21 Slangs You Will Definitely Hear In Vancouver
Okay so real talk Vancouver, we are not creative at all when it comes to slangs. Almost all the slangs we use are taken from somewhere else, most likely Drake, or are already quite widely used throughout North America and/or the internet.
So you might see a few on here that aren't only used in Vancouver (which is a lot of them) but we Vancouverites definitely abuse the hell out of them.
But there are a few words here and there that are pretty strictly used in Vancouver because of our geography and the little quirks and charms of our city. So here we go Vancity, these are the slangs you always use:
1. Slurrey
Definition: Another word for Surrey. "Slur"-rey refers to that fact that the Surrey crowd is usually a pretty rowdy bunch and really know how to get turnt on the weekend, therefore involving a lot of drinking, therefore a prevelance of slurred speach, and thus, "Slurrey".
2. Surrey jack
Definition: A guy who is from Surrey and tends to wear a lot of Ed Hardy, True Religion, Adidas and Smet (is Smet still a thing?). His usual weekly routine consists of making trips to GNC or Body Energy Club for their fix of protein and creatin, a hardcore daily gym regiment, and going out to Granville St on the weekend.
3. The grind
Definition: Short for Grouse Grind, which is a super popular hike on Grouse Mountain.
Example:
"What did you get up to on the weekend?"
"We did the grind and it was basically a never-ending set of stairs."
4. The island
Definition: Short for Vancouver Island, an island off the coast of West Vancouver. Your parents probably live here or you have a cabin here that you go to every summer.
Example:
"My parents have a cabin on the island that we go to in the summer, wanna come?"
5. Raincouver
Definition: The affectionate nickname for Vancouver due to the copious amounts of rain we get.
6. Vancity
Definition: Another affectionate nickname for Vancouver...because it sounds a little cooler.
7. Straight fire
Definition: Awesome, very good, very awesome, you get the point. When something is "straight fire", it is so "hot"/good that it's "fire". Usually followed by this emoji ?, or often synonymous with "???????". By no means did the slang originate in Vancouver, but we definitely abuse it.
Example:
"How was the party last night?"
"Bruhhh, you missed out. The party was straight fire."
8. Killin' it
Definition: To do something very well. To do something much better than other people that you "kill the competition", or that the task at hand is effortless. Also synonymous with slay, followed by this emoji ?. Again, not Vancouver centric but way over-used (we are definitely guilty of using this one).
Example:
"Hey, how's your girlfriend doing?"
"She's doing so well right now! She's killin' it in life!"
9. Low key
Definition: So this one's got a few meanings. 1) To keep something discrete or secret, 2) To keep something modest and not showy, 3) Synonymous with "slightly" or "kind of". Again, not Vancouver centric. We're not a very creative bunch.
Example:
"I low key have an obsession with Pumpkin Spice Lattes"
10. Nammer
Definition: Typically someone of Vietnamese background, but has been generalized for Asian people overall. More so specified by their appearance. For girls: false lashes, dyed blonde long to medium length hair, TNA or Aritzia. For guys: Adidas track pants, Puma sweats, Gucci bag and blonde or black spikey/faux hawk hair. No doubt this one's a bit racial, but it's still used. Definitely a lot less prevalent now than in 2010.
11. Pins/Pinner
Definition: Small or weak. Typically referring to a person who is not physically built, but can also refer to objects in general that are small.
Example:
"Yoo, I could beat him up. He's pins as sh*tttt."
12. Lit
Definition: When something is super awesome, turned up, or poppin' off. Sorry is that already too much slang in the definition? Let's stick with super awesome. Again, not a slang from Vancouver, but everyone uses it.
Example:
"Dawg, did you go to the party last night?"
"Yeahh man, that sh*t was lit"
13. Savage
Definition: When someone is a "savage" or does something that's "savage" it generally means they are very bad ass, or has the audacity to do certain things. Occasionally it can also mean cool. (I know, I know, not just people in Vancouver use it but I hear this literally on a daily basis)
Example:
"Ashley got in a fight with Kate last night and punched her in the face!"
"Damnnn...she's savage."
14. New West
Definition: Short for New Westminister. Pretty straight forward.
15. Kits
Definition: Short for Kitsilano. Also very straight forward.
15. PoCo
Definition: I wish this had a cooler meaning, but it's just short for Port Coquitlam.
16. Abby
Definition: Short for Abbotsford. Damn Vancouver, we love our abbreviations.
And I'm going to stop right here to clarify that the following slangs that will be listed are mostly used in Surrey, or you've heard people from Surrey use them. Okay, continuing on.
17. Buddy
Definition: A friend, or just a person in general. Also used to signal attention, synonymous with "yo" or "hey".
Example:
"Buddy, fawwwk ittt"
18. Fawk
Definition: F*ck
19. Yaps
Definition: A word used to describe someone telling outrageous lies.
Example:
"Yo, I banged like 10 chicks over the weekend"
"This guy yaaaps"
20. Hactic/Hectic/Heckity-hectic
Definition: Used to describe something that is crazy.
Example:
"Yo that party was haaactic last night"
21. Jick
Definition: Used to describe someone who is very physically built, or someone who's a hardcore Surrey jack. Really just a substitution of an "a" for an "i" in "jack/jacked".
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