die in. to “perish” (figuratively) from
laughter or some other emotionally in-
tense response. The whole audience
died laughing. He laughed till he died.
die on someone 1. in. [for a patient] to die
under the care of someone. Get that
medicine over here fast, or this guy’s gonna
die on me. Come on, mister, don’t die on
me! 2. in. [for something] to quit run-
ning for someone. My car died on me,
and I couldn’t get it started. My stereo
died on me, and I had to listen to the radio.
diesel[“dizl] mod. really good. Fred had
a really diesel idea, but no money to carry
it out. I am set for a diesel evening and
I intend to enjoy it.
diff[dIf] n. difference. Aw, come on!
What’s the diff? The diff is about twenty
dollars worth of repairs, that’s what.
differentialn. the buttocks; the rear (end).
I got a little ache in the differential.
You’re walking like there’s something
wrong with your differential.
different strokes for different folksphr.
different things please different people.
(Catchphrase.) Do whatever you like.
Different strokes for different folks. Dif-
ferent strokes for different folks. That’s
what I always say.
dig 1. tv. & in. to understand something.
I just don’t dig what you are saying.
Sorry. I just don’t dig. 2. tv. to appre-
ciate something; to like something.
He really digs classical music. Do you
dig chocolate?
digitsn. numbers; phone number. Te l l
me your digits and I’ll call you and let you
know the time. If I can find her digits,
I’ll call her.
digsn. a dwelling; a dwelling and its fur-
nishings. You got some pretty swell digs,
here. Nice digs. You like it here?
Dig up!exclam. Listen up!; Pay attention!
Dig up, man! This is important. Shut
up and dig up!
dikeand dyken. a lesbian; a bulldiker.
(Rude and derogatory.) I guess she was
a dike. She looked mean enough. Who’s
the dike in the cowboy boots?
dikey and dykeymod. in the manner of a
lesbian; pertaining to lesbians. (Usually
objectionable.) She walks kinda dikey,
doesn’t she?
dildo[“dIldo] n. a stupid person, usually a
male. (Rude and derogatory. The term
refers to an artificial penis.) Hank can
be such a dildo sometimes. You silly
dildo!
dillyn. something excellent. This little
car is a real dilly. What a dilly of an
apartment!
dilly-dallyin. to waste time. Stop dilly-
dallying around. I like to dilly-dally over
a cup of coffee.
dimn.the evening; the night. (Streets.)
She spends every dim in the library study-
ing. Where’ll you be this dim?
dim bulbn. a dull person; a stupid person.
George seems to be a dim bulb, but he’s
a straight-A student. I feel like such a
dim bulb when I do things like that.
dime-droppern. an informer. (Under-
world. Because an informer at one time
could drop a dime in a public telephone
and call the police or drop a dime on the
sidewalk as a signal for the police to move
in and make an arrest. See also drop a
dime.) I think that Tracy is the dime-
dropper who caused the roust. The fuzz
protects its dime-droppers with everything
they’ve got.
dime storen. an establishment that is
chaotic because of its small scale. I
can’t stand this dime store anymore. This
is no way to run a law firm. Things
move so fast around here that we have be-
come a dime store rather than an ac-
counting office.
dimwit[“dImwIt] n. an oaf; a dullard. (Also
a rude term of address.) Oh, Dave, you
can be such a dimwit! Come on, now,
you’re not really a dimwit.
dinero[dI”nEro] n. money. (Spanish.) I
don’t have as much dinero as I need, but
other than that, I’m doing okay. Yo u g o t
some dinero I can borrow?
ding 1. tv. to shoot, dent, or knock some-
thing. The rock dinged my left fender.ding