. My great-uncle used to
barnstorm Kansas and Oklahoma with his
medicine show. He barnstormed for
three years before his death. 2. in. to per-
form stunts in a biplane in small towns.
(Presumably swooping around barns.) 
When we used to barnstorm, everybody
thought we were kooks. The old biplane
we used to barnstorm with is the safest
plane ever built.
barnyardmod. smutty; obscene. (Refers to
the dung found in barnyards. See also
barnyard language.) Those barnyard
movies belong in the barnyard. You are
thinking barnyard thoughts again. I see it
in your eyes.
barnyard languagen. dirty language. 
We don’t allow any barnyard language in
the house! I don’t care to hear so much
barnyard language.
barracudan. a predatory person, especially
a predatory woman. She’s a barracuda.
Better watch out! I wouldn’t get involved
with those barracudas if I were you.
barrel 1. tv. & in. to drink liquor to excess.
Those guys are barreling like beer was
going out of style. Stop barreling beer
and let’s go home. 2. n. a drunkard. The
barrel was full up and through for the eve-
ning. A tired and weepy barrel staggered
in and fell into a booth in the corner. 3. in.
to go fast; to speed while driving. He
was barreling along at about ninety. She
barreled out of here like a bat out of hell.
barrel assin. to move or drive carelessly
and rapidly. He was barrel assing along
at nearly ninety. I’m gonna barrel ass
outa here in just one minute.
barrel ass (out of some place)Go to bag
ass (out of some place).
barreled (up)mod. alcohol intoxicated. 
Those guys are really barreled up! She
spends a lot of time barreled.

barfly

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