Newsgroup: it.cultura.linguistica.inglese
Titolo: dizionario slang

Giovanni
.......
#10 Non desiderare la roba d'altri.
#11 Fatti i fatti tuoi.
#12 Non portare obbligo.

 Puň interessare: 
http://www.urbandictionary.com
Diamine, e' un fondamentale! Spero sia nei link della faq del ng.
-- 
Laz - [
http://www.dimensionedelta.net
]
"Well, I figured, what the hell!" 

 Diamine, e' un fondamentale! Spero sia nei link della faq del ng.
Di sicuro č in
http://faq.news.nic.it/wiki/DizionariItCulturaLinguisticaInglese
:-)


http://faq.news.nic.it/wiki/DizionariItCulturaLinguisticaInglese
vabbč, scusateme... :-))


 -- 
This is not a dictionary, rather it is a site full of misspellings and
misinformation, which allows anyone to make entries without any type
of cross-checking or moderation. If you want to be misinformed, then
this is for you. I find it full of errors and non-existent, useless,
or made-up entries. You won't learn anything here, but it's a good
place to showcase your ego, voice an opinion, or just observe what
kind of nut cases frequent the internet.
For example, under "nacker" is listed "a member of the Irish
travelling community". The word is "knacker", not "nacker".
Another gem: "s'fortunato - Americanized Italian Slang, usually used
as an exclaimation for something that is a stroke of either good or
bad luck." He can't spell, and he doesn't have a clue about the word
he is defining.
As if that weren't bad enough, how about "babishca - an old rotton
russian woman"?. Another champion of alternative spelling. There is a
real word, in real dictionaries - "babushka" - from the Russian, which
means "grandmother", "old woman" or "a triangular scarf of a type
typically worn by old women in Russia".
If this dictionary is listed as a reference for this NG, it doesn't
speak well for the person who listed it.
Joe from Massachusetts

 of cross-checking or moderation. If you want to be misinformed, then
[...]
I guess it's based on the same idea as (or "of"?) Wiki pages. 
Everybody can make entries, but everybody can straighten the wrong ones!
:-)
Here you can sign up to become an editor
http://editor.urbandictionary.com/signup.php

  but everybody can straighten the wrong ones!
straighten out

 wrote in message
news:f2dx2pp5...@news.lillathedog.net...

That would be a Sisyphean task!
Joe from Massachusetts

 kind of nut cases frequent the internet.
Sorry but I have to disagree. Strongly. This is one of the *most useful* 
dictionary sites. I would have been in real trouble many times, had I 
*not* had access to this site. As a translator I mean. Sometimes, for 
obscure slang words, that is the only place one can find help.
Of course it's not a way to learn to speak english, but it's extremly 
useful as a dictionary.
You just have to keep in mind that it's made by users, without much 
control (much less than wikipedia, for example)
-- 
Laz - [
http://www.dimensionedelta.net
]
"If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits 88 miles per hour, 
you're gonna see some serious shit!" 


If a slang word is in current usage, it will be found by googling. If
there are many occurrences of an item, you can be sure that people are
using the expression. I would wager that the only hits on google for
half of the items in this dictionary would be the dictionary entries
themselves.
Joe from Massachusetts


Of course, I could be persuaded to agree with you, if you could show
me one or two items which you were able to find only with the
assistance of this dictionary and which helped you with a translation.
Most of the entries I have seen are personal observations, many by
illiterates, others by pranksters who have no interest in or knowledge
of the English language, and who have difficulty with spelling English
words. Others are just plain misinterpretations of what actual slang
words mean.
Many credible entries have been copied from more reliable sources.
On any given page, I see only meaningless gibberish with only an
occasional useful entry.
Joe from Massachusetts

 obscure slang words, that is the only place one can find help.
I too recall that dictionary helping me on some obscure slang words when
any other failed! 
Yet, I don't think that what Laz and I noticed is a contrast to what
joscurtin said. 
Perhaps, the Urban Dictionary contains just more slang words that other
dictionaries: some of them are correct and helpful, some others are
inaccurate or plain wrong, as it happens in any collaborative, wiki-like
web site, by the way. 
Fortunately, mistakes can be corrected by those who know better, so it's
hoped that the final result will be for the best. 
Besides, anyone can vote, "thumbs up" or "thumbs down", for or against a
definition. A large number of "thumbs down" should ring a bell that a
definition is not reliable... 
I am not saying that that is perfection, but I think it's not as bad as it
might seem, as long as you realise how it works: those entries can be
written by anyone, and thus need to be "handled with care", so to speak. :)
Just my 2 eurocents!

 words mean.
This is true. Many "definitions" are completely insane... for example 
you can easily find "my friend Nick" (or any other name) as a 
"definition" for an insult.
But you can find a lot of interesting stuff too if you can see through 
the crap. I'll show you.


 wrote in message
news:1n63vb4w4pgn2$.dlg@news.lillathedog.net...

Rather than wade through the sea of incorrect definitions, I would
much prefer to search reliable sources for a word, and if that failed,
google the word to find a source which has some credibility.
There are two words used by black people to describe whites in
American black slang. One is very derogatory, and the other is just a
description. The first is found in this dictionary, the second is not.
The first  appears in this dictionary in multiple forms: o'fay, O'Fay,
 and ofay. One of these spellings is correct - ofay. There are
multiple definitions. None of the definitions are completely accurate.
Some give a correct defintion, but fail to mention that the word is
probably of African origin, dating back to the time that black slaves
first arrived in America. One defintion does mention African
provenance. The definitions also fail to mention that the word is used
only among black people when describing whites, so it is probably
unfamiliar to most whites, unless they are well-read, or have close
black friends. Some definitions allude to a defintion given by a black
entertainer, who, when asked by a white person what the word meant
gave a sarcastic, meaningless answer, which was taken to be true by
the person who asked the question, who then passed this misinformation
on.
The second word is the word "gray", used as a general way of
identifying a white person. "Who was that gray (cat) (dude) who was
playing the piano last night at the club?". The usage originates from
the black perception that the complexions of whites are not really
white, but an unattractive gray. It may have originated among black
musicians who played with white musicians, and who noticed that a
pale, newly-shaven white man still has a "five-o-clock shadow" which
gives his face a gray appearance, especially when viewed in the
sunlight.
Ofay can be found in many American dictionaries, but many dictionaries
fail to note that the word probably goes back to the early days of the
black presence in the United States, that the word is probably of
African origin, and that the word is extremely derogatory.
I have been unable to find any standard dictionary which describes the
use of "gray" in the context of differentiating a white person from a
black person. I have often heard the word in this context from my
close black friends. Since it is a word used almost exclusively among
blacks, particularly among musicians, most whites are unfamiliar with
the word. I have often heard the expression "gray cat" from my black
friends.
You can find a defintion of this slang  word with a careful google
search, if you know what you are looking for, but you won't find it in
this dictionary.
Joe from Massachusetts

 description. The first is found in this dictionary, the second is not.
What about the H word that most amused Mr George Jefferson? :)
 
http://www.80stees.com/products/jefferson-t-shirt-honky.asp

As you said, the word "ofay" can easily be found in many American
dictionaries, including free online dictionaries like Encarta,
Merriam-Webster's, the American Heritage, and so on,  so I would normally
stick to their definitions.
If I wanted to know more about the origin of the word, I would look further
in the Online Etymology Dictionary:
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=ofay
 
Ofay : Amer.Eng. black slang, "white person," 1925, of unknown origin. If,
as is sometimes claimed, it derives from an African word, none
corresponding to it has been found. Perhaps the most plausible speculation
is Yoruba ófé "to disappear" (as from a powerful enemy), with the sense
transf. from the word of self-protection to the source of the threat. OED
regards the main alternate theory, that it is pig Latin for foe, to be an
"implausible guess."
Were I unsatisfied with that, I would also try Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ofay
 
[would you rate Wikipedia as "credible"? Anyone can edit it as well.]
The problem is, there are lots of contemporary slang words that are not
recorded (yet) in the established, 100 percent reliable, 100 percent
credible sources. In those circumstances, the unfortunate reader / learner
/ translator / or just any person that is not really into that slang, is
left without a clue! Those are the cases Laz and I were referring to, when
the Urban Dictionary was most helpful, though its undeniable flaws! :)
I am sorry I haven't any examples at hand now, I don't recall which slang
words I could only find on the Urban Dictionary, but I recall finding them
and that the definitions were appropriate to the context. Maybe Laz has a
better memory than me.
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