Jamaican Language Dictionary K - Q
R
RAATID!: a common mild expletive of surprise or vexation, as in "to
raatid!". It is likely a polite permutation of "ras", a la "gosh"
or "heck".
RAM : full up
RAM GOAT : slang for someone who deals with nuff ladies
RANKING: highly respected
RAS or RASS: backside, rump; a common curse is to rass! or rass clot!
a title used by Rastafarians meaning "lord" or "head" .
(TO) RAAS: "really?", "damn!"
RASTA, RASTAFARIAN: a follower of Marcus Garvey who worships the Almighty
in the person of haile Selassie
RAT-BAT: bat, the night-flying rodent.
RATCHET: a switchblade knife popular in Jamaica
RED: 1. very high on herb 2. mulatto color
RED EYE: to want another persons belonging, envious. "You too red eye":
meaning, you're too envious.
RAHTID: expression of surprise, or to be enraged. From biblical"wrothed"
RENK: 1. foul-smelling, raw-smelling; 2. out of order, impudent, as
in a rank-imposter. "Yu too renk!".
RHAATID: a curse-exclamation, similar to "what the hell"
RHYGIN: adj. spirited, vigorous, lively, passionate with great vitality
and force; also sexually provocative and aggressive. Probably a form of
English raging.
RIZZLA: brand of rolling paper.
ROCKERS: reggae music reggae music as it is played today, the latest
sound
ROOTS: 1. derived from the experience of the common people, natural
indigenous; 2. a greeting; 3. name for a fellow Rasta
ROTI: flat Indian pan breads.
ROYAL, (RIAL): n. offspring of some other race and black, ass in "Chiney-Rial,"
"coolie-rial"; humorous as in "monkey-rial"
RUDE BOY: a criminal, a hard hearted person, a tough guy
RUN-DUNG: food cooked in coconut juice, obtained after grating the
dry coconut meat and squeezing it in water, thus extracting the coconut
cream.
RUNNING BELLY: diarrhea
RYAL: royal.
S
SAL'TING: 1. dishes cooked with saltfish or meat; 2. that part of the
meal which is served with the "food" (starchy food, ground food); 3. by
some strange extension, the female organ, often
simply called "sal".
SALT: adjective, broke, empty-handed, low on funds or food, as in "tings
salt" or "i' salt".
SAMBO: the colour between brown and black; someone who is a cross between
a mullatto (brown) and a black.
SAMFAI MAN: trickster, conman.
SHAMPATA: n. sandal of wood or tire rubber. Span. zapato
SANFI : A manipulator - dishonest person. A person that will sweet
talk you: out of love and money. "Dam Sanfi Bitch".
SANKEY: n. religious song of a paticularly lugubrious tone, sung in
the long or common meter. From Ira David Sankey, evangelist and hymnalist
SATA: to rejoice, to meditate, to give thanks and praise.
SATTA: sit, rest, meditate relax
(GO) SATTA: claim how spiritual you are
SCIENCE: obeah, witchcraft
SCIENTIST: occult practitioner
SCOUT: denoting inferior status
SCREECHIE: to sneak by
SCREW: to scowl, to be angry
SEEN: I understand, I agree
SEEN?: Do you understand?
SHAG: home-cured tobacco, straight from the field.
SHAKE OUT: leave without haste, casually
SHEG (UP): verb, to bother, as in "all sheg up", all hot and bothered,
or or spoiled up (as of work).
SHEG-UP: to be messed up, ruined
SHEPHERD: n. leader of revivalist cult; also proprietor of balmyard,
healer and prophet
SHOOB: to shove.
SIDUNG: sit down
SIGHT?: do you understand?
SINKL-BIBLE: the aloevera plant.
SINSEMILLA, SENSIE: popular, potent, seedless, unpollinated female
strain of marijuana
SINTING: something.
SIPPLE: slippery; slimy.
SISTER, SISTREN: a woman, a friend, woman Rastafarians
SITTIN': something.
SKANK: to dance to reggae music to move with cunning, ulterior motives
SKIL: kiln, as in "limeskil".
SKIN: rolling paper
SKIN YOUR TEETH: smile
SLABBA-SLABBA: big and fat, slobby, droopy.
SLACKNESS: lewd, vulgar lyrics popular in DJ singing
SMADI: somebody.
SO-SO: only, solely, unaccompanied. weak, pallid
SOFT: not well done, amateurish; unable to cope broke, no money
SOUNDBWOY: usually a derogatory way to refer to the selecter or other
personality in another sound system. This term is most often employed in
clashes, on dub plates built for clashes, and so on. Sometimes it is not
used in such a negative manner, but most of the time one refers to the
someone in the crew as a soundman, not a boy.
SPLIFF: large, cone-shaped marijuana cigarette
SPRING: to sprout, as of yams or cocos, making them inedible.
STAR: common term of affection, camaraderie
STEP: to leave, to depart briskly, quickly
STOOSH/STOSHUS: upper class, high tone, "hitey-titey".
STRING UP: a muscial rehearsal
STRUCTURE: body, health
SU-SU: gossip, the sound of wispering.
SUFFERER: a poor person stuggling to survive
SUPM, SINTING: something
T
TACK: bullet
TACUMAH: n. character in Anancy tales. Said to be the son of Anancy.
Twin'ticuma
TAKARI/TANKARI: stewed spicy pumpkin.
TALL: long
TALLOWAH: adj. sturdy, strong, fearless, physically capable. From Ewe
talala
TAM: deep woolen hat, used by Dreads to cover their locks
TAMBRAN SWITCH: n. a flail made from the wiry branches of the Tamarind
tree, braided and oiled. Effective and much feared in the hands of Babylon.
TAN': to stand; usually used in the sense of "to be". "A so im tan",
"that is what he is like";
"tan deh!" or "yu tan deh!" means "just you wait!". "Tan tedy",
stand steady, means "hold still".
TARRA-WARRA: a polite way of expressing omitted bad words, a verbal
asterisk.
TATA: n. father. Affectionate and respectful title for an old man.
Fram many african languages. Ewe, Ge, N'gombe
TATU: a little thatched hut, often made of bamboo.
TEETH: bullets
TEIF: a theif, to steal
THE I : (pron.) -you, yourself, yours
THRU' : because
TOAST : (v.) - to rap or sing spontaneously over a dub track
TOTO: coconut cake.
TOPANORIS: uptown snobby person.
TRACE: to curse or speak abusively to someone.
TRANSPORT: vehicle
TUMPA: from stump, as in "tumpa-foot man", a one-foot man.
TUNTI: female organ.
U
UNO/UNU: you-all. pron. you, plural. In usage close to Afro-American
y'awl. From Ibo unu, same meaning
UPFUL: postitive, encouraging
UPHILL: positive, righteous
UPTOWN: the upper classes
V
VANK: (v.) - to vanquish, conquer
VEX: to get angry
W
WA DAY: adverbial phrase, the other day.
WA MEK?: why?
WHAFEDOO : we'll have to (make) do or we'll have to deal with it
WAKL: wattle, a kind of woven bamboo work used to make house walls.
WANGA-GUT: hungry-belly.
WARRA-WARRA: politely omitted bad words, same as "tarra-warra".
WENCHMAN : a kind of fish, "hail brother john, have you any wenchman?"
(from "Row Fisherman Row").
WH'APPEN?: what's happening?
WHATLEF: What's left over
WHEELS: vehicle
WHOLE HEAP: a lot
WINE: "wine" appears in every West Indian dialect, and is literally
a corruption of "wind." It means to dance, sometimes seductively.
WINJY: thin and sickly looking.
WIS: vine, liana, from withe.
WOLF: a non-rasta deadlocks
WOOD: penis.
Y
YA NO SEE IT?: you know?
YA: hear, or here.
YABBA: a big clay pot.
YAGA YAGA: Dancehall slang. a way to big up a brethren; to express
a greeting or attract attention, i.e. yo! or yush! true friend; bonafide;
brethren.
YAHSO: here (place)
YAI: eye.
YARD: home, one's gates tenement
YOUTH: a child, a young man, an immature man
YUSH: Yush talk is bad boy talk. Or it can be a way of saying "YO".
In other words it is a way for rude boys to hail each other up.
Z
ZION: Ethiopia, Africa, the Rastafarian holy land
ZUNGU PAN: zinc pan.
