When I worked within the English as a Second Language (ESL) department at George Brown College, the students were often very interested in learning some of the slang terms used by native Canadians.
Although the majority of slang is used by younger people, I thought I’d mention some of the most common terms and their meanings (these will probably not be found in any dictionary and are slightly fadish, which means that they may become unfashionable to use as time goes on).
- wicked – while the proper definition of wicked is “bad”, people use it to mean something that is really amazing. For instance, “that’s a wicked movie”, meaning it’s a really great one. This is my least favourite slang term.
- my bad – used when someone makes a mistake or admits to doing something wrong. Example: “I didn’t finish my homework. My bad.”
- bro – short for “brother”, but used as a greeting not only for actual brothers, but good friends as well. Example: “See you later, bro.”
- later – instead of saying “see you later”, the phrase has been shortened to “later” when saying goodbye to a friend.
- peeps – refers to your “people”, that is, your circle of friends. Example: “I’m going to the movies with my peeps”.
- not – used after you say something obviously untrue. Example: “I hate chocolate. Not.”
There are many more slang terms that I, as a grandmother, don’t know. Just be aware that words in the English language aren’t always used the way they should be.
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