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English Insights
Updated over a month ago

Here you’ll find some advanced tips and tricks for perfect contributions. Nothing here contradicts our Writing Guidelines, so remember to stay up to date with them too. Think of the Insights as English transcription issues which are specialized and niche enough to deserve their own space; a supplement to the guidelines for our most committed and dedicated contributors!

Extended Guidelines 📚

Ever had a question about lyrics contribution that's not covered in the Writing Guidelines? The Extended Guidelines are community-built and provide an extra depth that's bound to clear up all of your doubts. Check them out!

🎼 Line Breaks

If you want some more support in formatting, specifically how to approach line breaks, you can check out this dedicated guide, created by Susannah, one of our Framed Slack supporters!


💖 Brand Love

It's very common for artists to give 'shout-outs' to their favorite brands in their songs. This is great for them, as they can show off how much money they have, and great for the brands as they get free advertisement, but it can be tricky for us if we don't know the brand already. To help out, here's a list of commonly used brand names in songs.

Cars

Drinks

Clothing/Accessories

Rolls-Royce

Hennessy (Cognac)

Gucci

Cadillac (Cadi)

Patrón (Tequila)

Prada

Ferrari

Grey Goose (Vodka)

Louis Vuitton (Louis/Louis V)

Lamborghini

Jack Daniels (Whiskey)

Red Tops

Chevrolet

Cîroc (Vodka)

Balenciaga

Mercedes-Benz (Benz)

Dom Pérignon - (Champagne)

Rolex

Bentley

Cristal (Champagne)

Jordans

Porsche

Mumm (Champagne)

Versace

BMW Car (Bimmer)

Adidas (Addies) (Addy can also be used to mean 'Email')

BMW Motorbike (Beamer)


🇬🇧 British Bits and Bobs

English is a very diverse language and as English contributors we’re lucky to be able to hear songs from all over the world. Some of these songs, however, can be pretty tricky, as they use English in ways we may not be used to. Songs in British English can be difficult for American or second language speakers of English, and so we’ve decided to prepare a list of common British specific slang for reference when needed.

Word

Meaning

Example

Aggy

Angry, aggressive

“You’re being bare aggy”

Baccy

Tobacco

“Got any baccy?”

Bait

Glaringly obvious

“I know you like me, look at how bait you’re being”

Bare

A lot of

“There’s bare people here”“I’m bare tired”

Bevvy

Alcoholic drink - short for beverage

“Met her at the club then took her for a bevvy”

Bruv

Brother (‘Bro’ in American slang)

"You alright, bruv? What’s up?"

Chat

Used as noun to mean good at talking (specifically to a date)

“I’ve got the money, I’ve got the chat”

Chav

Derogatory term, usually for a young, lower-class person.

“Yeah, he’s fit, but he’s a little bit chavvy”

Chuffed

To be extremely happy/proud

“I’m well chuffed with that!”

Cuppa

Cup of tea

“Fancy a cuppa, mum?” (Remember, ‘mum’ instead of ‘mom’)

Fag

Cigarette (in this context it’s not offensive)

“Mate, I need a fag”

Fit

Attractive (not only in shape)

“He’s well fit”

“Look at that fitty over there”

Grafting

Equivalent of ‘Hitting on’ - trying to gain the attention of a desired partner OR trying to make something up to an existing partner

“Stacy is well pissed with me, I’m gonna have to graft all day”

Gutted

To be extremely disappointed - opposite of chuffed

“I’m proper gutted we lost the football last night”

Innit

Short for ‘Isn’t it’ - used to seek confirmation

“You heard this song, bruv?”“Yeah mate, good innit?”

Mugging someone off

To disrespect someone. To make someone look stupid/pathetic. Also used as noun (to be a mug) or an adjective (muggy)

“You’ve proper mugged me off”

“You’ve made me look like Sa mug now”

“Mate, that’s proper muggy”

Peng

Attractive

“She’s peng, bruv”

Pint

Used to mean ‘Beer’, usually Lager specifically

“Can I have a pint please mate?”

Piss

Urine/Urinate

“I need a piss"

Take the piss

Making fun of someone in a harmless manner OR disrespecting someone

“Don’t get upset, mate, I’m just takin’ the piss!”

“Nah, it’s not funny, you’re takin’ the piss now”

To be pissed

Either to be drunk, or to be angry”

“You’ve pissed me off”

Quid

Pound - currency

“Ticket to Madrid, only cost me 20 quid”

Racket

Noise

“I’m ready to party, ready to make a racket”

Shag

To have sex with

“Goin’ out to town, lookin’ for a shag”

Sick / Bangin’ / Mint

‘Good’

“Yo, that’s sick, mate!”

Slag / Sket

Derogatory term for a female - connotations of sexual promiscuity

“She’s a slag, she’s a sket, the worst girl I’ve ever met”

Trackies

Track-suit

“Walkin’ ‘round in her trackies”

Wasteman

Someone you don’t respect - connotations of laziness

He ain’t got no ambition, he a wasteman

(In order of severity) Tipsy, Wobbly, Pissed, Hammered, Smashed, Plastered, Sloshed, Trolleyed

Drunk (almost any noun can be used to describe a very drunk person by adding ‘ed’ to the end of it)

“Did you see Dave last night? Mate he was absolutely leathered”

Of course, this is not an exhaustive list, but it's a good place to start if you're having trouble deciphering a word. We've also got a British Content Editor, Tim, so you can feel free to contact him via Slack should you need further help.


🇳🇬 Nigerian Slang

Many Nigerian songs are counted as English in our catalogue but feature some pretty heavy slang that not all English speakers will recognize. Here's a list of some of the most commonly occurring words to help you out in such cases:

Word

Meaning

Example

Sapa

Hunger or broke-ness

we are facing a sapa problem

Lamba

False information / lie

I don give am lamba / all she told me was lamba

Kolo

Crazy / insane

I dey kolo for your love

Lepa

A slim person

I met this lepa girl at the club

Kayamata

A sort of love potion

I believe she used kayamata for her boyfriend

Banana

Penis

she said she wants my banana

Wahala

Trouble/Problem

I don enter wahala/ This project is giving me too much wahala

Wetin / weytin

What

Weytin dey happen?

As with the British slang, this list is not exhaustive, but you can always reach out to our Nigerian community on the Slack channel for further help!


🇯🇲 Piece ah Patois

Songs from Jamaica also make their way onto the English list and can be very difficult to decipher for many users. The general advice is to leave Patois songs for those who can complete them confidently, but here's a list of some words and terms to keep an ear open for:

Word

Meaning

Example

Likkle more

See you later

Mi see you likkle more den

Wah gwaan

What’s up?

Wah gwaan felicia?

Weh yuh a seh

How are you doing/where have you been?

Weh yuh a seh Tobi? Mi look fi yuh a long time

‘Pon

Upon

Look ‘pon mi now

‘Member

Remember

‘Member Jah is watching you

Gi’

Give

Gi’ dem

Lef’

Left

Mi lef’ the gun

Hol’

Hold

Hol’ a vibe

Iration

Creation

Jah Iration

Cah/becah

‘Cause/because

Cah mi unh give up/becah mi unh give up

Haffi

Have to

Haffi give thanks and praises

Nuff

Enough

Nuff a dem badmind

Dutty

Dirty

Get away with yuh dutty mind

Pickney

A toddler/a child

Mi member when I was a pickney

Likkle

Little

Got to have likkle patience

Bakkle

Battle

Mi dey ‘pon di bakkle field

Woulda

Would have

Who woulda think of it?


🧒 Gen Alpha Slang

New songs come with new slang which can be hard to identify if you're not up to date with the latest. Luckily for you, we've got you covered. Below are some standardized Gen Alpha Slang words, alongside their meanings.

Word

Meaning

Example

Gyat, Gyats

Refers to the size of someone's behind

"She has a level 5 gyat, I gyat something in my eye

Looksmax, Looksmaxxing

The practice of enhancing one’s physical appearance to maximize attractiveness

I'm looksmaxxing so I can grab women

Mew, mewing

A technique where you press your tongue against the roof of your mouth to improve your jawline and facial structure

Shh, I'm mewing

Grimace shake

A limited time shake from McDonalds to celebrate Grimace's Birthday.

I just got the Grimace shake

Fanum tax

The action of taking a piece of someone else's food

I'ma Fanum tax your meal

Rizz, Rizzy

Someone's ability to attract someone else

I'm gonna rizz that gyat over there

Rizzler

Someone that can rizz others

I'm the number one rizzler

Mog

Asserting dominance over someone by being more attractive or physically superior

I got mogged at the gym

Ocky way

This style is characterized by large portions of meat and fried foods like burgers, chicken cutlets, mozzarella sticks, french fries, chicken tenders, and more, all stuffed into one sandwich

All of this meal, eat it in the Ocky way

Gigachad

A person with an ultimate form of masculinity, confidence, and physical attractiveness

I'm him, the gigachad

Brainrot

Having silly or irrational thoughts and opinions due to spending too much time online. No educational value, often repetitive

I spent too long online today, I've got brainrot

Skibidi Toilet

A toilet with a human head. Skibidi generally means 'bad'

Sus, Sussy

Contractions of 'suspicious'

That guy is very sus

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