From Grill to Dome: a Dictionary of African American Slang Words and Phrases

A bridge to African American dialect, culture and nuance, this dictionary of over 1,000 words and phrases is a fully cross-referenced, authoritative guide to current African American slang. Sample Definitions Funky: Odiferous; attractive; suggestive of metaphorical aura surrounding guiding nuances of greater African American culture, individual embodiment or expression of the African American population's sense of cultural self, or ethnic identity based on shared experience, struggle, or upbringing; indicative of a genre of music popular in the late twentieth century influenced by blues, gospel, jazz, psychedelia, reggae, rock, rhythm and blues, and soul and characterized by strong, frequently changing and often idiosyncratic rhythms. See also: bananas, dragon, fly, foine, fresh, funk, funky-ass, funky-ass shit, funky-fresh, funky shit, off da chain and rank. Ghetto pass: The earned ability for one to conduct him or herself in a neighborhood unscathed, based especially on the acceptance of the common person and the shared result of the individual's appearance, behaviors and mannerisms, discourse, knowledge of cultural mores, social hierarchies and systems as well as explicit demonstrations of physical prowess and strength. See also: down, ghetto, soldier, street, street cred and street knowledge.