Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions

(Amelia) #1
want to drive. The host got tight and
had to go to bed. 3. mod. stressful; with
little margin for error. In a tight situ-
ation Martin can be sort of a wet rag. 
When the schedule is tight and we are
busy as all get out, the telephone won’t stop
ringing.

tight as a tick 1. mod. very tight. This
lid is screwed on tight as a tick. The
windows were closed—tight as a tick—to
keep the cold out. 2. mod. alcohol intox-
icated. The old man was tight as a tick,
but still lucid. The host got tight as a tick
and fell in the pool.


tighten one’s belttv. to prepare for econ-
omies. (As if one would not be able to
afford enough food to make one’s stom-
ach press against one’s belt. See also take
one’s belt in (a notch).) Get ready to
tighten your belt. I lost my job. The en-
tire country will have to tighten its belt.


tight moneyn. money that is hard to get.
This is tight money. Go easy on it. It’s
hard to get. In these days of tight money,
no new expenditures will be approved.


tight spotn. a difficulty. I’m in sort of a
tight spot and wonder if you can help me
out. Sure, I like helping people out of
tight spots as long as it doesn’t cost me any
money.


tight wadn. a stingy person; a miser. (See
also wad.) There’s no need to be such
a tight wad. My dad’s a tight wad.


TIICn. the idiots in charge. I can’t give
you the answer until I consult with TIIC.


Tijuana taxi[“ti@wana “tAksi] n. a police
car. (Citizens band radio.) There’s a Ti-
juana taxi back a few cars watching you
awful close. It’s not a Tijuana taxi; it’s
a park ranger!


till hell freezes overmod. forever. (Use
caution with hell.) That’s all right, boss;
I can wait till hell freezes over for your an-
swer. I’ll be here till hell freezes over.


till kingdom comemod. until the end of
the world; forever. Do I have to keep as-
sembling these units till kingdom come? 
I’ll hate her guts till kingdom come.


till the fat lady sings and when the fat
lady singsmod. at the end; a long time
from now. (Supposedly from a tale about
a child—sitting through an opera—who
asks a parent when it will be over. “Not
until the fat lady sings” is the answer.) 
Relax. It won’t be over till the fat lady
sings. We can leave with everybody else
when the fat lady sings.
Time (out)!exclam. Stop talking for a
minute! (A way of interrupting some-
one.) Time! I have something to say. 
Just a minute! Time out! I want to speak!

time to cruisen. Time to leave. See ya.
It’s time to cruise. Time to cruise. We’re
gone.
tin cown. canned milk. This tin cow is
okay in coffee or something, but you can’t
drink it. Tin cow was all we could get.
tingle 1. n. a party. This tingle is really
da bomb. 2. in. to party. Hey, man, let’s
tingle.

tin hatn. a soldier’s helmet. Where’s my
tin hat? You use your tin hat for every-
thing—washing, hauling water—you
name it.
tinkle 1. in. to urinate. (Mostly juvenile
use. Usually objectionable.) I gotta tin-
kle! Jimmy, be sure and tinkle before we
leave. 2. n. urine. (Essentially juvenile.
Usually objectionable.) There’s tinkle
on the bathroom f loor. Mommy, why is
tinkle warm?

tinkleboxn. a piano. (See also joybox.) 
She’s okay on the tinklebox. The tinkle-
box in the bar seemed to be a bit loud.
tinseledmod. forged or decorated, as with
a bad check. (Underworld.) Gert got
caught passing tinseled checks. He al-
most got caught kiting tinseled checks.
tinsel-teethn. <a nickname for someone
who wears dental braces.> (Also a rude
nickname.) Tinsel-teeth is having a
hard time talking. Well, tinsel-teeth, to-
day’s the day your braces come off.

Tinseltownn. Hollywood, California. 
Tinseltown is a very glitzy place. She’s
talented and has her eye on Tinseltown.

tight as a tick

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