The dictionary
Every word, with the context.
2301 words and phrases with meanings, pronunciation, example sentences and origins. Free to use and always growing.
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Greetings & Conversation 124 Grammar & Function Words 81 People & Relationships 113 Actions & Verbs 116 Descriptions & Emotions 181 Food & Drink 260 Places & Directions 68 Time, Dates & Numbers 25 Body, Health & Appearance 102 Clothing & Style 57 Animals, Plants & Nature 208 Money, Work & Business 124 Transport & Travel 30 Music, Reggae & Dancehall 104 Dance, Party & Celebration 28 Rastafari & Iyaric 106 Proverbs & Traditional Sayings 196 Culture, Heritage & History 90 Sports & Games 38 Technology & Texting 5 Affection, Love & Romance 56 Insults, Conflict & Disrespect 75 Profanity & Vulgar Language 15 Sexual & Adult Language 22 Superstition, Folklore & Spirituality 69 Caribbean & Diaspora Usage 8
A
- A fi 'It belongs to / it's for' — a construction combining 'a' (it is) with 'fi' (for…
- A lie 'That's a lie!' or, as an exclamation, 'no way!' / 'you're kidding!'.
- A nuh everyting gud fi nyam gud fi talk 'A nuh everyting gud fi nyam gud fi talk' — not everything that is good to eat is good…
- A nuh lie 'It's no lie' — an emphatic way of swearing that what you've said is the honest truth.
- A nuh so 'It's not so / that's not how it is' — a correction or denial, built from 'a' (it is)…
- A so 'That's how it is / just so' — a compact affirmation that something is exactly as…
- A so it go 'A so it go' — that's how it is, such is life.
- A so life go 'That's how life goes' — a philosophical shrug in the face of hardship or an unexpected…
- A suh it guh 'A suh it guh' — that's how it goes.
- A true 'It's true' / 'that's true' — an affirmation and agreement, from 'a' (it is) + 'true'.
- Aal 'All' — the whole of something — but it also carries the sense of 'even' or 'right up…
- Abeng A wind instrument made from a cow's horn, blown to send messages and signals across the…
- Accompong The self-governing Maroon town in the Cockpit Country of St.
- Ackee A soft, pale-yellow fruit whose ripe arils are cooked as a savoury vegetable;
- Ackee and saltfish Jamaica's national dish — boiled ackee (the yellow arils of the ripe ackee fruit)…
- Ackee-walk A grove or stand of ackee trees.
- Adelphi A rural district in the parish of St.
- Affi Have to, must — a shortened form of 'haffi', with the 'h' dropped.
- Africa Africa — for many Jamaicans, and centrally in Rastafari, not just a continent but the…
- Age paper A birth certificate — the official document that proves a person's age and identity.
- Ago Going to — the Patois marker for the future tense, placed before a verb.
- Ah A small but essential Jamaican word that does several grammatical jobs — marking…
- Air horn The loud horn blast — a real air horn or its electronic sample — that a selector sounds…
- Aiz Ear or ears — the Patois pronunciation of 'ears'.
- Aiz-haad pickney bun a sun hot 'Aiz-haad pickney bun a sun hot' — the hard-ears (disobedient) child gets burned in the…
- Akete The smallest and highest-pitched of the three sacred Nyabinghi hand drums — also called…
- All fruits ripe Everything is going well and coming to fruition — all is prosperous, sweet, and in…
- All now Even up to now;
- Alligator lay egg, but him nuh fowl 'Alligator lay egg, but him nuh fowl' — the alligator lays eggs, but that does not make…
- Almshouse Spiteful, wicked, mean-spirited behaviour — pettiness, scheming, and drama meant to…
- Anadda Another — 'an-other' with the 'th' flattened to 'd'.
- Anancy rope tie Anancy 'Anancy rope tie Anancy' — Anancy's own rope ties up Anancy.
- Anancy story A folk tale about Anancy (Anansi), the cunning spider-trickster of Jamaican tradition —…
- Anansi The spider trickster hero of Jamaican folklore — small and weak, but so clever and…
- Anansi story A folk tale of Anansi, the cunning spider-man trickster who outwits bigger, stronger…
- Ancient of Days A title for God, and in Rastafari specifically for Haile Selassie I — taken from the…
- Annatto The rusty-red seed of the annatto shrub, used to colour and lightly flavour food — its…
- Answer tune A song made in direct reply to another — answering a rival's lyrics, a 'diss', or an…
- Ants Ants — often used in the singular form 'ants' for one or many ('a ants a crawl').
- Anuh 'It is not', or, tagged onto a statement, 'isn't it?' — the negative of the equating…
- Appleton The famous brand of aged, golden Jamaican rum from the Appleton Estate in St…
- Apprecilove To 'appreciate' with love — a Rastafari Iyaric coinage that replaces the 'hate' sound…
- Apron A cloth garment tied over the front of the clothes to keep them clean while cooking…
- Arcade A downtown vendors' market building or covered lane packed with small stalls selling…
- Area don The strongman who controls a neighbourhood or 'area' — a community boss who commands…
- Armagideon The Rastafari rendering of Armageddon — the prophesied final battle and day of judgment…
- Arrowroot A starchy root ground into a fine, easily-digested powder used to thicken porridges…
- Asham A traditional Jamaican snack of dried corn that has been parched (roasted), then ground…
- Ashamed Ashamed or embarrassed — feeling shame or losing face over something.
- Asma Asthma — the breathing condition, pronounced 'asma' in Patois with the silent 'th'…
- Auntie Aunt — but also a respectful, affectionate title for any older woman, whether related…
B
- Baan Born — the Jamaican pronunciation of 'born', most alive in the proud phrase 'baan an…
- Baan bak a cow 'Baan bak a cow' — born behind a cow, that is, of humble, rural, country origins.
- Baas Boss — an employer or person in charge, and also a respectful, friendly term of address…
- Baby fadda The father of a woman's child or children — particularly one she is no longer with…
- Baby madda The mother of a man's child or children — especially one he is no longer romantically…
- Baby-fada The father of a woman's child, whom she is no longer (or was never) married to — 'baby…
- Babyfada The father of a woman's child or children, spoken of in relation to her, whether or not…
- Babyfather The father of a woman's child, spoken of as an ongoing relation whether or not the…
- Babylon The oppressive establishment — Western colonial and capitalist society, its…
- Babymadda The mother of a man's child or children, spoken of in relation to him — whether or not…
- Back a yaad Back home — at one's own yard, home, or home country — and also the ordinary…
- Back-a-Wall A notorious shanty settlement in west Kingston, home to the poorest of the poor and an…
- Back-answer To answer back rudely, or to talk back to a parent, elder, or person in authority.
- Back-chat Impertinent talking back — answering an elder or someone in authority with a cheeky…
- Back-O-Wall A historic West Kingston shanty settlement — a squatter community of makeshift shacks…
- Backative Backing, support, or reinforcement — the people, resources, or muscle standing behind…
- Backfist A backhand blow struck with the back of the fist or hand — a sharp swat delivered on…
- Backfoot A mild exclamation of shock, surprise, or frustration — 'good grief!', 'what on earth!'…
- Backra A white person — historically the white master or plantation-owning class of the…
- Backshot An explicit slang term for a rear-entry sexual position.
- Bad In Patois 'bad' swings two ways, and tone tells you which.
- Bad breed Ill-mannered, disrespectful, and badly brought up — used especially of a child or young…
- Bad foot A chronically sore, ulcerated, or injured leg — a persistent leg wound or 'leg sore'…
- Bad gyal A bold, confident, self-assured woman who carries herself fearlessly and does exactly…
- Bad like yaz Extremely bad, tough, or fearsome — 'bad' here in the admiring dancehall sense of…
- Bad luck wus dan obeah 'Bad luck wus dan obeah' — bad luck is worse than obeah (witchcraft).
- Bad man A tough, fearless man — and, depending on tone, either a genuine gangster figure to be…
- Bad mind a kill dem 'Bad mind a kill dem' — envy is killing them.
- Bad up To confront, threaten, or rough someone up aggressively — to act the bully toward them…
- Bad wud A curse word;
- Bad-belly An upset stomach — a stomach-ache, indigestion, or the runs.
- Bad-blood Two senses.
- Bad-eye Two linked senses.
- Bad-mind Envious and ill-wishing — begrudging another person's success and secretly wanting them…
- Baddaration Bother, annoyance, harassment, and fuss — a nagging nuisance that will not let you rest.
- Bade To bathe or wash — the Patois form of 'bathe'.
- Badmind Envious, spiteful, and ill-wishing — begrudging other people's success or happiness…
- Badness Violent, aggressive, or criminal behaviour — thuggery, roughness, and trouble-making.
- Badoo An old Jamaican name for coco (the dasheen/taro corm) — the starchy root eaten as a…
- Bag a tings A whole lot of things;
- Bag juice A cheap sweet drink sold frozen in a small plastic bag — you bite off a corner and suck…
- Bag-o-wire A betrayer — someone who sells out or informs on the very people who trusted them.
- Bagga A lot of, plenty of, many — set before a noun to mean a large amount or number.
- Bagga mout A person who talks a great deal but does little to back it up — all talk and no action.
- Baggy Underwear — specifically girls' or women's panties, and children's underpants.
- Balance Beyond keeping steady, in Jamaican slang 'balance' means to relax, settle, and cool out…
- Bald-head In Rastafari speech, a person who does not wear dreadlocks — and, more pointedly, one…
- Baldhead In Rastafari speech, a person who is not Rasta — one without dreadlocks — and, by…
- Baldpate A wild pigeon with a pale white crown, so named for its 'bald' (white) head — the…
- Bally A cheap canvas-and-rubber plimsoll or sneaker — the plain, low-cost shoe that…
- Balm Spiritual and herbal healing in the Jamaican folk tradition.
- Balm yaad A healing yard run by a balmist or 'mother' — a place of Afro-Jamaican spiritual…
- Balm yard A yard or compound where a spiritual healer — a 'balmist' or 'mother' — treats the sick…
- Balmyard A healing yard run by a 'balmist' or 'mother' — a place people go for spiritual and…
- Bamboo The tall, jointed, fast-growing cane that grows in dense clumps along Jamaican rivers…
- Bammy A flat, round flatbread made from grated cassava that is pressed, dried and fried or…
- Banana Banana — but in Jamaican kitchens the word often means the GREEN (unripe) banana boiled…
- Banana boat The cargo ship that carried Jamaica's bananas across the sea to markets abroad — the…
- Banana fritter A sweet fried cake made from mashed overripe banana beaten into a spiced flour batter…
- Banana porridge A breakfast porridge made from banana — most often the green (unripe) banana grated…
- Banana trash The dried brown leaves and stalks of the banana plant — not rubbish, but a useful…
- Banana walk A field or grove of banana plants — in Jamaican usage a 'walk' is a planted grove of a…
- Banana-quit A tiny, bold yellow-breasted nectar bird with a curved beak and a black cap, forever…
- Bandana The red-and-white (sometimes yellow) plaid madras cloth that is Jamaica's national…
- Bandooloo Fraud, hustling, or illegal and dishonest dealings — and, as an adjective, anything…
- Bang belly A tight, swollen, drum-like belly — used of a distended stomach, as on a child who has…
- Bangarang A loud commotion, uproar, or disturbance — chaos, a noisy quarrel, or a great fuss.
- Banjo The plucked, drum-bodied string instrument that gives mento its bright, chiming melody…
- Bankra A large covered basket woven from bamboo or wicker, used to carry produce, food, or…
- Banky A low wooden bench or small stool to sit on — a simple, homemade seat, often just a…
- Banton An honorific in reggae and dancehall for a heavyweight lyricist or storyteller — a…
- Bapps Suddenly, all at once, in an instant — an expressive word for something that happens…
- Bar A bar — the small neighbourhood drinking spot where people buy a beer or a shot, play…
- Barbecue In rural Jamaica, a large flat platform of concrete or stone built in the open for…
- Bare Nothing but;
- Bashment A big, lively party or dance event — and, as an adjective, anything exciting…
- Bashy Excellent, exciting, or top-quality — especially something flashy, energetic, and full…
- Basic school Early-childhood school for the youngest children, roughly ages three to six — Jamaica's…
- Basil The fragrant herb basil — grown in the yard and used both in cooking and, importantly…
- Bass bin A large speaker cabinet built to reproduce the deep bass frequencies — the massive…
- Bassline The deep, rolling bass melody that drives reggae and dancehall — the heartbeat and…
- Bat an ball Improvised street, yard, or beach cricket — a casual game got up with a homemade bat…
- Bata Cheap canvas-and-rubber shoes — named after the Bata brand whose plimsolls and…
- Batimamselle A dragonfly — the darting, long-bodied insect with gauzy wings seen hovering and…
- Battery In Jamaican street and dancehall slang, an explicit term for group sex involving…
- Batty The buttocks, backside, or bottom.
- Batty rider Very short, tight shorts that 'ride up' the batty (bottom) — the skimpy, high-cut…
- Batty-hole A crude, vulgar word for the anus — 'batty' (backside/bottom) plus 'hole'.
- Battyclaat A strong Jamaican expletive from the notorious '-claat' curse family — a forceful…
- Battyhole A vulgar word for the anus ('batty', backside, plus 'hole').
- Battyman A homophobic slur for a gay man — one of the most common anti-gay slurs in Jamaican…
- Bawl To cry, weep, or wail loudly — and also to shout or cry out sharply.
- Bawl out To cry out or shout loudly — whether from pain, grief, or to call for help or attention.
- Bax To hit, punch, or slap — usually a sharp blow with an open hand or fist, often landed…
- Baxide The backside or buttocks.
- Bayfoot Barefoot — going without shoes, 'bay' (bare) plus 'foot'.
- Beast Derogatory slang for the police.
- Beenie Tiny, small, or little — describing something small in size or a person of slight…
- Beggy-beggy Given to constant begging — always asking others for things instead of providing for…
- Belly The stomach or abdomen — but in Jamaican it also commonly means a pregnancy.
- Belly bottom The lower part of the belly, the pit of the stomach — the 'bottom' of the belly.
- Belly full The satisfied fullness of a good meal — having eaten your fill — and, more broadly, the…
- Belly-woman A pregnant woman — one carrying a 'belly'.
- Ben Johnson day The lean day just before payday, when money and food have run low and the cupboard is…
- Ben up Bent up, crooked, twisted, or folded out of shape — used of anything crumpled, warped…
- Bend-down plaza An informal street market where vendors lay their goods out on the ground or on low…
- Benta A traditional Jamaican musical bow — a length of bamboo with a single string raised on…
- Bere Nothing but, only, or pure — and, by extension, a whole lot of.
- Bess Best — and, more loosely, excellent, wonderful, first-rate, a general stamp of high…
- Bex Angry, cross, or upset — and, used as a verb, to make someone angry.
- Bickle Food, victuals — cooked food to eat, provisions for a meal.
- Big belly Pregnant — 'she big belly' means she is expecting a baby, and to 'get big belly' is to…
- Big lie A big lie — a tall tale or gross exaggeration, told to boast, entertain, or deceive.
- Big man An adult male seen as mature, self-reliant, and to be taken seriously — and also a man…
- Big man ting Serious grown-man business — a matter handled properly, seriously, and with the…
- Big mumma The grandmother or matriarch — the big mother — who heads and holds together an…
- Big shot An important, powerful, or wealthy person — a big man, someone with money, status, or…
- Big smaddy A 'big somebody' — an important, wealthy, or powerful person;
- Big tings a gwaan 'Big tings a gwaan' — literally 'big things are happening', used to announce that good…
- Big tune A huge hit song — a track that everybody loves, that locks the dance and rules the…
- Big up To praise, celebrate, and publicly give respect to someone — to hail and honour them.
- Big up yuh chest Stand tall and be proud — literally 'puff up your chest'.
- Big up yuhself A phrase of respect, greeting, and hype — telling someone to hold themselves high and…
- Big-head Two senses.
- Big-people Grown-ups;
- Big-woman A grown, mature woman — an adult, responsible for herself, past the age of a girl.
- Bikkle Food, provisions, a meal — what there is to eat.
- Bill In Jamaican money slang, one hundred dollars — 'a bill' is $100, and 'two bill' is $200.
- Binggy A short form of Nyahbinghi — the most traditional order of Rastafari and its sacred…
- Binghi Short for Nyabinghi — the oldest and most traditional order of Rastafari, and the name…
- Binghi man A Rastafari elder of the Nyabinghi order — the most orthodox and traditional house of…
- Bird A bird — the general word for any small flying bird, from the sparrow to the…
- Bishop A high-ranking church leader — the head of a congregation or a group of churches, above…
- Bissy The kola nut, grated and steeped in water as a traditional folk remedy.
- Bitter cassava The variety of cassava that is toxic when raw and must be grated, pressed to squeeze…
- Bizzy The bitter kola nut — a hard reddish seed that is grated or chewed as a folk remedy and…
- Blabba mout A blabbermouth — someone who talks too much and cannot keep a secret, blurting out…
- Black crab The black land crab, dark-shelled and much prized for eating — famously associated with…
- Black-black Very dark-skinned — the reduplication of 'black' intensifying it to mean deeply dark in…
- Black-heart man A bogeyman — a wicked, sinister figure said to steal or harm children, invoked by…
- Blackbud seh fi im pickney fus 'Blackbud seh fi im pickney fus' — the blackbird says his own children come first.
- Blackcat A black cat — and, in Jamaican folk belief, a creature of superstition and obeah.
- Blackheart man A bogeyman figure of Jamaican folklore used to frighten children into behaving — a…
- Blackie mango A small, dark-skinned Jamaican mango variety — the 'blackie' — with a deep…
- Blaze To light up and smoke ganja — 'blaze up di spliff' means to spark it and smoke.
- Bleach In dancehall culture, to stay up all night — usually partying until dawn.
- Blem A cigarette, or a rolled spliff — slang for a smoke.
- Bless up A greeting or parting expression of goodwill — roughly 'blessings to you' or 'stay…
- Blessed A greeting, a farewell, and a blessing all in one, wishing the favour of Jah upon…
- Blessed love A warm Rastafari greeting and blessing, offered on meeting or parting — wishing…
- Blimblim Dancehall slang for a gun or firearm — one of the many coded, playful-sounding words…
- Blindgarette A cigarette — reshaped in Iyaric to expose it as something that 'blinds' rather than…
- Bling Flashy, showy jewellery — gold chains, diamonds, big rings, and shiny accessories worn…
- Bloodclaat One of the very strongest Jamaican expletives — a forceful cry of anger, shock, or…
- Bloodfire An exclamation of anger, alarm, or righteous outrage — a call for 'fire', for judgment…
- Bloomers Women's or girls' underpants — the loose, full knickers of the old style, and by…
- Blouse an skirt A mild, comical exclamation of surprise or dismay — a 'clean', family-friendly stand-in…
- Blue drawers A sweet boiled pudding of grated sweet potato or cornmeal with coconut, sugar, and…
- Blue drawz A sweet Jamaican dessert of grated sweet potato or cornmeal blended with coconut…
- Blue hole A deep natural swimming pool of startlingly clear, vivid blue water — formed where a…
- Blue Mahoe The national tree of Jamaica (Talipariti elatum) — a tall hardwood prized for its…
- Blue soap The hard, blue-and-white bar of all-purpose soap found in every Jamaican household —…
- Blues A 'blues' (or 'blues dance') is an intimate, low-lit house party where slow reggae and…
- Bly A break, a chance, or a lenient reprieve — an opportunity or an easement given to…
- Board house A house built of wooden boards rather than block and concrete — the traditional and…
- Boasty Boastful, show-offy, flashy — carrying on in a proud, look-at-me way, whether by…
- Boasy Showy, proud, and eager to flaunt what one has — describing a person who dresses…
- Bobo Chiefly a member of the Bobo Ashanti order of Rastafari — known for turbans, flowing…
- Bobo Shanti One of the main 'houses' or mansions of Rastafari — the Ethiopia Africa Black…
- Body come dung To feel a sickness coming on — that heavy, achy, run-down feeling when a cold, flu, or…
- Bogle A classic dancehall dance move of the early 1990s, marked by a rhythmic rocking of the…
- Boil dumpling A dumpling cooked by boiling rather than frying — a dense round or flattened patty of…
- Boiled dumpling A dense round or flattened dumpling of flour and water dropped into boiling water or…
- Bombay mango A large, round, golden mango variety with sweet, soft, juicy flesh, another of the…
- Bones The domino tiles — 'the bones', slapped down hard on the table in dominoes, the beloved…
- Boogooyaga Low-class, worthless, shabby, and of no account — and, as a noun, a ragamuffin or…
- Book-sense Academic, formal learning from school and books — as opposed to 'common sense', the…
- Bookman An obeah man — a practitioner of obeah believed to work spells, tell fortunes, and read…
- Boomshot An exclamation of high praise and excitement in dancehall — 'that's a hit!', 'big…
- Boonoonoonoos Precious, adorable, and deeply cherished — a term of tender affection for a beloved…
- Boops A man — usually older and well-off — who financially maintains a younger woman in…
- Boots Besides footwear, 'boots' is slang for a condom — 'wear yuh boots' means use protection.
- Booyaka An imitation of a gunshot, used as a celebratory sound of approval in dancehall — the…
- Born wid a caul A baby born with the amniotic membrane (the 'caul' or 'veil') over its face — held in…
- Bossman A respectful, friendly term of address for a man — like 'boss', 'chief', or 'sir'.
- Bout 'About' — concerning something, or approximately, as in 'talk bout it' or 'bout ten…
- Bow-foot Bow-legged — having legs that curve outward at the knees so the feet come together but…
- Bowcat A derogatory dancehall insult for a person — usually a man — accused of performing oral…
- Box food A takeaway meal packed in a foam or cardboard box — typically rice with a stew or fried…
- Box lunch A hot meal packed in a foam or cardboard box — bought from a cook-shop or vendor, or…
- Box-hand A person's turn and payout in a 'pardner' savings scheme — the whole pot collected when…
- Brace up To lean or prop yourself against something for support — 'brace up gainst di wall'…
- Braff To boast, brag, and show off — to make a loud, proud display of what you have or what…
- Bragadaps Suddenly and with a crash or thud — an expressive word for something that happens all…
- Brawta A little extra given free by a seller after a purchase — the small bonus a higgler or…
- Bread Besides the loaf, 'bread' is common slang for money — the means of living.
- Breadfruit A large, round, green starchy fruit — brought to Jamaica in the 18th century — that is…
- Breadfruit leaf The large, deeply lobed leaf of the breadfruit tree, dried and boiled as a bush tea in…
- Breadkind The starchy, filling part of a meal taken collectively — ground provisions (yam…
- Breadnut A close relative of the breadfruit whose fruit is packed with large edible seeds rather…
- Bredda Brother — whether a literal male sibling or, more commonly in address, a fellow man…
- Bredren A close male friend, or a group of close friends — brothers by bond rather than by…
- Bredrin A brother in the wider sense — a close male friend, a fellow, one of your circle —…
- Breed To make a woman pregnant;
- Breeze Wind of any strength — for in Patois 'breeze' covers everything from the gentlest…
- Breezy Cool and airy — of weather with a pleasant wind.
- Brief Men's underpants — 'briefs'.
- Bright Beyond 'clever' or 'shining', in Patois 'bright' most often means cheeky, forward, and…
- Bringle Angry, vexed, and quick to flare up — hot-tempered and easily provoked.
- Brinks A woman's wealthy male benefactor — the man who keeps her supplied with money, gifts…
- Broke-broke Completely broke;
- Broughtupsy Good manners and home training — the proper upbringing that shows in how a person…
- Brown down To brown meat in hot oil, or in burnt/caramelised sugar, to build colour and deep…
- Brown girl in the ring A classic Caribbean ring game and singing game in which children join hands in a circle…
- Brown stew A classic Jamaican cooking method and dish in which meat or fish is browned and…
- Brownin A light-skinned Black person — most often a light-skinned woman.
- Browning Burnt-sugar colouring — a dark, bittersweet caramel used to give brown stew, gravies…
- Bruckins A traditional Jamaican dance and celebration, most famous as the 'Bruckins Party' held…
- Bruk To break — but reaching far beyond the plain sense: to be broke and penniless, to break…
- Bruk grung To break new ground for planting — digging and turning fresh land, clearing and…
- Bruk note To break a large banknote into smaller money or change — 'bruk di note fi mi' asks…
- Bruk out To let go and dance freely and wildly, holding nothing back — and, more broadly, to…
- Bruk pocket Broke and penniless — completely out of money, with empty pockets.
- Bruk-heart Heartbreak — the deep hurt of lost love or betrayal, from 'bruk' (broken) and 'heart'.
- Bubble To dance with a smooth, rolling, gyrating motion — and, more broadly, to party and…
- Buck up To meet or run into someone by chance — to bump into them unexpectedly — and also to…
- Buddy A vulgar Jamaican word for the penis, alongside 'hood' and 'cocky'.
- Buguyaga A scruffy, ragged, worthless person — a tramp, vagabond, or good-for-nothing, unkempt…
- Buju An affectionate word for breadfruit, and a nickname for a chubby child (soft and round…
- Bull thatch A kind of thatch palm whose broad, tough fronds are cut and used for thatching roofs…
- Bull-frog A large frog, named for its deep, bellowing croak that carries across ponds and gullies…
- Bulla A round, dense, flat cake sweetened with molasses or dark brown sugar and spiced with…
- Bully beef Tinned corned beef — a cheap, shelf-stable pantry staple found in kitchens across…
- Bumbo A vulgar word for the backside or, more coarsely, the private parts.
- Bumboclaat One of the strongest Jamaican swear words.
- Bumpa The buttocks — especially a large, curvy, shapely backside, much celebrated in…
- Bun Chiefly 'to burn', but in Jamaican it also famously means infidelity — to cheat on a…
- Bun a fyah To 'burn fire' on something — to loudly condemn, denounce, and reject it as corrupt…
- Bun an cheese The pairing of Jamaican Easter bun, a dark, spiced fruit loaf, with slices of firm…
- Bun and cheese The classic pairing of spiced bun with a thick slab of processed cheese — a treasured…
- Bungo A derogatory word for someone regarded as crude, coarse, or 'backward' — unrefined in…
- Bunna man The man a woman is cheating with — the other man in an affair, who 'gives bun' to her…
- Bunununu Deeply loved, treasured, and adored — a tender term for a sweetheart or precious person.
- Burn candle To light a candle (or 'set a light') in ritual for a spiritual purpose — for…
- Burn coal To make charcoal ('coal') by slow-burning wood under a covering of earth in a…
- Burru An Afro-Jamaican drumming tradition of West African descent, played on three drums…
- Bus park The terminus or depot where buses and route taxis gather, load passengers, and set off…
- Bush Wild, uncultivated land — thick vegetation, the deep countryside, or any overgrown…
- Bush doctor A traditional healer who cures with 'bush' — the leaves, roots, and barks of medicinal…
- Bush tea Herbal tea brewed from wild 'bush' — the leaves, roots, and barks of medicinal plants —…
- Buss To burst, break open, or make a sudden explosive movement — the Jamaican form of…
- Buss a blank Originally, to fire a blank shot from a gun into the air as a salute to a hot tune at a…
- Buss a wine To break into a hip-rolling dance — literally to 'burst' a whine.
- Buss out To burst out — most often into sudden laughter or tears ('him buss out inna laugh')…
- Busta A hard, chewy sweet made of coconut and boiled sugar (dark from burnt sugar or spiced…
- Bustamante backbone A very hard, chewy candy made from coconut and dark sugar or molasses, cooked until it…
- Busu A freshwater river snail or mussel, gathered from rivers and cooked — most famously…
- Butterfly A famous early-1990s dancehall dance move in which the dancer bends the knees and flaps…
- Butu A crude, ill-mannered, uncultured person — a boor who behaves in a low, common, and…
- Bwoy Literally 'boy', but frequently used as an exclamatory filler expressing emphasis…
- Bwoy-pickney A boy child;
C
- Cabin stabbin A crude dancehall slang expression for having sex — the 'stabbing' taking place in the…
- Calabash The hard-shelled gourd of the calabash tree, dried and hollowed to make bowls, cups…
- Calipeever A prized freshwater fish of Jamaican rivers — the mountain mullet — sweet-fleshed and…
- Callaloo A leafy green vegetable (in Jamaica usually amaranth, sometimes taro leaf elsewhere)…
- Callaloo and saltfish Callaloo — the chopped leafy green (in Jamaica, the leaves of amaranth or of the…
- Cane cutta A cane cutter — the labourer who cuts sugar cane by hand in the fields with a machete…
- Cane juice The sweet juice pressed from crushed sugar cane, drunk fresh — often with a squeeze of…
- Cane piece A field or plot of sugar cane — 'piece' meaning a section of land.
- Cane row Hair braided flat and tight to the scalp in neat rows, running from front to back or in…
- Canoe A fishing boat — traditionally a dugout hollowed from a single large tree trunk (often…
- Carbolic soap A reddish-brown, medicated antiseptic bar soap — the classic 'red soap' of Jamaican…
- Caribbean diaspora The Caribbean diaspora — the great communities of Jamaicans and other West Indians…
- Carnival Jamaica's soca-driven street festival — a road march of feathered costumes, music…
- Carrot juice A sweet, creamy drink of blended and strained fresh carrot mixed with condensed milk…
- Carry go bring come Gossip carried back and forth between people to stir up trouble — and the tale-bearer…
- Carry on To misbehave, make a fuss, or act up — to 'carry on' is to create a commotion, throw a…
- Cash Pot A hugely popular Jamaican numbers lottery in which you bet on a number from 1 to 36…
- Cashew The cashew — in Jamaica both the fleshy 'cashew apple' (a soft, juicy, astringent…
- Cassava A starchy root crop — one of the island's oldest foods — ground and pressed to make…
- Cassava cake A dense, sweet baked cake — 'cassava pone' — made from grated cassava mixed with…
- Cassia A flowering tree of the cassia family, several kinds of which grow in Jamaica — from…
- Catarrh Mucus and congestion — the phlegm, blocked or running nose, and chest and sinus…
- Catchment A tank, drum, or built cistern that catches and stores rainwater running off the roof…
- Causeway A causeway — a raised road built across water or marshland.
- Cease an sekkle Stop and settle down — calm yourself, ease off, and take things easy.
- Cedar A valued timber tree with fragrant, reddish, easily-worked wood — prized by carvers and…
- Celly A cell phone or mobile phone.
- Cemetery The graveyard or 'burying ground' — a place charged with meaning in Jamaican folk…
- Cerasee A wild, sprawling bitter vine whose leaves are boiled into a famously bitter tea, a…
- Chain and medallion A heavy gold chain worn with a big hanging pendant (medallion) — the classic status…
- Chainy root A woody climbing vine whose root is dug, dried, and boiled to make a bitter tonic…
- Chaka-chaka Untidy, disorderly, messy, or done in a careless, haphazard way.
- Chaklata Chocolate — and especially 'chocolate tea', the hot drink made by boiling grated…
- Chalice A water pipe used by Rastafari to smoke the herb ritually during reasoning and…
- Chalk The white (or coloured) stick used to write on the blackboard, and by children on the…
- Champs The ISSA Boys' and Girls' Athletics Championships — the annual national high-school…
- Chant down To bring down oppression and corruption ('Babylon') through the spiritual force of…
- Chargie A friendly term of address for a friend, pal, or associate — 'wah gwaan, chargie?'…
- Charlie A fool or a dupe — 'a proper Charlie' is someone made to look ridiculous or taken for a…
- Charter To hire a taxi (or bus) exclusively for yourself, rather than sharing it as a route…
- Chat To talk or speak — but in Jamaican it very often carries the sharper sense of gossiping…
- Chat bare foolishness To talk pure nonsense or rubbish;
- Chat bout A dismissive exclamation of scorn or disbelief — 'chat bout!' — thrown at something…
- Chatta A chatterbox — someone who talks incessantly, and often indiscreetly, running on and on…
- Chatty-chatty Gossipy and unable to keep quiet — a person who talks too much and spreads other…
- Chaw To chew — to work food, cane, or gum around in the mouth, often noisily and with relish.
- Check To be romantically interested in someone, or to pursue them — 'mi a check fi yuh' means…
- Cheddar Slang for money, cash — 'a mek some cheddar' means to earn some money.
- Cheese Cheese — especially the bright-yellow processed cheese sold in a tin (New Zealand 'tin…
- Chi-chi man A derogatory Jamaican term for a gay man.
- Chicken The chicken — a dietary and economic staple (jerk chicken, brown stew chicken, fried…
- Chicken foot soup A hearty soup made with chicken feet — the cleaned, scaly feet simmered until they give…
- Chicken merry, hawk deh near 'Chicken merry, hawk deh near' — when you are carelessly happy and off your guard…
- Chigga The jigger flea — a tiny burrowing insect that digs into the skin, usually of the feet…
- Chimmy A chamber pot — the covered pot kept under the bed for use at night, especially in…
- Chin A very common Chinese-Jamaican surname, and by extension a stand-in name for the…
- China skip A children's jumping game played with a long loop of joined elastic (or rubber bands)…
- Chinese skip A schoolyard jumping game, mostly for girls, played with a long loop of joined elastic…
- Chiney A Jamaican of Chinese descent, or the Chinese-Jamaican community.
- Chiney royal A person of mixed African and Chinese descent — the child of the union between…
- Chip To walk or move with a light, stylish, unhurried strut — 'chip up di road' is to stroll…
- Chip nuh fly far from block Children take after their parents — 'a chip off the old block'.
- Cho An exclamation of dismissal, mild annoyance, impatience, or disbelief — roughly 'come…
- Cho-cho The chayote — a pale green, wrinkled, pear-shaped squash with a mild, faintly sweet…
- Chocho The chayote — a pale-green, pear-shaped squash with a mild taste, a staple of the…
- Chocolate tea Hot cocoa made the traditional Jamaican way — grated or grated-and-boiled from a hard…
- Choppa A chopping blade used as a weapon — a machete or cutlass in the hands of someone ready…
- Christmas Christmas — the biggest festive season of the Jamaican year.
- Chubble Trouble — 'chubble' is the everyday Patois pronunciation of 'trouble', the palatalised…
- Chuck To shove, jostle, or bump against someone or something with a push.
- Chupid Stupid, foolish, dull-witted — the Patois pronunciation of 'stupid', with the 'st'…
- Chups To suck the teeth — that sharp sound made by drawing air through the teeth to show…
- Church frock A woman's good dress kept for church — a modest, smart 'frock' (dress) worn to Sunday…
- Church married Formally married in a church ceremony, with the vows, the white dress, and the wedding…
- Church sista A fellow female church member — and, as an archetype, the devout, respectable…
- Churchical In Rastafari Iyaric, spiritual, sacred, or 'of the church' in the highest sense —…
- Claat Literally 'cloth' — but in Jamaican profanity it is the key building block of the…
- Clarendon A large parish in south-central Jamaica, with its capital at May Pen — known for its…
- Clarks Clarks desert boots and shoes — the British footwear brand elevated in Jamaica into a…
- Clash A musical battle between two or more sound systems, or between deejays, where each side…
- Clean Clean — beyond simple tidiness, to be 'clean' is to be sharply, freshly dressed and…
- Clean skin Smooth, clear, blemish-free skin — an admired feature, the sign of youth, health, and…
- Cling-cling The Jamaican blackbird or grackle — a glossy black, sharp-eyed, noisy bird, named in…
- Coal iron The heavy old-time flat iron for pressing clothes — either a solid iron heated on the…
- Coal kiln A mound of stacked wood covered with earth and set to smoulder slowly, turning the wood…
- Coal pot A small portable cooking stove or brazier that burns wood charcoal ('coal') — a…
- Coal stove A small portable cooking stove — usually a metal or cast frame with a grate — that…
- Coaster A mid-sized passenger minibus — originally the Toyota Coaster — used for public…
- Coaster bus A mid-sized minibus — named after the Toyota Coaster model — that runs public routes…
- Cock mout kill cock 'Cock mout kill cock' — the rooster's own mouth kills the rooster.
- Cockpit Country The wild, rugged limestone karst region of interior Trelawny (and beyond) — a maze of…
- Cockroach nuh business inna fowl fight 'Cockroach nuh business inna fowl fight' — a cockroach has no business in a fight among…
- Cockstand A vulgar term for an erection — 'cock' (penis) joined to 'stand'.
- Cocky A vulgar Jamaican word for the penis, from 'cock'.
- Coco A starchy root vegetable — a 'ground provision' related to taro and dasheen — boiled in…
- Coco bread A soft, slightly sweet folded bread made with coconut milk, traditionally split and…
- Coco head The main corm — the round, starchy underground 'head' — of the coco (dasheen/taro)…
- Coco macca A hard, heavy walking stick or cudgel cut from the wood of a spiny palm — the 'coco…
- Cocoa The cacao from which real Jamaican 'chocolate tea' is made — the beans are roasted…
- Cocoa walk A grove of cocoa (cacao) trees grown for their pods — a 'walk' being a Jamaican term…
- Coconut The coconut — central to Jamaican life and cooking.
- Coconut brush A scrubbing brush made from the dried husk of a coconut, traditionally used to shine…
- Coconut drops A chewy old-time sweet made by boiling diced 'dry' coconut with sugar and ginger until…
- Coconut milk The rich, creamy liquid squeezed from grated coconut flesh — the backbone of Jamaican…
- Coconut shell The hard woody shell of the dry coconut, once the flesh is out — split, cleaned, and…
- Coconut water The clear, sweet liquid inside a green coconut — drunk straight from the shell as the…
- Coffee walk A grove or planting of coffee trees, using the rural sense of 'walk' as a cultivated…
- Coffin The box in which a dead person is buried.
- Coil A mosquito coil — the green spiral of incense-like repellent you light at dusk and let…
- Cold catch A cold or chill that a person has caught — a head cold with sneezing, runny nose, and…
- Collie Ganja — another name for marijuana, especially good, potent herb ('collie weed').
- Come back To come back — to return, especially to return home, often after time spent 'a farrin'…
- Come yah Come here — 'yah' being the Patois for 'here'.
- Common Entrance The high-stakes primary-school exit examination that decided which high school a…
- Common mango The ordinary seedling mango that grows wild and abundant all over Jamaica — small…
- Common yard A yard shared by several households, where each family has its own room or small…
- Common-law A long-term unmarried partnership recognised socially (and in law) as a marriage in all…
- Con To con — to trick, cheat, or swindle someone out of money or advantage by smooth talk.
- Concrete jungle The tough, tightly-packed inner city — the maze of concrete tenement yards and lanes…
- Condense milk Sweetened condensed milk — the thick, very sweet tinned milk that is a fixture of the…
- Coney The Jamaican coney (hutia) — a shy, brown, rabbit-sized rodent that is the island's…
- Conscious music Music (and lyrics) with a socially, spiritually, or politically 'conscious' message —…
- Coo Look! — a sharp imperative used to draw attention to something.
- Coochie A vulgar slang word for the vulva or vagina, common in dancehall.
- Cook down To simmer food slowly in coconut milk or a seasoned liquid until it thickens and the…
- Cook up To prepare a meal — especially a hearty, generous, or improvised one thrown together…
- Cook-shop A small, no-frills eatery serving hot cooked Jamaican food — the local spot where you…
- Cool Calm, relaxed, and all right — at ease and free of trouble.
- Cool nuh 'Calm down, take it easy, relax' — a soothing plea to someone who is worked up, upset…
- Cool out To relax, take it easy, and unwind — to 'cool out' is to chill, calm down, and enjoy a…
- Coolie A Jamaican of East Indian descent, or the community descended from the indentured…
- Coolie hair Straight, fine, dark hair of the kind associated with Jamaicans of Indian descent —…
- Coolie plum A small round fruit (the jujube or Indian plum) with crisp, apple-like flesh and a…
- Coolie royal A person of mixed African and Indian descent — the child of Jamaica's Black majority…
- Coota A freshwater turtle — the slider or 'cooter' turtle found in Jamaica's rivers and ponds.
- Coppers Small coins;
- Cork To fill, stuff, or pack tight — 'cork up' describes a place crammed full.
- Corn Besides the food grain, 'corn' is common slang for money — a good 'earning' or payout…
- Corn piece A field or plot planted in corn — a 'piece' being a Jamaican word for a plot of…
- Corner The street corner — the classic gathering spot where 'the corner' crew hangs out, plays…
- Corner don A local strongman who controls a single street corner or small patch of territory — a…
- Cornmeal Ground corn (maize) meal — a versatile staple used for creamy cornmeal porridge (a…
- Cornmeal porridge A thick, smooth breakfast porridge made from cornmeal cooked slowly with water and…
- Cornmeal pudding A rich baked pudding made from cornmeal, coconut milk, sugar, and spices, often…
- Coronation Market The huge, teeming produce market in downtown Kingston — the biggest in Jamaica — where…
- Cotch To rest, perch, or prop something temporarily — and also to stay somewhere briefly or…
- Cotch-up To perch, prop, rest, or squeeze in temporarily — a fuller form of 'cotch'.
- Cotta A pad twisted into a ring from cloth, dried banana leaf, or grass, and set on the head…
- Cotton tree The giant silk-cotton (kapok) tree — the largest and most revered tree in Jamaica, with…
- Cotton tree nebba so big till likkle axe cyaan cut it Nothing, however great and powerful, is beyond being brought down by small, persistent…
- Cough To cough — to force air sharply from the chest, as with a cold, a chill, or a tickle in…
- Country The rural areas of Jamaica, away from Kingston and the coastal towns — the deep…
- Country bus The bus that runs the long routes between the rural districts ('country') and the town…
- Country bwoy A person from the country — the rural parts of the island — as opposed to a town or…
- Countryman A man from rural Jamaica — the countryside rather than the town — and, warmly, a…
- Courting Old-fashioned dating and wooing — a man and woman formally seeing each other with a…
- Cousin A cousin — but in Jamaica's wide, extended families the term stretches far, covering…
- Cow A cow — kept in the pen or tethered to graze, valued for milk and beef and a real store…
- Cow cod soup A rich soup made from the bull's genitals ('cod' = the male organ/testicles), boiled…
- Cow foot A rich, gelatinous stew made from the foot (trotter) of the cow, slow-cooked with…
- Cow know which fence fi lean pon People know exactly whom they can take advantage of, and they target the weak, the…
- Cow nebba know di use a him tail till fly-time You don't appreciate the value of something (or someone) until it is gone or until you…
- Cow-cod A bull's penis, used as food — most famously boiled into 'cow-cod soup', a spiced broth…
- Cow-itch A climbing bean vine whose seed pods are covered in fine hairs that cause a fierce…
- Coward man keep soun bone 'Coward man keep soun bone' — a coward keeps sound, unbroken bones.
- Coward man keep sound bone The one who avoids a fight keeps his bones whole — better to be a live coward than a…
- Coward man keep sound bones 'Coward man keep sound bones' — a cowardly man keeps his bones intact.
- Cowboy A reckless, daredevil driver — especially a minibus, coaster, or route-taxi driver who…
- Crab The crab — especially the black land crab, caught in numbers during the rainy season…
- Crackers Hard water crackers — the plain, dry, round biscuit that is a Jamaican pantry staple.
- Crapaud A toad — the big, warty, hopping amphibian (in Jamaica usually the introduced cane…
- Crass-yeye Cross-eyed — having eyes that turn inward or don't align, from 'crass' (cross) plus…
- Crasses Troubles, misfortunes, and hardships — the burdens and afflictions a person has to bear.
- Craven Greedy, grasping, and excessively covetous — wanting far more than one needs, often to…
- Craven choke puppy 'Craven choke puppy' — greed chokes the puppy.
- Craven-eye Greedy-eyed — eyeing food or things hungrily and wanting more than your share, from…
- Craw The throat, gullet, or stomach — as in a fowl's craw, the pouch where it holds its food.
- Craw-craw An intensely itchy skin rash or eruption — small bumps and sores that itch and spread…
- Crawny Scrawny, skinny, and sickly-looking — thin, meagre, and short on health or flesh.
- Credit In everyday phone talk, credit is prepaid airtime — the balance you 'top up' to make…
- Credit union A member-owned savings-and-loan co-operative — where ordinary people pool their savings…
- Crepe Soft-soled canvas or suede shoes — 'crepe' referring to the crepe-rubber sole.
- Crepe shoes Shoes with soft crepe (raw-rubber) soles — most famously the desert boot, the…
- Crew One's group of friends, running partners, or crew — the people you move with.
- Cricket The bat-and-ball sport that Jamaicans follow with deep passion — played for the West…
- Cris biscuit Brand new, spotless, in mint condition — or, of a person, sharp, fresh, and…
- Criss Fresh, clean, brand new, and looking sharp — something in flawless, impressive…
- Cro-cro Sores or a scabby, eruptive skin condition — rough, crusty, itchy patches and sores on…
- Croaking lizard A house gecko — the small, pale, soft-bodied lizard that clings to the walls and…
- Crocodile The American crocodile — the large reptile that lives in Jamaica's rivers, mangroves…
- Crocus Coarse burlap / sacking — the rough brown jute cloth used for the 'crocus bag' that…
- Crocus bag A large, rough sack of coarse jute or burlap — used to hold and carry produce, coal…
- Crop-time Harvest season — the time of year when a crop is reaped, historically and especially…
- Cross Troublesome, difficult, or vexing — used of a person, a child, or a situation that…
- Cross di river before yuh cuss di alligator 'Cross di river before yuh cuss di alligator' — do not curse the alligator until you…
- Cross Roads A busy commercial junction and district in Kingston, where several main roads meet — a…
- Crossover A song or artist that 'crosses over' from the dancehall/reggae world into the…
- Crossroads A place where two roads cross — a junction that serves as a landmark, a meeting point…
- Cruff A scruffy, low-class, or good-for-nothing person — someone rough, unkempt, and of no…
- Cry-cry Given to crying — whiny, and quick to burst into tears over the smallest thing.
- Cubbitch Covetous, greedy, and grasping — begrudging others and hungry for more than one's share.
- Cuff To punch or strike with the fist — and, as a noun, a punch or blow.
- Culcha Culture — heritage, roots, and identity — but in reggae it carries a special, weighted…
- Cum een like 'Come in like' — it seems like, it's as if, it looks as though.
- Cumbolo A close friend, companion, or running partner — one of your tight-knit circle.
- Curry Curry — both the golden, spiced dish (curry goat and curry chicken are Sunday and…
- Curry chicken Chicken cooked in Jamaican curry — seasoned and simmered with plenty of curry powder…
- Curry goat Goat meat slow-cooked in a rich curry of Jamaican curry powder, onion, garlic, thyme…
- Cuss To curse, swear at, or verbally lash someone.
- Cuss-cuss A quarrel or exchange of curses — a noisy row where both sides trade insults back and…
- Cuss-cuss nuh bore hole inna mi skin Insults and quarrelling do no real, lasting harm — words can't wound you like a weapon…
- Custard A sweet, creamy pudding made by cooking milk (often condensed milk), sugar, and…
- Custard apple A soft tropical fruit, cousin to the sweetsop and soursop, with knobby greenish-brown…
- Cut and clear To break something off completely and move on with a clean slate — most often to end a…
- Cut cake A chewy coconut sweet made by boiling grated coconut with sugar (often browned) and…
- Cut eye To cut one's eyes at someone — a contemptuous gesture of looking a person up and down…
- Cutlass A machete — the long, broad-bladed knife used all over rural Jamaica for cutting cane…
- Cutlass lick A blow or chop from a cutlass (machete) — a 'lick' being a hit.
- Cutlass nuh have eye A blade — and by extension violence, danger, or a fight — cannot see who it strikes, so…
- Cyaa Can't;
- Cyaan live widout yuh A declaration of deep romantic dependence, meaning one cannot go on, or be happy…
- Cyattie A slingshot — a forked stick strung with a rubber band, made and used above all by boys…
D
- Daggering A raw, aggressive dancehall dance and lyrical style that appeared around 2008…
- Dah The demonstrative 'that' or 'this', pointing to a specific thing — most often paired…
- Dally To swerve, weave, or zigzag — especially to ride a bicycle or motorbike in a showy…
- Damm A mild exclamation of annoyance, surprise, or emphasis — the Patois 'damn'.
- Dancehall The fast, deejay-led genre of Jamaican music that grew out of reggae in the late 1970s…
- Dancehall queen A woman celebrated as the top female dancer in the dancehall — recognised for her bold…
- Dandy shandy A traditional Jamaican children's street game like dodgeball, played with a ball made…
- Dash To throw, toss, or fling — often forcefully or carelessly.
- Dash weh To throw away;
- Dasheen A large root of the taro family, with dark-flecked, dense, greyish flesh — one of the…
- Dat That — the Patois pronunciation of 'that', with the 'th' hardened to 'd'.
- Dat deh 'That there' — a pointing demonstrative singling out a specific thing or person a…
- Dawg A dog — the common yard dog kept for company and to watch the gate.
- Dawg wid bone inna him mout cyaa bark 'Dawg wid bone inna him mout cyaa bark' — a dog with a bone in its mouth cannot bark.
- Dawg wid too much yaad sleep hungry 'Dawg wid too much yaad sleep hungry' — a dog that has too many yards to feed at goes…
- Dawta Daughter — one's female child, and in wider use a warm term for a young woman or girl.
- Day bruk Daybreak — the moment the day 'breaks' at dawn and the first light comes.
- Day clean Daybreak;
- Day-work Casual paid labour hired by the day — especially farm or yard work like weeding…
- Deacon A senior lay officer of a church, ranking below the pastor — a respected man (a…
- Dead lef An inheritance — the property, money, land, or belongings 'left' behind by someone who…
- Dead wagon A vehicle that carries the dead — a hearse, or the van that collects a body.
- Dead wid laugh To be dying of laughter — to laugh so hard and so helplessly that it feels as if it…
- Dead yaad The home or yard of a family in mourning, where relatives, friends, and neighbours…
- Dead-yard The yard or home of a deceased person, where the family gathers and the community comes…
- Dear Expensive;
- Dearie Dearie — an affectionate term for a loved one, a sweetheart or dear one, often used by…
- Deejay In Jamaica, the performer who chats or toasts rhythmically over a riddim — closer to…
- Deejaying Chatting, toasting, or rhyming rhythmically over a riddim on the microphone — the…
- Dege-dege Mere;
- Deggeh-deggeh Only one;
- Deh Marks location and existence — roughly 'there', 'is at', or 'to be somewhere'.
- Deh pon 'To be on / at / onto' — 'deh' (to be) plus 'pon' (on).
- Deh wid To be romantically involved with someone — going with, seeing, or dating them.
- Dem 'They' or 'them', but it does more than the English pronoun: placed after a noun it…
- Dem deh Those;
- Desert boot The suede, crepe-soled ankle boot made by Clarks — a shoe with a special, near-mythic…
- Deso Right there;
- Devotion The morning worship that opens the school day in Jamaica — the whole school gathering…
- Dew The moisture that settles on the grass, leaves, and ground overnight — the 'dew' or…
- Di 'The' — the definite article, placed before a noun to point to a specific, known thing…
- Di corner The street corner where friends gather to talk, play games, and pass the time — the…
- Di olda di moon, di brighta it shine 'Di olda di moon, di brighta it shine' — the older the moon, the brighter it shines.
- Dibby-dibby Worthless, inferior, weak, or second-rate — of poor quality and no account.
- Dinki-mini A traditional Jamaican folk celebration held during the nine nights of mourning after a…
- Dis This — the Patois pronunciation of 'this', with the 'th' hardened to 'd'.
- Diss tune A song made to attack, insult, and 'disrespect' ('diss') a rival artist by name — a…
- Doah heng yuh basket higha dan yuh can reach 'Doah heng yuh basket higha dan yuh can reach' — don't hang your basket higher than you…
- Doah heng yuh basket higher dan yuh can reach 'Doah heng yuh basket higher dan yuh can reach' — don't hang your basket higher than…
- Doah throw weh yuh stick before yuh cross di river 'Doah throw weh yuh stick before yuh cross di river' — don't throw away your walking…
- Doctor Bird The red-billed streamertail — Jamaica's national bird — a dazzling green-and-black…
- Doctor-fish The surgeonfish or tang — a flat, oval reef fish named for the sharp scalpel-like spine…
- Dodo Baby-talk for sleep — 'go dodo' means go to sleep, said soothingly to a baby or a small…
- Dog a sweat, but long hair hide it A person may be suffering, struggling, or in turmoil inside, but their outward…
- Dog heart Hard-hearted, cruel, and without pity — used of a person so cold and merciless that…
- Dog-blood A wild herb used in Jamaican bush medicine, brewed as a tea reputed to 'clean the…
- Dolly house Children's make-believe game of 'playing house' with dolls — and, figuratively, an…
- Domino The game of dominoes — Jamaica's favourite pastime, played fast and loud on any table…
- Dominoes The tile game that is a national pastime in Jamaica — played fast and loud, with the…
- Don A powerful, respected man who commands authority within a community or garrison — often…
- Don dada The top boss of bosses — the most powerful, respected, and revered 'don'.
- Don man A 'don' — a powerful local strongman, the boss of a community or 'garrison', who…
- Done done Completely and utterly finished — the reduplication of 'done' stressing that a thing is…
- Donkey The donkey — long the workhorse of rural Jamaica, carrying produce, water, and people…
- Donkey cart A two-wheeled cart pulled by a donkey — the traditional country vehicle for hauling…
- Donkey years A very long time;
- Donkey-eye A large, hard, glossy brown sea-bean with a dark band around it, like a big eye — the…
- Donkey-load The load a donkey carries in its side-baskets ('hampers') — and, figuratively, a huge…
- Downpression Oppression — reworked so the word itself reflects what it describes.
- Downtown The old commercial heart of Kingston near the waterfront — busy markets, street…
- Draft A draught of moving air — a cool breeze coming through a door or window.
- Dragon Stout A popular sweet, dark Jamaican stout — richer and sweeter than Guinness — brewed by…
- Draughts The board game of draughts (checkers) — played on the same squared board as chess, with…
- Draw To pull, take, or reach for — with several idioms.
- Draw soup To make or cook up a pot of soup — literally to 'draw' the soup, to prepare it.
- Drawers Underpants — the everyday, somewhat old-fashioned word for the undergarment worn under…
- Dread A Rastafari — especially one who wears dreadlocks — and, as an adjective, something…
- Dread-looking Fearsome, rough, or frightening in appearance — looking hard, dangerous, or wild enough…
- Dreadlocks Hair grown and matted into rope-like strands, worn by Rastafari as a spiritual…
- Dreadnut A Rasta who wears dreadlocks — a locksman, especially a serious, deeply committed one.
- Dream Besides the ordinary sense, in Jamaican folk practice a dream is a source of numbers…
- Dream book A book that assigns a number and meaning to the things you dream about — used to turn a…
- Dress off To dress up smartly;
- Dressback To move back, retreat, or ease off — 'dress back likkle' means step back, give some…
- Dresser A bedroom chest of drawers fitted with a mirror — the dressing table where clothes…
- Dressmeka A dressmaker or seamstress — the Patois pronunciation of 'dressmaker'.
- Drinka A heavy drinker or drunkard — one who is always at the rum bar and fond of the white…
- Drive To drive a vehicle — but in Jamaica this conjures the wild, fast, horn-blaring style of…
- Drizzle A light, fine rain — a gentle sprinkle rather than a downpour.
- Drop off To drop someone or something off — to carry a passenger or a parcel and set them down…
- Drop-pan A traditional Jamaican numbers gambling game in which players stake money on numbers…
- Drops Coconut drops — a hard, chewy old-time sweet made by boiling chunks of fresh coconut…
- Drum Drum names two things in Jamaican life.
- Drunk Intoxicated with alcohol — but Jamaican speech has a whole ladder of intensifiers for…
- Dry Dry — literally without moisture, but often figurative.
- Dry river A riverbed that runs dry most of the year — a stretch of rocks and sand where a river…
- Dry spell A stretch of time without rain — a mini-drought that dries out the land, lowers the…
- Dry weather The dry season — the stretch of the year with little rain, when the land bakes, rivers…
- Dry-land tourist Someone who puts on the airs of a worldly, well-travelled person but has never actually…
- Dry-weather friend A fair-weather friend — someone who stays close while times are good and 'the weather…
- Dry-yeye Brazen, shameless, and bold-faced — doing wrong or making outrageous demands without a…
- Dub A pioneering Jamaican music style born in the studio — stripping a reggae track down to…
- Dub poetry A form of performance poetry, born in Jamaica in the 1970s, in which socially and…
- Dub siren An electronic effects box that a selector uses to fire off sirens, zaps, lasers, and…
- Dubplate An exclusive, custom recording made for one sound system, in which an artist re-sings a…
- Dubwise A dub mix, or the dub style of playing — a version of a track stripped down to its…
- Duck out To slip away quietly, dodge out of something, or avoid an obligation — leaving…
- Duck-ants Termites — the pale, wood-eating insects that build earthen nests and quietly destroy…
- Duckunoo A sweet steamed pudding of grated sweet potato or cornmeal mixed with coconut, sugar…
- Ducta A doctor — the Patois pronunciation of 'doctor', with the vowel rounded and the final…
- Ductor The conductor on a minibus or coaster — the young man who hangs from the door, calls…
- Dugu-dugu Heavy, thick, lumpy, or crudely made — used of food that is stodgy and badly cooked, or…
- Dukunu A sweet steamed pudding of grated cornmeal or sweet potato with coconut, sugar, and…
- Dumplin A dense ball or flattened disc of fried or boiled flour dough eaten as a starch…
- Dumpling A ball or flat round of flour dough, boiled or fried, that goes with soups, stews, and…
- Dun Done or finished — but it does extra work in Jamaican grammar.
- Dunce head A dunce — a stupid, slow, or ignorant person, especially one who does badly at school…
- Duncebat A dunce;
- Duncehead A stupid or unintelligent person;
- Dundus A Jamaican word for a person with albinism — someone born with very pale skin, hair…
- Dungle A notorious West Kingston shantytown built on and around a garbage dump ('dunghill')…
- Dunny Money — slang, in the same family as 'bread', 'corn', and 'paper'.
- Dupes Fake, knockoff goods made to imitate expensive designer brands — 'dupes' of Clarks…
- Duppy A ghost or malevolent spirit of the dead, believed in folk tradition to linger in this…
- Duppy bat A large, dark moth — 'bat' being the Jamaican word for a moth or butterfly, so a duppy…
- Duppy cherry A wild shrub bearing small cherry-like berries, so named because the fruit is left for…
- Duppy conqueror One who conquers duppies (ghosts) — by extension a fearless person who overcomes any…
- Duppy know who fi frighten 'Duppy know who fi frighten' — a ghost knows whom to frighten.
- Duppy story A ghost story — a tale of duppies, rolling calves, and haunted spots, told to thrill…
- Duppy time Dusk and the dark hours of night — the time when duppies (ghosts) are believed to walk…
- Duppy weather Eerie, unsettling weather said to be a time when duppies (spirits) are about — most…
- Duppy wind A sudden, unexplained whirl or gust of wind — a little dust-devil spinning up out of a…
- Duppy-gun A common wayside weed whose ripe seed pods burst and shoot out their seeds with a tiny…
- Duppy-maker A killer, or a gun — literally a 'maker of ghosts'.
- Dus Beyond meaning 'dust', in Patois 'dus' also means to move very fast, to speed off, or…
- Dutch pot A heavy, round cast-aluminium or cast-iron cooking pot with a close-fitting lid — the…
- Dutchie A Dutch pot — the heavy, round, cast-aluminium (or cast-iron) cooking pot found in…
- Dutty Literally dirty or filthy, but it also turns figurative — a cutting insult, or, in…
- Dutty gyal A derogatory insult for a woman, literally 'dirty girl' — implying she is unclean, of…
- Dutty water can cool hot iron Even something humble, lowly, or looked-down-upon can solve a big problem or serve an…
- Dutty water can out fire 'Dutty water can out fire' — dirty water can still put out a fire.
- Dutty wine An energetic dancehall dance craze of the mid-2000s, involving fast, circular whining…
- Dweet A fused contraction of 'do it', treated as a single word meaning to do or get something…
- DWL A texting and social-media abbreviation for 'dead wid laugh' — the Jamaican equivalent…
E
- Ears-hole The ear opening;
- Earthstrong A birthday, in Rastafari speech — the day one came to be 'strong on the earth'.
- East Indian mango A large, aromatic, deep-yellow mango variety with rich, smooth, fibre-free flesh — one…
- Easter Easter — a major Jamaican holiday marked as much by food and kite-flying as by church.
- Easter bun The dark, spiced, fruit-studded bun eaten at Easter — a rich loaf flavoured with…
- Easy Easy — take it slow, calm down, no rush, all is cool.
- Eat a food To earn a living or make some money — to get a chance to provide for yourself and get…
- Eediat An idiot — a foolish, senseless person;
- Eeh A versatile little exclamation and question-tag.
- Egg punch A rich drink made by beating a raw egg into milk (often condensed milk) with sugar…
- Egghead A bald or clean-shaven head, or a person with one — 'egghead' pictures the smooth…
- Eh-eh An exclamation of surprise, disbelief, or mild indignation — 'eh-eh!' bursts out when…
- Ehn A tag added to the end of a statement to seek agreement or confirmation — 'right?'…
- Eight The number eight — the Patois pronunciation, with the final 't' clipped and the vowel…
- Elder Two linked senses.
- Ello Hello — the Patois pronunciation of 'hello' with the initial 'h' dropped, a common…
- Emancipation Day The first of August — the Jamaican public holiday marking the abolition of slavery in…
- Empress A term of honour for a woman — especially a wife or partner — used within Rastafari…
- Empty bag cyaan stan up You can't work, think, or function properly on an empty stomach — just as an empty sack…
- Empty bag cyaan stand up 'Empty bag cyaan stand up' — an empty sack cannot stand upright.
- Enamel cup A metal cup coated in glossy, often speckled enamel — the tough, chip-prone…
- Enamel mug A metal cup or mug coated in enamel — the hardy, cheap, chip-prone tinware cup, usually…
- Ends One's home area, neighbourhood, or the local streets where a person is from and known —…
- Endz a road Out on the streets, in the local area, hanging around the block — being physically out…
- Enuh A tag added to the end of a statement meaning 'you know', 'you hear', or 'isn't that…
- Escallion The Jamaican word for scallion (spring onion) — a cornerstone seasoning of the cuisine.
- Escoveitch fish Fried whole fish topped and steeped in a tangy, spicy pickle of vinegar cooked with…
- Escovitch Fried fish dressed with a tangy, spiced vinegar sauce loaded with sliced onion, carrot…
- Escovitch fish Fried whole fish topped with a tangy, spicy pickle of vinegar, onion, sliced carrot…
- Evening Evening — but in Jamaican use it begins earlier than in standard English, covering the…
- Every day bucket go a well, one day di bottom mus drop out Keep doing the same risky or wrong thing over and over, and one day it will finally…
- Every hoe have dem stick a bush There is someone (or something) out there for everyone — every person will find their…
- Every hoe have him stick a bush 'Every hoe have him stick a bush' — every hoe has its handle waiting somewhere in the…
- Every mikkle mek a mokkle Every little bit adds up to a large amount — so save and gather the small things and…
- Every mikkle mek a mukkle 'Every mikkle mek a mukkle' — every little bit adds up to a lot.
- Everyday bucket go a well, one day di bottom mus drop out 'Everyday bucket go a well, one day di bottom mus drop out' — the bucket goes to the…
- Everyday bucket guh a well, one day di battam mus drop out 'Everyday bucket guh a well, one day di battam mus drop out' — every day the bucket…
- Everyting cook an curry 'Everyting cook an curry' — everything is cooked and curried, that is, everything is…
- Everyting criss A phrase confirming that all is well, sorted, and looking good — but stronger and more…
- Everyting good fi eat, nuh good fi talk Not everything you know should be said out loud — some things are better kept to…
- Everyting is everyting 'Everyting is everyting' — all is well;
- Everyweh mi tun, makka juk mi 'Everyweh mi tun, makka juk mi' — everywhere I turn, thorns prick me.
- Exercise book A school writing book — the thin ruled notebook in which pupils do their lessons, sums…
- Exodus The movement of Jah people — in Rastafari, the longed-for exodus out of 'Babylon'…
- Extra lesson Private after-school tutoring — extra classes a child attends beyond the normal school…
- Eye-water Tears — literally the water of the eye.
F
- Faas Nosy, meddlesome, or impudently forward — poking into business that isn't yours.
- Facety Rude, impertinent, and cheeky — especially a person who speaks out of turn or shows a…
- Fada Father — one's dad, and by extension an older man of authority or respect.
- Fala-fashin Imitative — copying whatever others do or wear, without a mind of one's own.
- Falla-fashion monkey A copycat — someone who blindly imitates whatever others do or wear without thinking…
- Falmouth The historic capital of Trelawny parish on the north coast — a well-preserved Georgian…
- Fambly Family — the Patois pronunciation of 'family'.
- Fare Fare — the money you pay to ride a bus or taxi, and by extension the passenger who pays…
- Farrin Abroad — any country outside Jamaica, and above all the United States, Britain, and…
- Farrin mind A mindset fixed on going abroad, or fascinated with foreign ways — sometimes to the…
- Fashion ova style 'Fashion over style' — chasing every trend and overdressing to show off, at the expense…
- Fass Fass (facety) — nosy, meddling, and forward;
- Fat-fat Very fat, plump, and full — the reduplication of 'fat' intensifying it.
- Fatta Fatter, or plump and well-fed — the Patois comparative of 'fat'.
- Favor To resemble or look like — 'him favor him fada' means he looks like his father.
- Fayvah To resemble or look like someone.
- Feed fowl To feed the chickens — the everyday yard chore of scattering corn and scraps for the…
- Feel Besides the ordinary sense of touching or sensing, in Patois 'feel a way' means to take…
- Feel a way To take offence, feel hurt, or feel awkward and out of sorts about something — 'to feel…
- Fenke fenke Weak, frail, sickly, or flimsy — lacking strength, substance, or robustness, whether in…
- Festival A slightly sweet, elongated fried dumpling made from flour, cornmeal, and sugar — crisp…
- Fever grass Lemongrass — the tall, fragrant, sharp-scented grass boiled into a soothing 'bush tea'.
- Fi One of Jamaican's hardest-working words, covering several English jobs at once —…
- Fi mi Mine;
- Fi real Means 'for real', 'truly', or 'genuinely'.
- Fi wi Ours;
- Fine-fine Very fine, tiny, or finely divided — the doubling of 'fine' intensifies it, a common…
- Finger nail an flesh nuh part till death Truly close bonds — family, lifelong friends, devoted lovers — are inseparable, and to…
- Finger nebba say look here, him say look yonder People are quick to point out the faults of others while ignoring their own.
- Finger never seh 'look here', it seh 'look deh' 'Finger never seh look here, it seh look deh' — the pointing finger never says 'look at…
- Finger never seh 'look here', it seh 'look yonder' 'Finger never seh look here, it seh look yonder' — the pointing finger never says 'look…
- Fire ant The small, aggressive stinging ants whose bite burns like fire and raises an itchy welt…
- Fire deh a mus-mus tail, him tink a cool breeze Someone is in serious danger or trouble but is blissfully unaware, mistaking the…
- Fire deh a muss-muss tail, him tink a cool breeze 'Fire deh a muss-muss tail, him tink a cool breeze' — the fire is at the rat's tail…
- Fish Besides its ordinary meaning (the fish you eat), 'fish' is used in Jamaican dancehall…
- Fish deh a sea, dem nuh know seh water hot 'Fish deh a sea, dem nuh know seh water hot' — the fish in the sea don't know the water…
- Fish get ketch by him own mouth You get yourself into trouble by talking too much — just as a fish is hooked through…
- Fish pot A large basket-like trap — traditionally woven from split bamboo or wire mesh, with a…
- Fish tea A light, peppery fish broth boiled with green banana, yam, dumpling, and seasonings — a…
- Fishaman neva seh him fish stink 'Fishaman neva seh him fish stink' — a fisherman never says his own fish stinks.
- Fisherman nebba say him fish stink No one will speak badly of their own goods, work, or family — a seller always praises…
- Fishnet Open-weave 'fishnet' fabric — worn as a man's mesh vest ('fishnet marina') to stay cool…
- Five The number five — the Patois pronunciation.
- Flex A person's manner, behaviour, or vibe — the way they carry on.
- Fling To throw, toss, or hurl — often carelessly or forcefully.
- Flood rain Heavy, prolonged rain that causes flooding — the downpour that fills the gullies…
- Floss To show off and flaunt wealth, style, or success — parading fresh clothes, jewellery…
- Flour bag The cotton sack that flour (or sugar or rice) came in — and, in hard times, a precious…
- Fluffy A softened, often affectionate or self-affirming way of describing a person — usually a…
- Fly Stylish, sharp, and good-looking — of a person dressed cool and turned out well.
- Fog Mist or cloud settled low over the ground — thick, damp, grey air that hides the road…
- Foo-foo A dish of boiled starchy provisions — yam, green plantain or cassava — pounded into a…
- Food Food, cooked or ground provisions — but in Patois it stretches beyond the plate.
- Foodie Someone ruled by their love of food — a big eater always thinking about, chasing, or…
- Fool-fool Very foolish, silly, or simple-minded — the doubling of 'fool' intensifying it…
- Foolishness Nonsense;
- Foot In Patois, 'foot' means the whole leg — from hip to toe — not just the part below the…
- Foot corn A hard, painful corn on the foot — the thickened lump of skin that forms from friction…
- Foot-bottom The sole of the foot — literally the 'bottom' of the foot.
- Football match A football (soccer) match — the game Jamaicans follow with passion, from Premier League…
- Force-ripe Ripened before its time — used both of fruit forced to ripen artificially before it is…
- Foreday morning The pre-dawn small hours — the dark early morning before daylight, roughly the hours…
- Foreparents Ancestors;
- Forty-leg A centipede — the many-legged, fast-moving creature whose bite is painful and much…
- Forward To go, move on, or make one's way to a place — and also to progress or advance.
- Forward home In Rastafari speech, to repatriate — to go 'home' to Africa (Ethiopia / Zion), the…
- Four-eye A person with spiritual sight — 'four eyes' — who can see duppies and the spirit world…
- Fowl A chicken or hen — the everyday yard bird kept for eggs and pot.
- Fowl coop The pen, cage, or fenced run where a household keeps its chickens — where the fowls…
- Fowl weh feed a yaad nuh haad fi ketch 'Fowl weh feed a yaad nuh haad fi ketch' — a fowl that is fed in the yard is not hard…
- Fraid Afraid, scared, frightened — the Patois form of 'afraid', with the unstressed first…
- Fraid-fraid Very afraid, timid, or easily frightened — the reduplication of 'fraid' (afraid)…
- Fraidy fraidy Timid, easily frightened, cowardly — 'fraidy' doubled for emphasis, describing someone…
- Freeze Besides making cold, in Patois 'freeze up' means to become stiff with fear, shock, or…
- Fren A friend — but the sense stretches beyond the plain English word.
- Fresh Clean, new, and stylish — 'him look fresh' means he's sharply dressed.
- Freshwater Yankee A mocking name for a Jamaican who puts on an American ('Yankee') accent and airs…
- Fret To worry, fuss, or be anxious — to trouble your mind over something.
- Fretwork The decorative wooden trim of carved and cut-out patterns that ornaments old Jamaican…
- Fricassee A way of cooking chicken — 'fricassee chicken' — in which the seasoned pieces are…
- Frighten To be scared or startled — 'mi frighten' means 'I'm frightened'.
- Fritters Small flat cakes of seasoned batter fried crisp — most famously saltfish fritters…
- Frock A dress — a woman's or girl's one-piece dress or gown.
- Froggy A frog — the little croaking creature of the ditches, gullies, and damp places, loud in…
- From mawnin 'From morning' — since early on, and by extension for a long while now.
- From mi yeye deh a mi knee 'From mi yeye deh a mi knee' — since my eyes were down at my knee, that is, since I was…
- Front In vulgar Jamaican slang, a woman's genitals — the 'front', as opposed to the 'batty'…
- Frownzy Foul-smelling, musty, and unwashed — the stale, sour reek of a body, clothes, or…
- Frowsy Smelly in a stale, unwashed way — giving off body odour, or a musty, sour, shut-up…
- Fry dumpling A round of flour dough fried until golden and crisp on the outside and soft within — a…
- Fry fish Whole fish — snapper, parrot, or the like — seasoned, sometimes scored, and fried crisp…
- Fry plantain Ripe plantain sliced on the slant and fried until the edges caramelise to a soft…
- Fuckery Nonsense, foolishness, or — very commonly — a gross injustice or unfair, messed-up…
- Full a mout 'Full of mouth' — all talk: boastful, loud, forever running commentary or big promises…
- Full moon The moon at its brightest and roundest — and the moonlit night it brings.
- Fulljoy To fully enjoy — the Rastafari reshaping of 'enjoy'.
- Fullness Completeness, totality, or abundance — the whole of a thing.
- Funde The middle drum of the three sacred Nyabinghi hand drums, which plays the steady…
- Fur Far;
- Fus light First light — dawn, daybreak, the moment the sky begins to brighten before sunrise.
- Fus time In the old days;
- Fyah Fire — but in Rastafari and dancehall it is charged with meaning.
G
- Gaan Gone — 'gaan' is the past/departed sense of go: left, departed, finished, no longer…
- Gad God — the Patois pronunciation of 'God', with the vowel rounded.
- Galang To go along, go away, or carry on — a versatile word that swings between dismissal and…
- Galliwasp A large, smooth-scaled Jamaican lizard, deeply feared in country folklore.
- Gangalee A tough, streetwise gangster or ruffian — a rough, hardened man of the streets who…
- Ganja Cannabis.
- Gansey A vest, undershirt, or plain T-shirt — the light top worn next to the skin under a…
- Ganzie A knitted jersey, pullover, or sweater — a warm top pulled on over the head.
- Ganzy A jersey, pullover, or knit top — a warm upper garment, and by extension, in some use…
- Garms Clothes;
- Garrison An inner-city community that votes solidly for one political party and is controlled by…
- Gas money Money for petrol ('gas') — and especially the little bit you chip in to a driver for a…
- Gate The gate to a yard — but 'the gate' is also a social threshold and gathering spot.
- Gate money The entry fee to get into a dance, party, stage show, or event — 'pay di gate'.
- Gaulin A heron or egret — the tall, long-necked, long-legged wading bird, usually white, seen…
- Gaza The name of the fan camp and movement led by dancehall artist Vybz Kartel (and…
- Gears Clothes;
- General A leader, boss, or top figure — a title of respect and command in dancehall for a…
- Genip The Spanish lime — a small, round, green-skinned fruit that grows in tight bunches.
- Gerreh A traditional wake ceremony of dancing, drumming, and singing held to mark a death —…
- Ghetto A poor, densely populated inner-city community — the tough, under-resourced…
- Ghetto youth A young person growing up in the ghetto — the poor inner-city communities — facing…
- Gi To give — the everyday Jamaican form of 'give'.
- Gi mi a bly 'Give me a break' — a plea for leniency, a chance, or a let-off.
- Gi yuh bun 'To give you bun' — to cheat on you, to be unfaithful in a relationship.
- Gig A spinning top — a hand-carved or bought wooden top that children spin by winding and…
- Gig A spinning top — a wooden top wound with string and thrown down to spin, the classic…
- Gill An old small measure and unit of shop trade — used for buying dry goods and provisions…
- Ginger Ginger — the pungent root at the heart of Jamaican drink and cooking, grown in the…
- Ginger beer A fiery homemade drink of fresh grated ginger steeped with sugar, lime, and water —…
- Ginger tea A hot drink made by boiling or steeping fresh ginger root, taken as a warming remedy…
- Ginnal A cunning trickster or con artist who survives by outsmarting and swindling others — a…
- Ginnalship Trickery, con-artistry, and sly manipulation — the craft of the 'ginnal' (con man).
- Give thanks 'Give thanks' — to express heartfelt gratitude, to God, to life, or to a person.
- Gizzada A small open Jamaican tart — a crimped little pastry shell filled with sweet, spiced…
- Glad Happy, pleased, joyful — the common Patois word for feeling glad about something.
- Glad-bag-bust Overjoyed;
- Glamity A vulgar dancehall slang word for the vulva or vagina, popularised in early-1990s…
- Gleena A cleaner — a domestic helper or office cleaner;
- Go-go Go-go dancing — energetic, sexually-charged club dancing performed by 'go-go' dancers…
- Goat deh sweat but long hair cova it 'Goat deh sweat but long hair cova it' — the goat is sweating, but its long hair hides…
- Goat deh sweat but long hair cover it A proverb: the goat is sweating, but its long hair hides it.
- Goat fish A small reddish reef fish with a pair of whisker-like barbels under its chin — the…
- Goat head soup Goat head soup — better known as 'mannish water', the rich, peppery soup made from a…
- Goat mout A jinx brought on by saying out loud that something bad will happen — as if your words…
- God-horse The praying mantis — the long, slender green insect that holds its front legs together…
- Godfada A godfather — a man who sponsors a child at christening and takes an ongoing role in…
- Godmadda A godmother — a woman who sponsors a child at christening and takes a lasting role in…
- Goggle A diving mask used for spearfishing and free-diving on the reef — often, in the old…
- Gold teeth Gold dental caps or crowns worn on the front teeth — long a mark of style, status, and…
- Good fi nuttn Good for nothing;
- Good fowl seh him a go a market, but him neva reach The fine, plump fowl boasts it is going to market, not knowing it is being carried…
- Good fren betta dan pocket money A true friend is worth more than money in your pocket.
- Goodas A fine, classy, admired woman — 'the goods', a top-quality lady who carries herself…
- Goose-skin Goosebumps — the little raised bumps on the skin that come up from cold, fear, or…
- Gourd A gourd — the hard-shelled fruit of the calabash, dried and hollowed into a bowl…
- Grab To grab — to snatch, seize, or take hold of something quickly, whether reaching for a…
- Grabba A dark, cured tobacco leaf, crumbled and mixed with ganja in a spliff to make it burn…
- Grace before meat The blessing said over food before a meal — thanking God for the food and asking a…
- Grades Top-quality ganja — a short form of 'high grade' (grade herb).
- Grand One thousand dollars — 'a grand' is $1,000, and 'five grand' is $5,000.
- Grand market The great Christmas Eve celebration, when the towns fill up and the shopping, eating…
- Granny One's grandmother — and, very often in Jamaican life, the family elder who raises the…
- Granny midwife The traditional community midwife — the trusted older woman (the 'nana' or 'granny')…
- Granny Nanny Nanny of the Maroons — the 18th-century Maroon leader and Obeah-woman who led the…
- Grass-quit A tiny seed-eating finch of fields and roadsides, one of the little 'birds' of Jamaican…
- Grater The kitchen grater — the perforated metal tool used constantly in Jamaican cooking to…
- Grater cake An old-time Jamaican coconut candy made from grated coconut boiled with sugar and set…
- Gravalicious Greedy and grasping — wanting far more than one's share and unwilling to let anyone…
- Grave dirt Soil taken from a grave — a potent ingredient in obeah working, believed to carry the…
- Grave yard A graveyard — the burial ground or cemetery.
- Great-grampa A great-grandfather — the father of one's grandparent.
- Greedy Greedy — grasping for more than one's share, especially of food.
- Green banana Unripe (green) banana, boiled and eaten as a starchy 'ground provision' rather than a…
- Green banana porridge A smooth, hearty breakfast porridge made from grated or blended green (unripe) banana…
- Green lizard The bright green anole lizard that lives outdoors in the trees, bushes, and on the…
- Greetings A warm, dignified hello — especially the Rastafari way of greeting a brethren or a…
- Grill A decorative set of teeth covers — usually gold, silver, or jewel-set — worn over the…
- Grinda A hard worker who grinds relentlessly to earn and get ahead — someone always on the…
- Grindsman A vulgar dancehall term for a man who boasts of being a skilled, tireless lover —…
- Grine In vulgar Jamaican slang, to have sex — 'grine' (grind) referring to the grinding…
- Grip A suitcase or travel bag — the everyday word for the case you pack for a journey…
- Gripe Sharp stomach or gut pains from gas or colic — the cramping 'gripe' that doubles you…
- Grounation A Rastafari holy gathering of drumming, chanting, dancing, reasoning, and celebration…
- Ground A farmer's cultivated plot — the piece of land, often up in the hills or bush away from…
- Ground-lizard The common brown lizard that darts about on the ground, through leaf litter, and along…
- Groundation A Rastafari holy gathering marked by drumming, chanting, reasoning, and dancing that…
- Grouper A large, firm-fleshed reef fish, one of the most valued eating fish in Jamaica — meaty…
- Grow Besides plants growing, in Patois 'grow' means to raise or bring up a child — 'mi…
- Grudgeful Full of grudge — resentful and envious, begrudging what someone else has.
- Grung The ground;
- Grung provision Ground provisions — the starchy root and tuber staples grown in the ground that form…
- Grunt-fish A small-to-medium reef fish named for the grunting noise it makes with its throat when…
- Guango The guango or 'rain tree' — a huge, spreading shade tree with a wide umbrella canopy…
- Guava A sweet, fragrant tropical fruit with pink or white seedy flesh, eaten fresh out of the…
- Gud maanin The morning greeting, equivalent to English 'good morning' but pronounced with the…
- Gud mawnin Good morning — the standard morning greeting, and, importantly, a courtesy that manners…
- Guh weh Go away! — a sharp dismissal telling someone to clear off or leave you alone, and also…
- Guidance and protection A Rastafari blessing and farewell asking Jah's guidance and protection over a person as…
- Guinea grass A tall, leafy fodder grass — brought from West Africa (Guinea) — grown and cut to feed…
- Guinea-hen weed A pungent, garlic-smelling medicinal bush (Petiveria alliacea) widely used in Jamaican…
- Guinep A small round green fruit that grows in tight bunches on a large tree, with a tight…
- Guinep tree The guinep (genip) tree — a tall shade tree that bears tight bunches of small green…
- Guinness punch A rich, creamy drink made by blending Guinness stout with condensed milk, evaporated…
- Gully A drainage gully or ditch — and, by extension, the poor inner-city neighbourhoods that…
- Gully bank The steep side or edge of a gully — the sloping bank of the deep drainage ditch or dry…
- Gully creepa A dancehall dance move in which the dancer bends low and 'creeps' with a smooth…
- Gully wash A sudden flash flood that comes rushing down a gully after heavy rain — a fast…
- Gum-boil A painful abscess or boil on the gum — a swollen, throbbing lump in the mouth, usually…
- Gumbay A square, hand-beaten frame drum of Maroon and West-African heritage, and the music and…
- Gumption Drive, initiative, boldness, and common-sense get-up-and-go — the spirit to take action…
- Gun finger The hand gesture of a raised finger (or two) pointed up like a gun, thrust into the air…
- Gun tune A dancehall song whose lyrics centre on guns, violence, and 'badness' — boasting of…
- Gungo peas Pigeon peas — a small, round legume borne on a bush, especially associated with…
- Gungo soup A thick soup built on gungo (pigeon) peas, boiled down with ground provisions, yam…
- Gunman An armed criminal — a shooter, a man who carries and uses a gun for robbery…
- Guzu Magic, a charm, or a spell — the dark, supernatural kind bound up with obeah.
- Gwaan Go on;
- Gwaan bad To be doing extremely well, excelling, or thriving — where 'bad' is an intensifier…
- Gwaan do yuh ting 'Gwaan do yuh ting' — go ahead and do your thing.
- Gwaan good Two everyday uses.
- Gwaan so Literally 'go on so' or 'goes on so', used to affirm that something is correct, is how…
- Gwaan strong 'Carry on strong' — an encouragement to keep going, stay firm, and push through.
- Gwan go Go on and go — 'gwaan' (go on / go ahead) joined to 'go' to mean to proceed on your way…
- Gweh A dismissive command telling someone to go away, get lost, or stop talking nonsense.
- Gyal Girl or young woman — and, by extension, a woman generally or a girlfriend, depending…
- Gyal-dem sugar A ladies' man — a charming, smooth man who is a favourite with the women, the 'sugar'…
- Gyal-pickney A girl child;
- Gyalchester A playful nickname for the parish of Manchester, swapping the 'Man' for 'Gyal' (girl).
- Gyalis A ladies' man — a man very successful with women, often juggling several at once.
H
- Hab Have;
- Hab nuff 'To have plenty' — 'hab' (have) plus 'nuff' (much/many): to have a lot, to be well…
- Haffi Have to, must, be obliged to — the core Patois word for necessity and obligation.
- Hag To pester, nag, or crowd someone persistently — 'stop hag mi' means stop bothering and…
- Hail up A warm greeting or acknowledgement — to greet, salute, or send respect to someone.
- Hair grease Hair pomade — the thick, often petroleum-based grease rubbed into the hair and scalp to…
- Half moon The moon when half of its face is lit, showing a clear semicircle in the sky.
- Half Way Tree The bustling central hub of St Andrew (the Kingston metropolitan area) — a major…
- Hamper A large basket or pannier for carrying farm produce and goods, especially the pair of…
- Hand In Patois, 'hand' means the whole arm — from shoulder to fingertips — not just the part…
- Hand middle The palm of the hand — the middle, inner part of the hand.
- Hanover The smallest parish in Jamaica, on the north-west coast, with its capital at Lucea.
- Hap'm Happen — the compressed pronunciation of 'happen', where the '-pen' collapses to a…
- Hard dough The dense, slightly sweet white loaf — 'hardo bread' — that is the everyday bread of…
- Hard dough bread A dense, firm, slightly sweet white loaf — the everyday Jamaican bread, sold sliced or…
- Hard-ears Disobedient and won't listen — stubbornly ignoring advice, warnings, or instructions.
- Hard-head Stubborn and disobedient;
- Hardback beetle A hard-shelled beetle — the tough, clattering brown or black beetles that fly at the…
- Hataclaps A calamity, disaster, or great commotion — a sudden catastrophe that throws everything…
- Haul and pull A constant struggle, tussle, or hard grind — the sense of life as a wearing…
- Have mercy 'Have mercy!' — an exclamation of shock, dismay, or a plea for relief, often opened by…
- Head The head — but also the seat of mind, sense, and behaviour in many Patois expressions…
- Head nuh good Not right in the head — mad, mentally unstable, or behaving foolishly and irrationally.
- Head tie A cloth tied around the head — a headwrap or scarf — worn by women to cover or bind up…
- Head-load A load carried balanced on top of the head — the traditional way market women and…
- Headmaster The head of a school — the principal, or 'head teacher' — a figure of great authority…
- Healstrong Strong and healthy — an Iyaric reshaping of 'headstrong'.
- Hear To hear — but in Patois 'hear' stretches past the ears.
- Heart drop The sudden sinking feeling of shock, fear, or dread — when your heart seems to drop in…
- Heartical Heartfelt, sincere, and genuine — coming straight from the heart.
- Hearty Healthy, robust, and in good vigour — strong and well in body.
- Heel-back The back of the heel — the area behind the heel and the tendon above it (the Achilles).
- Hell an powder house 'Hell an powder house' — utter chaos and uproar, a violent commotion or an explosive…
- Herb man A man who grows, sells, or is known for smoking ganja — 'herb' being the Rastafari and…
- Heroes Day National Heroes Day — a Jamaican public holiday on the third Monday of October…
- Higgler A small-scale trader, most often a woman, who buys goods wholesale and resells them at…
- Higglering The trade of the higgler — buying produce or goods and reselling them at market or on…
- High blood High blood pressure;
- High colour Light-skinned;
- High grade Top-quality ganja — the finest, strongest herb, as against cheap, harsh, low-grade weed.
- Hire purchase Buying on installments — taking home an item (furniture, appliance, TV) after a down…
- Hitch To catch a free ride or a lift — 'gi mi a hitch' means give me a lift.
- Hitey-titey Snobbish, stuck-up, and pretentious — putting on airs and looking down the nose at…
- Hitta A hit-maker — an artist who consistently makes hit songs, or, more broadly, a…
- Hiya A friendly, casual hello — 'hi there'.
- Hog ax him mumma why him mout long; she seh, wait till yuh grow Children grow up to inherit the very traits — good or bad — of their parents and…
- Hog plum A small, oval yellow wild fruit with a thin, tart-sweet flesh over a large stone, borne…
- Hog say di first water him ketch, him wash Seize the first opportunity that comes, because you can't be sure another will follow.
- Hog seh di foss wata him ketch, him wash 'Hog seh di foss wata him ketch, him wash' — the hog says the first water he comes…
- Hog-fish A reef fish with a long, pig-like snout it uses to root in the sand for shellfish —…
- Hol on A request to wait a moment or pause — 'hold on', 'hang on a second'.
- Hol strain To endure hardship patiently;
- Holla To shout or call out — and, in everyday and dancehall use, to contact or get in touch…
- Hominy Dried, hulled corn kernels — and the thick, creamy porridge made by boiling them slowly…
- Hominy corn Dried, hulled corn kernels, boiled soft and cooked into 'hominy corn porridge' — a…
- Honey Honey — and, as a term of endearment, a sweetheart or dear one ('come here, honey').
- Hood A vulgar Jamaican word for the penis.
- Hopscotch A children's hopping game played on a grid of squares chalked or scratched on the…
- Horn section The group of brass and wind instruments — trumpet, trombone, and saxophone — that gives…
- Hornsman A man who has affairs with other men's partners — one who 'gives horn', making a…
- Hot Beyond temperature, 'hot' means excellent, exciting, and the centre of attention — a…
- Hot comb A metal comb heated on the stove or over the fire and drawn through the hair to…
- Hot-temper Quick to anger;
- Hotsteppa A bold outlaw or fugitive — a notorious tough guy 'on the run' who moves fast and lives…
- Hotta Hotter — but in dancehall it means more intense, more exciting, more fire.
- How come 'How come' — why;
- How yuh mean An emphatic 'of course!' or 'absolutely!' — an exclamation of strong agreement, meaning…
- Howdy A greeting — 'hello', 'how do you do'.
- Howdy an tenky bruk no square 'Howdy an tenky bruk no square' — 'howdy' (hello) and 'thank you' break no squares…
- Howdy an tenky bruk nuh square 'Howdy an tenky bruk nuh square' — saying 'howdy' (hello) and 'thank you' breaks no…
- Hug up To hug, embrace, or cuddle up close — and, pointedly, to be all over someone in an…
- Hunch back A person with a curved, rounded, humped upper back — and the condition itself.
- Hungry belly an full belly nuh walk di same pace People in different circumstances cannot move at the same pace or see things the same…
- Hungry belly an full belly nuh walk same pass A hungry belly and a full belly do not walk the same path.
- Hurricane A hurricane — the great tropical storm that Jamaica braces for each season (June to…
- Hurricane season The stretch of the year (roughly June to November) when tropical storms and hurricanes…
- Hurry hurry mek bad curry 'Hurry hurry mek bad curry' — haste makes waste;
- Hurry-come-up A person who has risen to money or status suddenly but lacks the manners or grace to…
- Hush An expression of sympathy and comfort — 'sorry', 'there there', 'my condolences'.
- Hush money Hush money — a bribe paid to keep someone quiet, to buy silence over wrongdoing.
- Hustle To work hard and resourcefully to earn a living, by any honest means available — street…
- Hustling Working hard and resourcefully to earn a living, often through several small jobs or…
- Hype Flashy, showy, and attention-seeking — full of oneself.
I
- I and I A Rastafari pronoun that can mean 'I', 'me', 'we' or 'us', but always carries the idea…
- I-man 'I' / 'me' / 'myself' in Rastafari speech — a way of saying 'I' that stresses the…
- I-manifest To manifest, reveal, or make plain — reworked in Rastafari Iyaric so that 'manifest'…
- I-sire To desire, long for, or aspire toward — reworked in Rastafari Iyaric so 'desire' begins…
- I-talogue Dialogue;
- I-tation Meditation and deep spiritual reflection, in Rastafari 'Iyaric' speech — 'meditation'…
- Iditate To meditate — to reflect deeply, reason, and commune with Jah — the word remade in…
- Idler A loafer — someone who hangs about doing nothing, especially the men who spend their…
- Idren Fellow members of the Rastafari community, regarded as spiritual kin — brethren bound…
- If fish come from deep sea an seh shark deh deh, believe him 'If fish come from deep sea an seh shark deh deh, believe him' — if a fish comes up…
- If yuh cyaa get turkey, satisfy wid John Crow 'If yuh cyaa get turkey, satisfy wid John Crow' — if you can't get turkey, be content…
- If yuh cyaa ketch Quaco, yuh ketch him shut If you can't catch Quaco himself, catch his shirt.
- If yuh cyaan dance, yuh blame di music People blame outside things for their own failings and shortcomings — a poor workman…
- If yuh cyaan hear, yuh wi feel If you won't listen to advice or warning, you'll learn the lesson the hard way —…
- If yuh cyaan ketch Quaco, yuh ketch him shirt If you can't get at the real person or thing you're after, you settle for the next best…
- If yuh cyaan ketch Quaco, yuh ketch him shut 'If yuh cyaan ketch Quaco, yuh ketch him shut' — if you can't catch Quaco, you catch…
- If yuh hand inna devil mout, tek it out easy If your hand is in the devil's mouth, take it out gently.
- If yuh nuh mash ants, yuh nuh find him guts 'If yuh nuh mash ants, yuh nuh find him guts' — if you don't step on the ant, you won't…
- If yuh sleep wid dawg, yuh ketch him flea 'If yuh sleep wid dawg, yuh ketch him flea' — keep bad company and you will take on its…
- If yuh want good, yuh nose haffi run Anything worthwhile costs hard work and sacrifice — you cannot get 'good' (success…
- If yuh want gud, yuh nose haffi run 'If yuh want gud, yuh nose haffi run' — if you want good, your nose has to run.
- Igloo A cooler or ice chest — the insulated box packed with ice to keep drinks cold at a…
- Im The third-person singular pronoun — 'he', 'she', 'him', 'her', and the possessive 'his'…
- Iman 'I' or 'me', spoken by a Rastafari to refer to himself while affirming the divine 'I'…
- Independence Day The sixth of August — the Jamaican public holiday celebrating the island's independence…
- Indian An Indo-Jamaican — a person of East Indian descent, from the indentured labourers…
- Informer A police informer or snitch — someone who reports others to the authorities, or who…
- InI 'I and I' — a central Rastafari expression that can mean 'I', 'we', or 'you and I…
- Inity Unity — the word remade in Rastafari speech so it opens with the affirming 'I' in place…
- Inna In, inside, into — one of the most common Patois prepositions, covering both position…
- Inna di morrows A casual way of saying goodbye that means roughly 'see you tomorrow' or 'catch you…
- Iration Creation — the created world and all its living energy — remade in Rastafari speech…
- Irie Good, pleasing, and at peace — a state of everything being right and in harmony.
- Irie ites An expression of the very highest good vibes, peace, and positive spiritual feeling.
- Irieshun Creation — reworked in Rastafari Iyaric so 'creation' becomes 'irieation/irieshun'…
- Irish moss A thick, sweet, creamy drink made from a boiled seaweed (sea moss) blended with milk…
- Irish potato The ordinary white potato — called 'Irish potato', or just 'Irish', in Jamaica to tell…
- Ises Praises given to Jah — thanks, worship, and honour, from 'praises' reshaped in the…
- Ital Natural, pure, and unprocessed — used above all for the Rastafari way of eating: food…
- Italizashun The process of becoming or making something 'ital' — natural, pure, and in keeping with…
- Itchy palm A folk belief that an itching palm is a sign about money.
- Ites A Rastafari word of affirmation and greeting meaning 'heights' — spiritual heights…
- Iyah A Rastafari term of address and greeting for a brethren — an honoured 'higher one'…
- Iyaric The deliberately modified language of Rastafari — also called Dread Talk or I-talk —…
J
- Jack Spaniard A type of wasp with a slim, pinched waist and a sharp, painful sting, common across…
- Jack-fish A common silvery sea fish (of the jack family), often small, sold cheaply and cooked…
- Jack-inna-bush A common wild shrub used in Jamaican bush medicine, its leaves brewed into a tea for…
- Jackass A donkey — and, as an insult, a fool or a stubborn, stupid person.
- Jackass corn A hard, crunchy baked coconut biscuit — flour, grated coconut, sugar, and spice baked…
- Jackass rope Home-cured tobacco twisted into a long, thick rope and sold by the length, cut off to…
- Jackass seh di worl nuh level Life is not fair or even, and the one who bears the heaviest burdens knows it best.
- Jacket A child that a woman passes off as belonging to a man who is not the biological father.
- Jackfish The jack — a firm-fleshed reef and coastal fish (the crevalle jack and its relatives)…
- Jackfruit A huge tropical fruit with knobbly green skin and sweet golden fleshy pods inside…
- Jah God, in Rastafari belief — the living, present divine, often identified with Emperor…
- Jah know 'God knows' — a heartfelt affirmation of truth and sincerity, calling on Jah (God) as…
- Jah Rastafari The central affirmation and praise of Rastafari — declaring God (Jah) as revealed in…
- Jalousie A louvre window — the window made of overlapping horizontal slats of glass or wood…
- Jamdown A slang name for Jamaica, especially in reggae and dancehall and among the diaspora —…
- Jammin Having a good time — dancing, playing music, and enjoying oneself freely.
- Jamrock An affectionate insider name for Jamaica.
- Janga The small freshwater crayfish or shrimp found in Jamaica's rivers, prized as a delicacy.
- Jankro The John Crow, the turkey vulture — the big, black, bald-headed carrion bird that…
- Jankro bead The small, glossy, black-and-red seed of a climbing vine — 'jankro' being the John Crow…
- Jaw bone The jaw.
- Jazz Jazz music — long woven into Jamaica's rich musical heritage.
- Jealous Jealous — envious of what another person has, or possessive over a lover.
- Jeezam A mild exclamation of surprise, shock, or frustration — 'jeez!', 'gosh!', 'goodness!'.
- Jeezan A mild exclamation of surprise or dismay — a softened, minced form of 'Jesus!', much…
- Jelly A jelly coconut — a young green coconut with soft, jelly-like flesh and sweet water…
- Jelly coconut A young, green coconut prized for its sweet water and the soft, spoonable white 'jelly'…
- Jerk A method of cooking meat (classically pork or chicken) by rubbing or marinating it in a…
- Jerk chicken Chicken marinated in fiery jerk seasoning — scotch bonnet pepper, pimento (allspice)…
- Jerk pork Pork rubbed with fiery jerk seasoning — scotch bonnet, pimento (allspice), thyme…
- Jerk-pan The roadside jerk grill made from a steel drum cut lengthwise and hinged — the smoky…
- Jersey A sports shirt — especially a football (soccer) jersey worn to support a team, a huge…
- Jerusalem The holy city — in Rastafari and Jamaican church tradition, a symbol of the promised…
- Jesas 'Jesus!' — an exclamation of shock, alarm, or dismay, calling on the name in surprise…
- Jesta A joker or clown — someone always cracking jokes and making fun, or a person not to be…
- Jheri curl The glossy, wet-look chemical curl hairstyle that was hugely popular in the 1980s —…
- Jigga The chigoe flea — a tiny sand flea that burrows into the skin, most often under the…
- Jimbelin A small, pale, ribbed sour fruit that grows in dense clusters on the tree — the…
- Jinnal A cunning trickster, con artist, or smooth swindler — one who lives by their wits…
- John Crow tink him own pickney white 'John Crow tink him own pickney white' — the John Crow, the black vulture, thinks its…
- John-crow The turkey vulture — the bald-headed black scavenger bird seen circling over the…
- Johnny-cake A fried dumpling — a small round of flour dough fried golden and crisp outside, soft…
- Jonkonnu A masquerade tradition performed at Christmas, in which costumed, masked characters…
- Jook To poke, prick, jab, or stab with something pointed — a stick, a needle, a knife, a…
- Jook-jook To poke, prod, or prick repeatedly — the reduplication of 'juk' (to poke or jab), the…
- Jookman A vulgar dancehall term for a man who boasts of his sexual prowess — from 'jook' (to…
- Joyful Full of joy — happy, gladhearted, rejoicing.
- Juggling On a sound system, the art of mixing and blending riddims and tunes to keep a dance…
- Juicy Full of juice — of a ripe, dripping mango or a sweet 'juicy' fruit.
- Juk To poke, jab, prick, or stab — with anything from a finger to a thorn to a knife.
- Julie A prized variety of mango — small, sweet, smooth, and almost fibreless, with rich…
- Julie mango The most prized eating mango in Jamaica — a small-to-medium, richly sweet…
- July The month of July — high summer in Jamaica, and the heart of 'mango time', when the…
- Jumbie A ghost or malevolent spirit.
- Jumbie bird A bird whose cry, especially at night, is held to foretell death or bad news — the…
- Jumpy eye A folk belief that a twitching eyelid is an omen.
- Junction A road junction where routes meet — and, very often in Jamaica, the small commercial…
- June bug A big, clumsy, hard-shelled beetle that appears in numbers around early summer —…
- June plum A tangy green-to-golden tropical fruit (Spondias dulcis) with crisp, sour-sweet flesh…
- Junglist A devotee of jungle — the fast, breakbeat-and-bassline dance music that grew out of the…
- Junjo Fungus in its everyday forms — mushroom, mould, or mildew.
- Jusso Just like that;
- Just now A famous false friend for visitors: in Patois 'just now' does NOT mean 'immediately' —…
K
- Kakaclaat A strong Jamaican swear word — an expletive of anger or disgust, and a harsh insult…
- Kas-kas A quarrel, dispute, or contention — the argument itself and the gossip, bad blood, and…
- Keeper A steady, committed common-law partner — the person one 'keeps' house with and is…
- Kerchief A square of cloth worn tied over the head, long a familiar part of Jamaican women's…
- Kerosene lamp A kerosene (paraffin) oil lamp — the wick-and-globe lamp that lit homes before and…
- Kerosene tin The square metal can that kerosene ('home oil') came in — and, once empty, one of the…
- Ketch To catch — grab, seize, reach, or become caught.
- Ketch di spirit To become filled with, or possessed by, the Holy Spirit (or a spirit) during worship —…
- Ketch up yuhself Compose yourself;
- Ketch water To fetch and collect water — going to the standpipe, river, or tank to fill buckets and…
- Ketch yuh breath To catch your breath — to pause and recover after exertion, shock, or a rush.
- Khaki The stiff, sand-coloured cotton cloth — and the uniform made from it — long standard…
- Khus-khus The fragrant root of the vetiver grass, prized for its sweet, earthy scent.
- Kibba To cover, cover up, or close over — and, most commonly, to shut.
- Kibba yuh mout Shut your mouth;
- Kick up To stir up dust, noise, or trouble — to raise a commotion.
- Kill Besides the literal sense, in dancehall 'kill' means to defeat and dominate — 'kill di…
- Killa A killer — literally, but in dancehall an admiring word for something or someone deadly…
- Kin Skin — the Patois form of 'skin', which turns up in a whole family of vivid…
- Kin teeth To grin or smile broadly, showing the teeth — literally to 'skin' (draw back) the lips…
- King A term of respect and affirmation for a man — hailing him as royalty, dignity, and…
- King-fish A large, long silvery sea fish (the king mackerel) with firm, tasty flesh — a favourite…
- Kingman A woman's man — her husband or steady partner.
- Kingston The capital and largest city of Jamaica — the island's centre of government, commerce…
- Kiss teet To make the long sucking sound through the teeth that expresses contempt, annoyance…
- Kiss teeth To make the drawn-out sucking sound with the teeth and lips that expresses annoyance…
- Kitchen bitch A small, homemade kerosene ('oil') lamp — typically a bottle or tin with a wick poked…
- Kitchen garden The small vegetable-and-herb garden kept right by the house — a patch in the backyard…
- Kite A kite — and, in Jamaica, a cherished Easter tradition.
- Kite flying The Easter pastime of flying home-made kites in the breezy spring skies — a beloved…
- KMT A texting abbreviation for 'kiss mi teeth' — standing in, in writing, for the long…
- Knapsack sprayer A tank of pesticide, herbicide, or fertilizer solution carried on the back and pumped…
- Knock-knee Knock-kneed — having legs that angle inward so the knees touch or 'knock' together…
- Knotty Having matted, knotted dreadlocks — and, as a name, a Rasta who wears them: a 'knotty…
- Konshens Conscience — the inner moral sense of right and wrong.
- Kotch To perch, prop, or rest something (or yourself) temporarily and none too securely — to…
- Kreng-kreng A woven basket or rack hung from the ceiling above the fireplace, used to store and…
- Kuff To hit with a fist or an open hand — to cuff or box someone.
- Kumina An Afro-Jamaican religious tradition of Central African (Kongo) origin, marked by…
- Kutchie The chalice or pipe used to smoke ganja in Rastafari reasoning — passed from one person…
L
- Labba-labba To chatter on and on, talking too much and often indiscreetly — babbling gossip or…
- Labba-mout A blabbermouth — a person who talks too much, can't keep a secret, and runs their mouth…
- Labrish Idle chatter, gossip, or lively casual talk about other people's business — and, as a…
- Lagga-head A stupid, thick-headed person — a dunce or blockhead.
- Lambsbread A legendary strain of high-quality Jamaican ganja, prized by Rastafari for its…
- Lamp globe The clear glass chimney of a kerosene ('home') lamp — the tall shaped glass that fits…
- Land crab A crab that lives on land, in burrows in the ground rather than in the sea — caught for…
- Lane A narrow lane or alley between the houses of a community — the intimate back-streets of…
- Lang time An exclamation used on meeting someone you haven't seen in a while — roughly 'long…
- Langilala Very tall and thin — lanky, spindly, all length and no width.
- Lata Later — used both as a casual farewell and to mean 'at a later time'.
- Lawd 'Lord' — by far the most common Jamaican exclamation, calling on the Lord in surprise…
- Lawd a massy 'Lord have mercy' — an exclamation of shock, distress, dismay, or exasperation.
- Lawd God 'Lord God' — a heartfelt exclamation of distress, alarm, pity, or amazement, calling on…
- Lawd have mercy An exclamation of shock, distress, exasperation, or sometimes awe.
- Lazy Lazy — unwilling to work or make effort.
- Leaf of life A hardy succulent bush (Bryophyllum pinnatum) famous for sprouting tiny new plantlets…
- Learn fi creep before yuh walk 'Learn fi creep before yuh walk' — learn to crawl before you walk.
- Lef To leave, or to be left over and remaining.
- Lef mi 'Leave me (alone)' — a sharp brush-off telling someone to back off and stop troubling…
- Legend A revered great — an icon whose achievements have made them immortal in the culture…
- Leggings Tight, stretchy trousers or tights worn by women — an everyday and dancehall wardrobe…
- Leggo To let go, release, or set loose — a run-together of 'let go'.
- Liard A liar — someone who tells lies, and by extension lying itself.
- Lick To hit or strike — and as a noun, a blow.
- Lick down To knock down or strike down — 'lick' (hit) plus 'down'.
- Lick out Two senses.
- Lick shot Two connected senses.
- Licki-licki Greedy and grasping — above all for food or for anything free.
- Lickle more 'Later / see you later' — a casual sign-off meaning until a bit later, catch you soon.
- Lift A free ride in someone's vehicle — 'beg a lift' is to ask for a ride, and 'gi mi a…
- Lightning Lightning — the flash of a tropical storm, often paired with 'tunda' (thunder).
- Lignum vitae The national flower of Jamaica — a small tree (Guaiacum officinale) bearing delicate…
- Likkle Little or small — in size, amount, or degree.
- Likkle axe cut down big tree Small, persistent effort can overcome a great obstacle — a little axe, chopping away…
- Likkle bit A little bit;
- Likkle but tallawah Small in size but strong, tough, and formidable — do not underestimate someone or…
- Likkle canoe fi kip near shore 'Likkle canoe fi kip near shore' — a little canoe should keep near the shore.
- Likkle likkle Very small, or in tiny amounts — the reduplication of 'likkle' (little), which can…
- Likkle more A parting expression meaning 'see you later' or 'catch you in a bit', literally 'a…
- Likkle most Almost;
- Likky-likky Greedy for food — always wanting to 'lick' at whatever there is to eat, and especially…
- Link To meet up or connect with someone — often, in the love context, with romantic or…
- Link up To meet up with someone, make contact, or connect socially.
- Linstead A market town in St.
- Lion of Judah A central Rastafari symbol standing for Emperor Haile Selassie I, Ethiopia, and the…
- Lioness A strong, regal, righteous woman — the female counterpart to the Rastafari 'lion' (a…
- Lite Light — the everyday word covering both illumination and electricity.
- Liva The liver — the Patois pronunciation of 'liver', naming both the body organ and the…
- Liver and green banana A hearty breakfast dish of seasoned liver — cow or chicken — sautéed or stewed with…
- Livicate To dedicate — reworked in Rastafari Iyaric so the 'dead' sound in 'dedi-cate' is…
- Livity The Rastafari concept of righteous living — the whole way a person conducts their life…
- Loada The man at a bus or taxi park whose job is to 'load' the vehicles — rounding up…
- Locks Dreadlocks — the ropes of matted, uncombed hair worn by Rastafari as a sacred symbol of…
- Log on A hugely popular early-2000s dancehall dance move, launched by Elephant Man's song 'Log…
- Logwood A small, thorny tree that shaped Jamaica's history and economy — its dense heartwood…
- Lonely Lonely — feeling alone and missing company or a loved one.
- Long run, short ketch You may get away with wrongdoing for a long time, but you will be caught in the end —…
- Long time A long time;
- Long-eye Covetous and greedy — casting a longing, grasping eye over what belongs to others and…
- Longside Alongside;
- Lotto scam The advance-fee 'lottery' fraud in which scammers phone victims (typically overseas and…
- Loud up di ting To broadcast something loudly and publicly — to make a big noise about a matter, hype…
- Love up To love up — to cuddle, hug, and show affection warmly;
- Lovers rock A smooth, romantic style of reggae focused on love and relationships, built on soft…
- Low di ting Leave it alone;
- Lowe To leave alone, let be, or let go of.
- Lowe it 'Leave it alone / let it go / forget it' — 'lowe' (allow) plus 'it': drop the matter…
- Lucea The small, historic capital of Hanover parish, on the north-west coast between Montego…
- Ludo The dice-and-counters board game hugely popular in Jamaican homes — players race their…
- Lunatic A madman or crazy person — used both of someone genuinely mentally ill and, as an…
- Lunch money The money a parent gives a child each school day to buy lunch, snacks, or a patty at…
- Lyrics Beyond the words of a song, in Jamaican slang 'lyrics' means smooth talk or a chat-up…
M
- Maaga Thin, skinny, meagre — of a person, an animal, or by extension anything scant or poorly…
- Maaga cow a bull mumma 'Maaga cow a bull mumma' — a lean, scrawny cow is still a bull's mother.
- Maama Mother;
- Maama man A derogatory term for a man seen as weak, cowardly, or unmanly — 'mama's man'.
- Macaroni Macaroni — chiefly the baked 'macaroni and cheese' (or 'macaroni pie'), a rich, cheesy…
- Macca A thorn, prickle, or spine — the sharp spikes on bushes, cactus, and thorny trees, or…
- Macca fat A tall, very spiny Jamaican palm and its clustered fruit — a hard round nut with a thin…
- Machete A long, broad-bladed knife — the essential all-purpose tool of Jamaican farming and…
- Mackerel Salted or tinned mackerel — a cheap, filling protein at the heart of Jamaican…
- Mackerel rundown Salted or pickled mackerel cooked down in coconut milk until the milk reduces to a…
- Mad Mad — in Patois usually means mentally unwell or acting crazy, more than merely angry.
- Mad ting A crazy, wild, or unbelievable thing or situation — used both for something shockingly…
- Madda Mother — the Patois pronunciation of 'mother'.
- Maga Thin, skinny, or scrawny — lacking flesh, or, by extension, lacking substance.
- Maga dawg A 'mawga dog' — a skinny, half-starved stray.
- Maga maga Very thin and scrawny, skin-and-bone — the reduplication of 'maga' (meagre, thin)…
- Magnum A very popular Jamaican brand of sweet, dark fortified 'tonic wine', drunk for its kick…
- Mahogany The prized dark-red hardwood tree — one of the finest and most famous timbers, long…
- Main gyal A man's main, steady, or number-one girlfriend — the primary partner he claims and…
- Main road The main road through a district — the big, paved thoroughfare that the buses and taxis…
- Makka A thorn, prickle, or spine on a plant.
- Malice To hold a grudge and refuse to speak to someone — to give them the silent treatment…
- Mampy A big, fat woman — often said admiringly in dancehall, where a full, heavy figure…
- Man A man — but far more flexible in Patois.
- Man weh nuh dun cross di river nuh fi cuss alligata 'Man weh nuh dun cross di river nuh fi cuss alligata' — a man who has not yet finished…
- Man-royal A derogatory Jamaican slur for a lesbian, especially a masculine-presenting one — a…
- Mandem The guys — one's crew, one's group of male friends and associates, taken together as a…
- Mandeville The capital of Manchester parish — a cool, elevated inland town in the central…
- Mango The beloved sweet tropical fruit, of which Jamaica boasts dozens of named varieties —…
- Mango walk A grove or stand of mango trees, using the rural sense of 'walk' (a cultivated plot of…
- Manijz To manage — to cope, get by, or make do with what little there is.
- Manley The surname of one of Jamaica's most important political families.
- Manners Manners — courtesy and respect, prized deeply in Jamaican upbringing.
- Mannish Precocious and forward — used above all of a child, especially a boy, who acts too…
- Mannish water A thick, spicy goat soup made from the head, feet, tripe and offal of a goat, often…
- Marabunta A stinging wasp, feared for its painful sting, that builds mud or paper nests around…
- Marble The children's game of marbles — glass balls that players 'pitch' (flick or roll) to…
- Marina A man's sleeveless vest or singlet worn as an undershirt — the everyday Jamaican word…
- Market The open-air market where higglers and farmers sell fresh produce, ground provisions…
- Market day The set day (often Friday or Saturday) when the town or district market comes fully…
- Market money The housekeeping money set aside for buying food and groceries — what a person budgets…
- Market truck The open truck that carries higglers, their produce, and their hampers from the country…
- Marl road An unpaved road surfaced with 'marl' — the whitish, chalky, crushed-limestone earth…
- Maroons The communities of Africans who escaped slavery and built free, self-governing…
- Married man A married man — and, very often in Jamaican relationship talk, one carrying on an…
- Mash To step on, crush, or press with the foot — 'yuh mash mi toe' means 'you stepped on my…
- Mash up To destroy, ruin, wreck, or break something badly — and, as a noun or adjective…
- Mash up di place To give a thrilling performance that sends the crowd into a frenzy — to 'tear up' the…
- Mash-up drunk Extremely, helplessly drunk — wrecked, falling-down intoxicated.
- Maskita A pronunciation variant of 'mosquito' — the biting insect.
- Massa God 'Master God' — a reverent exclamation calling on God, used in moments of pleading…
- Massive A crowd, crew, or collective of people — especially fans, supporters, or a community…
- Matey The 'other woman' — a man's mistress or side-partner, and the rival of his main woman…
- Matey war The bitter rivalry and open conflict between a man's main woman (wife or steady…
- Matic A semi-automatic or automatic firearm — clipped from 'automatic'.
- Matrimony A traditional Jamaican fruit dessert made by mixing the pulp of star apple with orange…
- Matta A matter, issue, or what's wrong — the Patois pronunciation of 'matter'.
- Mawga dog A skinny, half-starved stray dog — and, figuratively, a down-and-out, neglected person…
- Mawnin Morning — and, as a greeting, 'good morning'.
- Maypole A traditional folk dance in which dancers weave brightly coloured ribbons around a tall…
- Mean-mean Very stingy and tight-fisted — the reduplication of 'mean' (miserly) intensifying it.
- Meat safe A ventilated cupboard — with mesh, wire-gauze, or perforated-metal sides — used to…
- Medz A relaxed, thoughtful state of chilling and reflecting — a clipping of 'meditation'.
- Mek Chiefly 'to make', but with two more everyday jobs: 'let/allow' as a causative, and…
- Mek a money 'To make some money' — to earn, to turn a hand to work or a hustle that pays.
- Mek haste Hurry up;
- Mek up mi face To screw up or contort the face in displeasure, disgust, or annoyance — a scowl that…
- Mento Jamaica's original rural folk music — acoustic and rootsy, played on banjo, guitar…
- Merino A man's undershirt or vest — the cotton, often ribbed, sleeveless or short-sleeved top…
- Mesh marina A man's sleeveless string vest of open mesh netting — a 'marina' being the Jamaican…
- Mi The first-person pronoun — 'I', 'me', and 'my' all at once.
- Mi a tell yuh 'I'm telling you' — an emphatic aside that presses the truth or seriousness of what…
- Mi cyaan bada 'Mi cyaan bada' — I can't be bothered, I can't deal with it.
- Mi dawta An affectionate term for a girlfriend, a wife, or a woman held in warm regard —…
- Mi deh pon it 'I am on it' — I'm handling it right now, an assurance that a task is actively being…
- Mi deh yah Literally 'I am here' — the standard, steady reply to a greeting, meaning roughly 'I'm…
- Mi gone A departure phrase announcing that the speaker is leaving now — literally 'I'm gone'…
- Mi heart A tender term of address meaning 'my love' or 'my darling' — literally 'my heart', used…
- Mi love yuh The direct declaration of love — 'I love you'.
- Mi luv 'My love' — a warm term of endearment for a partner, and often a friendly address to…
- Mi miss yuh 'I miss you' — an expression of longing for someone who is absent.
- Mi nah lie An emphatic assertion of truthfulness, roughly 'I'm not lying' or 'honestly', used to…
- Mi nuh care 'I don't care' — a flat statement of indifference or defiance, dismissing a threat, a…
- Mi nuh know 'I don't know' — a statement of not knowing something.
- Mi one an only A declaration that someone is one's sole and exclusive love — the only one who matters.
- Mi seh Literally 'I say', but chiefly used as an emphatic discourse opener — to introduce a…
- Mi swear An emphatic assertion that one is telling the truth — equal to 'I swear' or 'I promise'.
- Mi throw mi corn, mi nuh call nuh fowl 'Mi throw mi corn, mi nuh call nuh fowl' — I scattered my corn, but I didn't call any…
- Mi tired 'I'm tired' — worn out, whether in body or in patience.
- Mic man The man on the microphone at a dance or event — the deejay or MC who hypes the crowd…
- Midwife The woman who assists at childbirth — from the trained nurse-midwife at the clinic or…
- Milk cow A milk cow — a cow kept for its milk, hand-milked morning and evening and grazed on…
- Milo The malted chocolate drink powder that is a breakfast and anytime staple in Jamaican…
- Mind yuh business A sharp instruction to stop meddling in someone else's affairs.
- Mint Mint — the fragrant herb (often peppermint or the local 'mint bush') grown in the yard…
- Mint ball A round, hard boiled sweet flavoured with peppermint — usually red-and-white striped —…
- Minty The smallest coin, or the tiniest scrap of money — used mostly in the negative to…
- Miserable Quarrelsome, troublesome, and hard to please — not merely unhappy, as in standard…
- Mix-up Gossip, meddling, and drama — being caught up in other people's business and scandal.
- MoBay Montego Bay — Jamaica's second city and tourist capital, on the north-west coast in St…
- Mon Man — the relaxed, rounded pronunciation of 'man', tagged onto the end of phrases for…
- Money tight Money is scarce;
- Moneyman A rich, big-spending man — one with plenty of money to flash and to share, courted for…
- Mongoose The small, quick, weasel-like animal introduced to Jamaica in the 1800s to control rats…
- Mongrel A mixed-breed dog of no particular pedigree — the common Jamaican street or yard dog.
- Monkey Monkey — not native to Jamaica but alive in proverb and talk, standing for mischief…
- Monkey know which tree fi climb A troublemaker or bully carefully picks who they target — going only after those who…
- Moonlight The light of the moon, and by extension a bright moonlit night.
- Moonshine darlin An old-time moonlit children's pastime and its song.
- Moonshine darling An old Jamaican moonlight ring game in which children lay a friend down and trace the…
- Morant Bay The capital town of St.
- Morass A swamp or wetland — low, waterlogged, muddy ground thick with reeds, mangroves, and…
- More life 'More life' — a blessing and well-wish meaning long life, more good living, more…
- More time A friendly way of saying goodbye — 'see you later', 'catch you another time'.
- Morning dew The dew that settles on the grass and leaves overnight and glistens in the early…
- Morning star The bright 'star' — actually the planet Venus — that shines low in the east before…
- Morris chair A wooden-framed armchair with a reclining back and loose seat and back cushions — the…
- Mortar The wooden pounding bowl, used with a 'pestle', that is a fixture of the traditional…
- Mosquito The biting mosquito — a constant tropical nuisance, worst at dusk and through the rainy…
- Mother of the church A senior, respected woman leader in a church — especially a Revival, Pentecostal, or…
- Mother woman A woman leader in Revival and balm-healing traditions — the 'Mother' who, like a…
- Mout a massi 'Mouth almighty' — a loudmouth;
- Mout mek fi talk People will always talk, gossip, and give their opinion — the mouth was made for…
- Move yuhself 'Move yourself' — get moving, hurry up, or get out of the way, depending on heat.
- Mule A person who smuggles illegal drugs by carrying them — often on a flight, sometimes…
- Mullet A common silvery fish found both in the sea and in river mouths, a popular everyday…
- Mumma An affectionate word for one's mother — and, more broadly, for any woman seen as a…
- Mumu A fool — a stupid, dull, or clueless person.
- Murda Murder — and, in dancehall, an exclamation of extreme excitement and approval.
- Murderation A total, crushing victory or an overwhelming hit — something so powerful it 'murders'…
- Mus-mus A mouse (and sometimes a small rat) — the little household rodent that raids the…
- Muss-muss A mouse or a small rat.
- Mussi Must be;
- Myal An Afro-Jamaican spiritual tradition of healing, spirit possession, and protective…
N
- Na A negative marker meaning 'not', 'won't', or 'am/are not (doing)'.
- Nable The navel — the Patois pronunciation of 'navel'.
- Nak To knock, hit, or bump — the Patois pronunciation of 'knock', with the initial cluster…
- Nana A grandmother or beloved elder woman — an affectionate, respectful term.
- Nanny goat A nanny goat — a female goat, kept for milk, kids, and eventually meat, and a familiar…
- Naseberry The sapodilla — a small, round, rough brown-skinned fruit with sweet, soft, grainy…
- Natch Natural — chiefly of hair worn in its natural, unprocessed state, and of a natural…
- National pledge Jamaica's pledge of allegiance, recited by schoolchildren at morning devotion alongside…
- Natty Knotty and matted — describing dreadlocks — and, as a name, a Rastafari who wears them.
- Natural hair Hair worn in its natural, unprocessed state — not straightened by relaxer or hot comb —…
- Navel string The umbilical cord — but far more than a body part in Jamaican culture.
- Nayga A Patois form of 'negro', with a long, complex, and painful history.
- Negro yam One of the common Jamaican yam varieties — a large, firm, white-fleshed yam grown as a…
- Negus An Amharic title meaning 'king' — and, in Rastafari, a title of reverence for Emperor…
- Neighba A neighbour — someone living close by.
- Netball The seven-a-side ball game — cousin to basketball but with no backboard and no running…
- New broom sweep clean, but old broom know di corner A newcomer brings fresh energy and does a showy job, but the experienced old-timer…
- Nex time 'Next time' — on a future occasion;
- Nice hair A loaded, colourism-rooted term for hair that is straighter, looser-curled, or softer…
- Nice up To liven up, brighten, or make something enjoyable — 'nice up di dance' is to get the…
- Nice up di dance To liven up the party and make the vibe sweet — to bring good energy so that everyone…
- Niceness Enjoyment, good times, and pleasant vibes — the whole feeling of things being sweet and…
- Night soil Human waste collected from pit latrines and outhouses — historically carried away at…
- Nightie A nightgown or nightdress — the loose, light garment a woman or girl sleeps in.
- Nine Mile The rural village in the hills of St.
- Nine-day wonder Something sensational that everybody talks about intensely for a short while and then…
- Nine-night The traditional Jamaican wake held on the ninth night after a death, when family and…
- Nite Night — the Patois spelling of 'night'.
- Nize Noise — the Patois pronunciation of 'noise'.
- No cup no broke, no coffee no dash weh No harm has been done and there is no falling out — everything is fine, nothing lost.
- No-count Worthless;
- Noice A playful, emphatic pronunciation of 'nice' — drawing the vowel out to 'noice' for…
- Nonsense Nonsense — foolishness, rubbish talk, or silly behaviour not to be entertained.
- Norther A cold, blustery north wind — the wintertime front that sweeps down from the north…
- Nose-hole A nostril — the everyday Jamaican word for the nostril, formed straightforwardly as…
- Now now Right this instant, immediately — the reduplication of 'now' intensifying it to mean…
- Nuff Plenty;
- Nuff laugh 'Plenty laughter' — a whole lot of laughing and good fun.
- Nuff-nuff Very many;
- Nuffa Plenty of, a lot of — a run-together of 'nuff a' (nuff of).
- Nuffi Ought not to;
- Nuh One of the busiest little words in Patois, doing several jobs.
- Nuh badda A directive meaning 'don't bother' or 'don't even try it' — used to warn someone off an…
- Nuh buy puss inna bag 'Nuh buy puss inna bag' — don't buy a cat in a bag.
- Nuh draw mi tongue 'Nuh draw mi tongue' — don't draw my tongue, that is, don't provoke me into speaking…
- Nuh every kin teet a laugh 'Nuh every kin teet a laugh' — not every baring of the teeth is a real laugh.
- Nuh everyting gud fi eat gud fi talk A proverb: not everything that's good to eat is good to talk about.
- Nuh everyting gud fi eat gud fi talk 'Nuh everyting gud fi eat gud fi talk' — not everything that is good to eat is good to…
- Nuh Linga A dancehall dance move from Elephant Man's song 'Nuh Linga', built on quick…
- Nuh mek mi vex 'Nuh mek mi vex' — don't make me angry.
- Nuh ramp wid mi 'Nuh ramp wid mi' — don't play around with me.
- Nuh trouble trouble till trouble trouble yuh 'Nuh trouble trouble till trouble trouble yuh' — don't go looking for trouble until…
- Nuh true A tag question or agreement-seeker meaning 'isn't that so?' or 'right?' — added to the…
- Nuh wait till drum beat before yuh grine yuh axe 'Nuh wait till drum beat before yuh grine yuh axe' — don't wait until the drum beats to…
- Nuh watch nuh face Don't watch anyone's face — that is, don't be intimidated by, or show favour to…
- Nuh'n Nothing — the most compressed pronunciation of 'nothing', collapsing 'nutten' all the…
- Nuhbadi Nobody;
- Nuhwan No one;
- Number eleven A small, plump, intensely sweet mango variety — one of Jamaica's most loved.
- Number eleven mango One of the best-loved named Jamaican mango varieties — the 'Number Eleven', a medium…
- Nuoz-ole The nostril — literally 'nose-hole', the everyday Patois compound for a nostril or the…
- Nutmeg The warm, aromatic spice grated fresh into porridges, drinks, puddings, and 'sea moss'…
- Nutten Nothing — the Patois pronunciation of 'nothing'.
- Nyabinghi The oldest and most orthodox order of Rastafari, and the sacred drumming-and-chanting…
- Nyaga nyaga Ragged, messy, tangled, or in disorder — 'nyaga nyaga' describes something untidy and…
- Nyahbinghi The oldest and most orthodox order of the Rastafari movement, and the sacred…
- Nyam To eat — especially to eat heartily, hungrily, or greedily.
- Nyam off To eat up completely — to devour or finish off food entirely, often quickly and…
- Nyam-out To eat up everything greedily, or by extension to use up, drain, or squander someone's…
- Nyam-up To eat up greedily and completely — and, by extension, to mess something up, ruin it…
- Nyami-nyami Greedy or gluttonous — grabbing more than one's share of food, or eating without…
- Nyammin Eating — the continuous form of 'nyam' (to eat).
- Nyammings Food;
- Nyampi The crusty matter that gathers in the corner of the eye — 'sleep' or eye-crust…
O
- Oats porridge Porridge made from oats (oatmeal), cooked with milk and sweetened and spiced the…
- Obeah Afro-Jamaican folk magic — the practice of casting and removing spells, healing, giving…
- Obeah man A practitioner of obeah — the Afro-Jamaican system of folk magic and spiritual power.
- Ocho Rios A major north-coast resort town in the parish of St.
- Offa Off;
- Okra A green, ridged, finger-shaped pod vegetable with a characteristic slippery, 'draw'…
- Ol bruk Old, worn-out clothes — and, more broadly, any run-down, broken-down old thing.
- Ol' Hige A dreaded figure of Jamaican (and wider Caribbean) folklore: an old witch-woman who…
- Old fire stick easy fi ketch An old flame rekindles easily — former lovers who meet again quickly fall back into…
- Old fowl A mocking term for an older woman — especially one seen as still chasing romance…
- Old wife A reef fish caught and eaten in Jamaica — the 'old wife', a deep-bodied, tough-skinned…
- Old-time people People of the old days — the elders and ancestors whose ways, wisdom, proverbs, and…
- Ole fire 'Old fire' — an old flame, a former lover, and the ease with which an old romance…
- Ole fyah stick easy fi ketch 'Ole fyah stick easy fi ketch' — an old fire-stick catches light easily.
- Ole hige A dreaded figure of Jamaican and wider Caribbean folklore — an old woman, secretly a…
- One anadda One another;
- One day one day Eventually;
- One drop The signature reggae drum rhythm in which the emphasis falls on the third beat of the…
- One family Related to one another;
- One finger cyaan ketch louse You cannot get certain things done alone — some tasks need cooperation.
- One han cyaa clap 'One han cyaa clap' — one hand cannot clap.
- One han cyaan clap You need two to make it happen — one hand alone can't clap.
- One love An expression of unity and shared humanity — used both as a principle, that all people…
- One one coco full basket 'One one coco full basket' — the basket is filled one coco at a time, and so, little by…
- One one dutty build dam Little by little, small contributions build up to something big — one handful of earth…
- One time At once;
- One-one One at a time, one by one, or just a few scattered ones.
- Only di shoe know if di stocking have hole 'Only di shoe know if di stocking have hole' — only the shoe knows whether the stocking…
- Ooman Woman — the Patois pronunciation of 'woman', with the 'w' softened to an 'oo' sound.
- Ooman tongue A large shade tree that bears long, flat, dry seed pods which rattle and chatter…
- Ooman-tings Women's matters and affairs — the concerns, work, and business regarded as belonging to…
- Ortanique A sweet, juicy citrus fruit — a natural cross between an orange and a tangerine — that…
- Otaheite apple A glossy, deep-pink to crimson pear-shaped fruit (also called the Malay apple or…
- Otaheite apple A glossy, deep-red, pear-shaped fruit (Syzygium malaccense) with crisp, mildly sweet…
- Out a timing Out of place;
- Out of order Rude, disrespectful, or badly out of line — behaving in a way that oversteps decent…
- Outernational International — but reshaped in Iyaric.
- Outside woman A man's mistress — the woman he keeps 'outside' of his home and marriage, in a…
- Outside-pickney A child fathered outside a man's main relationship or marriage — an 'outside child'…
- Outta Out of;
- Outta order Behaving improperly — rude, disrespectful, out of line, or doing something wrong and…
- Ovahcast Overcast — of a grey, cloudy sky before rain.
- Overlook To cast the evil eye — to bring harm on someone (especially a baby or a thriving…
- Overproof High-strength white rum, well above the usual bottling strength (often around 63%…
- Overproof rum Very high-strength white rum — 'over proof', well above standard strength (around 63%…
- Overstand To understand — but recast so the word affirms rising rather than being beneath.
- Overstanding Understanding — but a Rasta reshaping of the word.
- Owl hoot A folk belief that an owl (the 'patoo') hooting on or near a house is a bad omen…
- Oxtail A rich, slow-braised stew of beef tail, simmered for hours until the meat falls off the…
- Oxtail and beans One of the most celebrated Jamaican dishes — the tail of the ox (cow), browned and…
- Oyster The small mangrove oyster gathered from the roots of the mangroves and the rocks along…
P
- Pak choi A leafy Chinese cabbage with crisp white stalks and dark-green leaves, long naturalised…
- Palava Trouble, fuss, or commotion — a big to-do, a noisy quarrel, or a drawn-out argument…
- Pan-chicken Jerk chicken cooked and sold from the roadside 'jerk-pan' (steel-drum grill) — smoky…
- Pantomime Jamaica's national musical stage tradition — a lavish, comic, song-and-dance theatre…
- Paper Money — from the paper banknotes it comes in.
- Papine A square and transport terminus at the northern edge of the Kingston area, at the foot…
- Par To hang out with, keep company, or associate with someone — 'mi a par wid mi bredren'…
- Paradise plum A traditional boiled hard sweet, usually two-toned red-and-yellow (or pink-and-white)…
- Parch corn Dry corn kernels parched — toasted in a hot pan or pot without oil until they harden…
- Pardna A traditional rotating savings scheme in which a group of people each pay a fixed sum…
- Pardner A traditional informal savings club — a rotating credit scheme in which a group each…
- Parrot-fish A brightly coloured reef fish with a beak-like mouth, one of the most popular eating…
- Partner banker The trusted person who organises and runs a pardna savings scheme — collecting each…
- Partner domino The pairs form of dominoes — four players in two teams of two, partners sitting…
- Partner draw The lump sum a member receives when their turn comes around in a pardna savings scheme…
- Pastor The pastor or preacher who leads a church congregation — a highly respected community…
- Pasture Pasture — the open grassland where cattle and goats graze, fenced or common.
- Patience man ride donkey The patient person reaches their goal, even if slowly — a man with patience will get…
- Patoo An owl.
- Patty A savoury baked pastry with a flaky, turmeric-tinted crust folded around a seasoned…
- Patty and coco bread The classic Jamaican quick meal: a hot beef (or chicken, or vegetable) patty tucked…
- Patwa The everyday language of Jamaica itself — the English-based creole spoken across the…
- Pawpaw The papaya — a large tropical fruit with sweet, soft, orange flesh, eaten ripe as a…
- Pea-dove A small wild dove of fields and bush, named for its habit of feeding on peas and small…
- Peacock hide him foot 'Peacock hide him foot' — the peacock hides its feet.
- Peanut porridge A warm, creamy breakfast porridge made from ground roasted peanuts blended with…
- Peanut punch A thick, sweet peanut drink blended from peanut butter (or ground peanuts), milk or…
- Pear The avocado.
- Peel-neck fowl A chicken of the naked-neck kind, whose neck is bare of feathers — its skin 'peeled' —…
- Peenie-wallie A firefly or glow-worm — the little beetle that flashes its light in the dark of a…
- Peeny-wally A firefly or glow-worm — the little insect that flashes with a soft light in the dark…
- Pelt To throw or hurl something at a target — most often a stone.
- Pen A livestock property or grazing farm, especially one raising cattle — from the enclosed…
- Peng Attractive, excellent, or top-quality — of a good-looking person ('she peng'), or…
- Pepper elder A common low, succulent-stemmed Jamaican bush with small heart-shaped leaves, valued in…
- Pepper shrimp Small whole shrimp cooked fiery-hot with scotch bonnet pepper and salt until bright red…
- Pepperpot soup A thick, dark-green Jamaican soup made from callaloo and other leafy greens (like…
- Pestle Pestle — the heavy wooden club used with a mortar to pound and grind: spices, coffee…
- Petticoat An underskirt or slip worn beneath a dress or skirt to line it, keep it hanging right…
- Piazza A verandah, porch, or covered walkway at the front of a house or shop — an old-time…
- Pick fowl To pluck the feathers from a killed chicken — usually after scalding it in hot water to…
- Pickapeppa A famous Jamaican brown sauce — dark, tangy, sweet-and-spicy, aged in oak barrels and…
- Pickney A child — whether one's own or any young person.
- Pickney-madda The mother of a man's children — close in meaning to 'babymadda' but with the emphasis…
- Picky-picky Of hair: short, tightly-coiled, and matted or unkempt — 'picky-picky head' describes…
- Pimento Allspice — the dried berry of the pimento tree, and the single most important spice in…
- Pimento leaf The aromatic leaf of the pimento (allspice) tree, used both in cooking and as a bush…
- Pimento walk A grove of pimento (allspice) trees — a 'walk' being a stand of a single crop.
- Pinda cake A hard, crunchy sweet made from peanuts ('pinda') set in melted sugar or syrup, broken…
- Pinnacle The pioneering Rastafari commune founded by Leonard 'Gong' Howell in the hills of St.
- Pit toilet A pit latrine — the outdoor toilet built over a deep dug pit, standard in country…
- Pitchy-patchy A central character of Jonkunnu (John Canoe), the traditional Jamaican Christmas…
- Plaaza A shopping plaza — a small strip mall of shops, offices, and eateries, a fixture of…
- Plait A braid, and to braid — dividing the hair into sections and weaving them together.
- Plantain A large starchy cousin of the banana, eaten cooked rather than raw.
- Plantain porridge A breakfast porridge made from blended green plantain cooked with coconut or condensed…
- Plantain tart A sweet Jamaican pastry of spiced, mashed ripe plantain folded into a half-moon of…
- Planting rain The rains that come to soften the ground for planting — especially the 'May rain' that…
- Play fool fi ketch wise Pretend to be foolish or ignorant in order to outwit the clever and find out the truth.
- Play wid puppy, puppy lick yuh mout Be too familiar or playful with someone beneath you in age or standing and they will…
- Play-play Pretend;
- Plenty Many;
- Plum rose The rose apple — a pale yellow-green, hollow, crisp fruit that smells and tastes…
- Po A chamber pot — the enamel or ceramic pot kept under the bed and used to relieve…
- Pocomania An Afro-Jamaican Revival religion that blends African spirituality with Christianity…
- Poinciana The flamboyant or 'flame tree' — a spreading ornamental tree that bursts into a blaze…
- Police an thief A children's chasing game — the Jamaican cops-and-robbers — where one group are the…
- Politricks Politics reframed as trickery — the deceit, empty promises, and manipulation of…
- Politricksters Corrupt, deceitful politicians — a scornful blend of 'politics' and 'tricksters'…
- Pon On, upon, or at — a core Jamaican preposition worn down from 'upon'.
- Pon di River A dancehall dance and its anthem from Elephant Man — 'Pon di River, Pon di Bank' —…
- Pone A dense, sweet baked pudding — most famously 'sweet potato pone', made from grated…
- Poppyshow A spectacle or a laughing-stock — a ridiculous display that makes a fool of someone.
- Pork Pork — pig meat, eaten roast, stewed, or jerked, though avoided by Rastafari (who keep…
- Porky Plump, chubby, and fat — of a person or animal on the round, well-fed side.
- Porridge Porridge — the thick, warm breakfast cereal cooked from cornmeal, hominy corn, oats…
- Portland A lush, mountainous parish on the north-east coast, its capital Port Antonio — famed as…
- Portmore The large, fast-grown dormitory city just west of Kingston (across the causeway in St…
- Pose To strike a pose and show off — to stand or move so as to be admired, flaunting your…
- Positivity A positive, uplifting spirit and outlook — good energy, encouragement, and good vibes.
- Posse Posse — one's group, crew, or gang of close friends and associates who move together…
- Pot belly A big, round, protruding belly — a 'pot belly' or 'pot-gut', shaped like a cooking pot.
- Pot spoon The big spoon (or flat wooden 'pot stick') used to stir the pot, turn the food, and…
- Potato pudding A dense, moist baked pudding made from grated sweet potato, coconut milk, flour, sugar…
- Pree To observe, study, or pay close attention to something or someone — to check out…
- Prefect A senior student given authority to help keep order among the other students — a mark…
- Prento An apprentice — a young learner attached to a tradesman (a mechanic, mason, tailor, or…
- Prep school A private preparatory school for primary-age children, contrasted with the…
- Press and curl A way of styling Afro hair by first pressing it straight with a heated metal comb ('hot…
- Pressure High blood pressure — 'di pressure' — one of the most talked-about health complaints in…
- Programma A smooth manipulator in relationships — a player who 'programmes' or plays people…
- Proverb A traditional saying — the short, figurative sayings that carry Jamaican wisdom, handed…
- Provision ground The plot of land on which a family grows its 'ground provisions' (yam, dasheen, sweet…
- Provisions A collective term for starchy root vegetables and ground crops eaten as the heavy…
- Pull up To stop a tune abruptly and restart it from the top, at the crowd's demand, because the…
- Pumpkin The Jamaican (calabaza) pumpkin — a dense, sweet, deep-orange-fleshed squash used in…
- Pumpkin soup A thick, golden soup built on Jamaican pumpkin (a firm, orange-fleshed squash) cooked…
- Pumpum A vulgar slang term for the female genitals.
- Punany A vulgar slang word for the vulva/vagina, extremely common in dancehall lyrics.
- Puppa An affectionate word for one's father, and for an older man held in respect and…
- Puppa-lick A somersault — turning head over heels.
- Puppy A puppy — a young dog.
- Pusha A drug pusher or dealer — one who sells drugs on the street.
- Pushcart A wooden or metal cart pushed by hand, used to move goods, produce, and loads —…
- Puss A cat — the ordinary household or yard cat.
- Puss an dawg 'Cat and dog' — the emblem of two who don't get along, forever squabbling, like English…
- Puss an dawg nuh hav di same luck 'Puss an dawg nuh hav di same luck' — the cat and the dog do not have the same luck.
- Puss an dog nuh have di same luck 'Puss an dog nuh have di same luck' — cat and dog do not share the same luck.
- Puss back foot A mild exclamation of surprise, shock, or exasperation — literally invoking a cat's…
- Puss boot Cheap canvas-and-rubber shoes — plimsolls or sneakers of the plainest, most affordable…
- Puss nuh business inna dawg fight 'Puss nuh business inna dawg fight' — a cat has no business in a dog fight, so stay out…
- Pussy A vulgar word for the vulva/vagina, and, hurled at a person, a strong insult calling…
- Pussyclaat One of the strongest Jamaican swear words — an extremely vulgar exclamation of anger…
- Pussyhole A strong vulgar insult branding a person contemptible, cowardly, and worthless —…
- Putus A tender term of endearment — darling, sweetheart, precious one.
Q
- Quadrille Jamaica's traditional formal set-dance — a creolised version of the European quadrille…
- Quarrel To quarrel — to argue, dispute, or fuss loudly with someone.
- Quarter boot A low boot or shoe that rises just to or a little above the ankle — a 'quarter' boot…
- Quashie Originally an Akan day-name (Kwasi, a boy born on Sunday), extremely common among…
- Quattie A very small sum of money — historically a small coin worth a penny-halfpenny in the…
- Quatty buy trouble 'Quatty buy trouble' — a quattie (a penny-ha'penny, the smallest old coin) is enough to…
- Queen A term of respect and endearment for a woman — hailing her as royalty and dignity.
- Queenmother A revered elder woman — a matriarch of deep respect and spiritual standing, in the…
- Queff A vulgar term for a vaginal air-expulsion (a 'queef'), and, hurled at a person, a crude…
R
- Raas A vulgar Jamaican word with two linked uses: a crude term for the backside, and a…
- Raasclaat One of the strongest Jamaican swear words — a forceful exclamation of anger or shock…
- Raashole A strong vulgar insult and expletive — 'raas' (backside/arse) plus 'hole'.
- Raatid A mild exclamation of surprise, shock, or emphasis — close to 'wow!', 'my goodness!'…
- Rachet A folding pocket knife — the classic 'ratchet knife' (often the German-made Okapi)…
- Rad Bold, tough, and daring — sometimes admiringly, of a fearless, cool character, and…
- Rae Town A waterside community in East Kingston, famous island-wide for its legendary…
- Ragamuffin A rough, streetwise ghetto youth — a rude bwoy from the poor inner city, and, worn as a…
- Ragga-muffin A ghetto youth — a rough-and-ready, streetwise young person from the poorer inner-city…
- Rahtid A mild exclamation of surprise, shock, annoyance, or emphasis — roughly 'wow!'…
- Rain Rain — vital and dramatic in the tropics, from a light 'drizzle' to a 'rain a fall bad'…
- Rain a fall but dutty tough Even though help or good fortune is coming down, conditions on the ground remain hard.
- Rain a fall but dutty tuff 'Rain a fall but dutty tuff' — the rain is falling, but the ground stays hard.
- Rain neva fall a one man door 'Rain neva fall a one man door' — rain does not fall only on one man's doorstep.
- Rain nuh fall a one man door Misfortune and hard times do not strike only one person — everyone gets their share of…
- Rainy season The wet part of the year, when the heavy rains come — broadly May to June and again…
- Raise A bit of money earned or scraped together — 'a raise' is a small sum you make from a…
- Ram-goat-dash-along A common wild bush used in Jamaican folk medicine, brewed into a 'bush tea' for colds…
- Rammy A scuffle, brawl, or noisy fight — a sudden burst of pushing, shoving, and flying fists.
- Ramp To play, fool around, or mess about — and, in the common warning 'nuh ramp wid mi', to…
- Rankin A person of high standing and respect — a top-ranking, important figure who has earned…
- Rappa A wrap of cloth — most often a woman's head-wrap or head-tie, wound around the hair…
- Ras An Ethiopian title of nobility meaning 'head' or 'prince' — as in Ras Tafari Makonnen…
- Rasta A Rastafarian — a follower of the Rastafari faith and way of life ('livity'): reverence…
- Rasta tam The large, soft, crocheted or knitted cap Rastas wear to hold their dreadlocks —…
- Rastafari The Jamaican spiritual movement, born in the 1930s, that reveres Emperor Haile Selassie…
- Rat bat The flying mammal — a bat.
- Ratchet A folding pocket knife with a ratcheting lock — the classic 'German ratchet' knife…
- Rate To respect, admire, and hold in high regard — 'mi rate yuh' means I respect you, I…
- Ratta A rat — the larger rodent that gets into the roof, the field, and the storeroom.
- Ratty Ragged, worn-out, and shabby — used of clothes, hair, or things fallen into a tattered…
- Raw Besides uncooked, in slang 'raw' means hardcore, real, and unfiltered — the genuine…
- Razor grass A tall grass with fine, saw-toothed edges sharp enough to slice the skin like a razor…
- Reach To arrive at a destination, or simply to get somewhere.
- Reader A spiritualist or fortune-teller who 'reads' — divines your troubles, your future, and…
- Reading A consultation with a 'science man', reader, or spiritualist who 'reads' your situation…
- Reason To talk things through deeply and openly, especially in the Rastafari way — to sit…
- Reasoning A discussion — especially a deep or spiritual one — a session where Rastafari gather to…
- Red Beyond the colour, 'red' describes a light-brown or fair-skinned Black person — a 'red'…
- Red Ibo An old term for a light-skinned Black person with a reddish complexion — from the…
- Red peas soup A thick, hearty soup of red kidney beans ('red peas') simmered with salt beef or pig's…
- Red skin A light-brown-skinned person — 'red' being the everyday Jamaican skin-tone term for a…
- Red Stripe Jamaica's iconic pale lager, brewed on the island since 1928 and sold worldwide in its…
- Red yeye Covetous and grasping — filled with envy and greed for what other people have.
- Red-eye Covetous and envious — casting a jealous 'red eye' on what other people have and…
- Redemption Deliverance and freedom from bondage — in Rastafari and reggae, the liberation of Black…
- Ref A referee — the official who governs football and other sports, and, more loosely…
- Reggae The world-famous Jamaican music genre that grew out of rocksteady around 1968 — marked…
- Relaxer A chemical cream ('perm') applied to straighten tightly-curled hair, 'relaxing' the…
- Renk Insolent and disrespectful — but also, literally, foul-smelling and rancid, and the two…
- Rent-a-dread A man — usually at a tourist resort — who poses as a Rastafari to charm foreign women…
- Renta yam A well-known Jamaican yam variety with firm, white flesh, popular in the market and the…
- Repeater The English name for the akete — the lead, highest-pitched Nyabinghi hand drum that…
- Respeck Respect — both the regard you show and owe, and a warm greeting or sign-off in its own…
- Respect due 'Respect is owed' — a phrase of acknowledgement, greeting, and giving props.
- Respek Respect — used as a warm greeting, a farewell, and an expression of honour and…
- Revival An Afro-Christian folk religion of Jamaica, blending African spirituality with…
- Revival table The ceremonial table at the centre of a Revival 'table' or feast — spread with a white…
- Rewind The act of spinning a record back to replay a tune the crowd loves — the same, in…
- Rhumba box A large wooden box thumb-piano — the bass instrument of the mento band.
- Rice an peas A staple Sunday-dinner dish of rice cooked with kidney beans (or pigeon peas) in…
- Rice and peas Rice cooked with beans — usually red kidney beans or gungo (pigeon) peas — in coconut…
- Rice bag The large woven plastic (or, older, cloth) sack that rice comes in — and, once empty, a…
- Rice porridge A soft, soothing porridge of rice boiled slowly in plenty of water and milk until it…
- Riddim The instrumental backing track of a reggae or dancehall song — the bass, drums, and…
- Ride out To ride or drive out on the road, especially in a group — a bike run, a bicycle or…
- Righteousness Living right — moral uprightness, justice, and faithfulness to Jah's way.
- Ring game A traditional children's game played in a circle ('ring') with singing and actions —…
- Ringing ear A folk belief that a ringing or burning ear means someone is talking about you.
- Ringworm A fungal skin infection that shows as a round, scaly, itchy patch with a raised ring…
- Ripe Ripe — a fruit ready to eat, soft and sweet;
- Risto An uppity, snobbish person who acts high-class and looks down on others — a clipping of…
- River River — the running fresh water where country folk bathe, wash clothes, catch janga…
- River Mumma The mermaid-like water spirit of Jamaican folklore — a beautiful woman who sits at the…
- Roas breadfruit A whole breadfruit roasted over an open fire or coals until the skin blackens and the…
- Roas corn Corn roasted in its husk over an open wood or coal fire until it is smoky and lightly…
- Roast breadfruit Breadfruit roasted whole over an open fire or coals until the skin chars black and the…
- Roast yam Yam roasted over an open fire or coals until the skin chars and the inside turns soft…
- Robin mango A named Jamaican mango variety — the 'Robin' — a sweet, good-eating mango that holds…
- Robot An unlicensed, unregistered taxi operating illegally for hire — a private car whose…
- Robot taxi An unlicensed, illegal taxi — a private car operating as a public taxi without the…
- Rock cake A small, hard, craggy little cake — the 'rock cake' or rock bun — made from a stiff…
- Rock steady The Jamaican music style that came between ska and reggae in the mid-1960s — slower and…
- Rockers A hard-driving style of roots reggae drumming that emerged in the mid-1970s (a busier…
- Rocksteady The soulful Jamaican genre that came between ska and reggae, roughly 1966 to 1968 —…
- Rockstone A stone or a rock.
- Rockstone a river bottom nuh know sun hot 'Rockstone a river bottom nuh know sun hot' — a stone at the bottom of the river does…
- Rockstone a river bottom nuh know sun hot Those who live in comfort cannot understand the suffering of those who bear the heat of…
- Rod A rod or stick — a fishing rod, a stirring stick, or a straight length of wood or metal.
- Rolling calf One of the most feared duppies (ghosts) in Jamaican folklore — a monstrous spirit in…
- Roots Roots reggae — the conscious, Rastafari-and-social-themed reggae of the 1970s, singing…
- Roots drink A dark, bittersweet herbal tonic brewed from a mix of roots, barks, and herbs —…
- Roots reggae The deep, conscious style of reggae — spiritual and socially aware, steeped in…
- Roots wine A dark, bittersweet tonic drink brewed from a mix of boiled roots, barks, and herbs…
- Rope in To lure, entice, or trick someone into a scheme, deal, or trouble they would otherwise…
- Roti Roti — the soft, flat Indian-derived bread wrapped around curried chicken, goat, or…
- Route taxi A licensed shared taxi that runs a fixed route, picking up and dropping passengers…
- Row di boat A dancehall dance move in which the dancer mimes rowing a boat — pulling both arms back…
- Royal palm The tall, elegant palm with a smooth grey trunk and a crown of feathery fronds, lining…
- Rub-a-dub An early-1980s dancehall style in which a singer and a deejay trade back and forth over…
- Rude Badly behaved, disobedient, or disrespectful — especially of a child who won't listen…
- Rude bwoy A rebellious, streetwise young man — the defiant urban youth archetype that arose in…
- Rudie A 'rude boy' — the rebellious, sharply-dressed street youth of 1960s Kingston…
- Ruff neck A rough, tough, streetwise man of the ghetto — raw, hardened, and unpolished in manner.
- Ruler-lick A blow with a ruler as school or home punishment — a 'lick' (hit) delivered across the…
- Rum bar The small neighbourhood bar — often little more than a counter and a few stools — where…
- Rum cake A dark, dense, deeply spiced fruit cake soaked in Jamaican rum and red wine — the…
- Rum punch The classic Caribbean cocktail of rum mixed with fruit juices, syrup or sugar, lime…
- Run dung A dish made by boiling down coconut milk until it reduces to an oily, custardy base…
- Run weh To run away, flee, or take off — 'weh' being 'away'.
- Rundown A rich Jamaican dish in which fish, classically salted mackerel, or other ingredients…
- Rundung Fish or salt mackerel simmered in coconut milk that has been boiled right down ('run…
- Running belly Diarrhoea — a loose, upset stomach that keeps you 'running' to the toilet.
S
- Saaka-saaka Untidy, messy, disorderly, and all over the place — a close cousin of 'chaka-chaka'.
- Sad-up Downcast and gloomy;
- Salt Unlucky;
- Saltfish Salted, dried codfish — soaked to draw out the salt, then flaked and cooked.
- Same day leaf drop, a nuh same day it rotten The day a leaf falls into the water is not the day it rots.
- Same knife stick sheep, stick goat The same fate or treatment that befalls one can befall another — no one is exempt.
- Same so 'Just the same / exactly like that' — affirms that something is the same as before or…
- Same time 'Right then / at that very moment' — 'same time' marks something happening instantly or…
- Same ting weh tick sheep, tick goat 'Same ting weh tick sheep, tick goat' — the same thorn that pricks the sheep also…
- Same way An expression of agreement or affirmation meaning 'exactly', 'likewise', or 'that's…
- Samfie A con man and the con itself — a trickster who swindles people through deception, false…
- Sandfly The tiny biting midge that swarms on beaches and near the shore, especially in the…
- Sankey A hymn — especially the old, mournful, slow-metre hymns from the Ira D.
- Sapps A soft, weak, spineless person — a wimp or a pushover, easily bullied or taken…
- Sardine Tinned sardines — small oily fish packed in oil or tomato sauce, a cheap and ready…
- Sardine and bread A quick, cheap meal of canned sardines — mashed up with a little onion, pepper, and…
- Satta To sit, rest, meditate, and give thanks — in Rastafari usage, to settle in peaceful…
- Savanna-la-Mar The capital town of the parish of Westmoreland, on Jamaica's south-west coast — usually…
- Sawta Sort of;
- Scallion Spring onion — usually called 'escallion' in Jamaica.
- Scamma A scammer — especially one who works the 'lotto scam', phoning victims (often overseas…
- Scandal bag The thin black plastic shopping bag that every shop and vendor hands out — an everyday…
- Scatta To scatter — to send flying and fly apart in all directions.
- Scheme A housing development or planned residential neighbourhood — a 'housing scheme' of…
- Science-man A practitioner of obeah — one who works 'science', the term for the ritual power to…
- Scornful dawg nyam dutty pudding 'Scornful dawg nyam dutty pudding' — the scornful dog ends up eating the dirty pudding.
- Scotch bonnet A small, extremely hot chilli pepper with a wrinkled, lobed shape resembling a tam…
- Scraper A ridged metal grater (like the kitchen grater) played as a percussion instrument in…
- Scratcha Someone scraping and scratching to get by — a person just barely surviving on little…
- Screechie To sneak, slink, or slip in quietly and unnoticed — to move stealthily so as not to be…
- Screw To frown, scowl, or look vexed — to 'screw' or 'screw up yuh face' is to twist it into…
- Screw-face A scowl — a hard, frowning, screwed-up face that shows anger, contempt, or a foul mood.
- Screwface A sour, scowling facial expression showing displeasure, hostility, or a bad mood;
- Sea The sea — and, by extension, the beach or seaside.
- Sea breeze The cool wind that blows in off the sea, easing the heat of the day along the coast — a…
- Sea cat The octopus.
- Sea cow The manatee — the large, gentle, slow-moving plant-eating sea mammal that lives in…
- Sea moss A drink and tonic made from a dried seaweed that is boiled until it dissolves into a…
- Sea-egg The white sea urchin, and especially its orange roe, eaten as a seaside delicacy.
- Search-mi-heart A small creeping wayside weed used in Jamaican bush medicine, brewed as a tea for…
- Search-mi-heart A common Jamaican weed used as a bush medicine, its vivid name — 'search mi heart' —…
- Season up To season food thoroughly, rubbing and marinating meat or fish with a full mix of herbs…
- Seasoned rice A one-pot dish of rice cooked together with meat, vegetables, and full seasoning —…
- See an blind, hear an deaf 'See an blind, hear an deaf' — see, and be blind;
- Seed Besides the plant seed, in Patois 'seed' means one's offspring — a child, as the 'seed'…
- Seen 'I understand, I agree, got it' — an affirmation used to show you follow and accept…
- Seh Seh — 'say', one of the busiest little words in Patois.
- Sekkle To settle down, calm down, or relax — to come to rest and be at peace.
- Selassie I Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia (1892–1975) — revered by Rastafari as the living…
- Selecta The person who chooses and plays the records at a sound-system dance or on the radio.
- Selector The person on a sound system who chooses and plays the records — the equivalent of what…
- Senseh Senseh — the frizzle-feathered fowl, whose feathers curl outward giving a ragged…
- Senseh fowl A chicken with ruffled, backward-curling feathers that give it a wild, frazzled look.
- Sensimilla Seedless, high-potency ganja — the prized, unfertilised female cannabis flower.
- Session A dancehall event or party where a sound system plays through the night.
- Set a guard To place a protective obeah charm — a 'guard' — to defend a person, home, business, or…
- Set-up A wake — the nightly gathering of family and community at the home of the deceased in…
- Shack A small, roughly built hut or shed of board and zinc — humble one-room housing, or a…
- Shack up To live together as a couple without being married — to 'shack up' or 'live wid'…
- Shak-shak A rattle or maraca — a hand percussion shaker, named for the 'shak-shak' sound it…
- Shakey Unsteady, unreliable, or not to be trusted — of a person, plan, or thing you can't…
- Shame Embarrassed, shy, or bashful — as well as the feeling of shame itself.
- Shame a kill mi 'Shame a kill mi' — I'm dying of embarrassment.
- Shame-mi-lady The sensitive plant (Mimosa pudica) — a low, prickly creeping weed whose fern-like…
- Shell To perform brilliantly and dominate — to tear up a show or shut down a dance.
- Shella One who 'shells' the dance — dominates and destroys it with hot tunes and energy.
- Shepherd The leader of a Revival or Pocomania band — the 'Shepherd' (or female 'Shepherdess' or…
- Shine eye Dazzled by and greedy for material things — used of a person, often a 'shine-eye gyal'…
- Shine head A bald head, or a person with one — the 'shine' being the gleam of a hairless scalp.
- Shop The little corner shop — the small neighbourhood store (often a 'Chin shop') that sells…
- Short pants Shorts — trousers cut off above the knee.
- Short-breath Short of breath — breathing with difficulty, easily winded, or wheezy, as with asthma…
- Shotta A gunman, gangster, or armed enforcer — a 'badman' who carries and uses a gun.
- Show-off One who shows off — a person given to flashy, look-at-me display, flaunting their…
- Shower Shower — a brief fall of rain, and especially the 'sun shower', the odd, brief rain…
- Shub out To shove or push out — 'shub' is the Patois 'shove'.
- Sickness come a horseback, go weh a foot Trouble and illness arrive suddenly and swiftly, but leave slowly and painfully.
- Siddung To sit down — 'sit' plus 'down' run together, with the 'ow' rounded to 'ung'.
- Side ting A secondary romantic partner kept 'on the side' — a fling or side chick that a person…
- Sideboard A long, low cabinet for the dining or front room — with drawers and cupboards below and…
- Sideman The 'other man' a woman keeps on the side, secondary to her main partner — the man 'pon…
- Sight To see, notice, or — especially in Rastafari speech — to perceive and understand with…
- Sight up To perceive, realize, or come to spiritual understanding — to 'see' a truth with the…
- Signal A hand gesture used in the dancehall to show approval and hype for a tune — most…
- Signal di plane A dancehall dance move in which the dancer raises and waves both arms overhead as if…
- Sing-jay An artist who both sings and deejays (chats) — blending melody with rhythmic toasting…
- Singer machine A sewing machine — called a 'Singer machine' generically after the Singer brand that…
- Singjay A performer who blends singing and deejaying — sliding between melodic singing and…
- Single bible The Jamaican name for the aloe vera plant — the thick, spiky succulent whose clear…
- Sinkle bible The Jamaican name for the aloe vera plant — the thick, spiky succulent whose bitter…
- Sinting Something — the Patois pronunciation of 'something'.
- Sipple Slippery or slimy — hard to grip, like a wet rock, a bar of soap, or cut okra.
- Sistren A close female friend, or a group of women bound together by friendship and mutual…
- Six love A total whitewash in dominoes — winning all six games of a set while the other pair…
- Size up To size up — to assess someone or a situation, reading them carefully before deciding…
- Ska The first modern Jamaican popular music genre, from the early 1960s — fast and upbeat…
- Skank To dance to ska, reggae, or dancehall with a loose, bent-forward, arm-swinging step —…
- Skeng Slang for a weapon — a gun or a knife.
- Sketel A derogatory dancehall term for a woman judged promiscuous or low-class — a slur used…
- Skin out To spread wide open — most often, in dancehall, for a woman to open her legs wide while…
- Skin teet To grin or smile broadly — literally to 'skin' (draw back) the lips and bare the teeth.
- Skin up To screw up or wrinkle the face or nose in disgust, disdain, or displeasure.
- Skinout To dance by spreading the legs wide and low — a raw, sexually suggestive dancehall…
- Skipping Jumping rope — a favourite girls' playground game where two turn a long rope while…
- Skoolaz Schoolchildren — students, especially seen in their uniforms crowding the buses, route…
- Sky juice A cheap street treat of shaved or crushed ice packed into a clear plastic bag and…
- Skylark To fool around, waste time, or mess about instead of being serious — 'stop skylark an…
- Slabba Flabby, loose, sloppy, and lacking firmness — of a soft, wobbly body, a limp handshake…
- Slackness Lewd, vulgar, sexually explicit content — especially in dancehall lyrics — and, more…
- Slam In dancehall slang, sex, or a sexual partner — 'a good slam' names a satisfying…
- Slate The small framed writing tablet of dark stone that schoolchildren once wrote on with a…
- Sleep To sleep — plus some Patois turns.
- Sleep nuh hav nuh massa 'Sleep nuh hav nuh massa' — sleep has no master.
- Sleepy Beyond feeling drowsy, in Patois 'sleepy' describes a person who is dull, slow, and not…
- Slimmaz A slim, slender person — or a term of admiration for a slim, shapely woman, as…
- Slippas Slippers — but in Jamaica this means flip-flops or sandals, the everyday open footwear…
- Smaddiness The state of being 'somebody' — dignity, self-worth, and standing as a person who…
- Smaddy Somebody, someone — the Patois pronunciation of 'somebody'.
- Small up To small up — to make smaller, squeeze together, or reduce.
- Small up yuhself A request to make room by shrinking your space, literally 'make yourself small', used…
- Smalls A small amount of money — small change, a little cash, or a modest tip or 'gift' given…
- SMH A texting abbreviation for 'shaking my head' — typed to show disappointment, disbelief…
- Smoka A smoker — the Patois pronunciation of 'smoker', most often meaning a habitual ganja…
- Smuggla A smuggler — one who moves goods, and especially contraband, illicitly past customs and…
- Snake doctor The dragonfly — the darting, glittering-winged insect that hovers over water and grass.
- Snakes and ladders Snakes and Ladders — the classic board game of luck, where a roll sends your piece up a…
- Snapper The prized reef fish — especially the red snapper — that is the classic choice for…
- Sneeze To sneeze — to expel air suddenly and loudly through the nose and mouth, as with a…
- Snook A long, silvery fish with a dark lateral stripe, found around river mouths, lagoons…
- Snow cone Snow cone — shaved ice heaped in a cup or cone and drenched in bright, sweet syrup…
- Snowball A cooling street treat of finely shaved ice packed into a cup or a ball and drenched in…
- So So — a small, hard-working word meaning 'thus', 'like that', 'this way'.
- So cow a grow, so him nose hole a open 'So cow a grow, so him nose hole a open' — as the cow grows, so its nostrils widen.
- So-so Only;
- Soak out To soak something in water to draw out salt, blood, dirt, or bitterness before cooking…
- Sodomite In Jamaican usage, a derogatory slur for a lesbian — a woman who loves women — a…
- Soldier crab The hermit crab — the little crab that has no hard shell of its own and lives inside an…
- Solomon gundy A spicy Jamaican pickled-fish paste — smoked herring (and sometimes shad) pounded fine…
- Sometime-ish Moody, unpredictable, and inconsistent — friendly one moment and cold the next…
- Son Besides one's male child, 'son' is a warm term of address for a younger man or boy —…
- Soon come An assurance that the speaker will return or arrive shortly — 'I'll be right back' or…
- Sorrel A deep-red drink brewed from the dried calyces (sepals) of the roselle hibiscus plant…
- Sorry fi mawga dawg, mawga dawg tun roun bite yuh 'Sorry fi mawga dawg, mawga dawg tun roun bite yuh' — take pity on the scrawny dog, and…
- Sorry fi mawga dog, mawga dog tun round bite yuh Show pity or kindness to an ungrateful person and they will turn on you.
- Soulja A soldier — the Patois pronunciation of 'soldier'.
- Sound boy A member or representative of a sound system — and, in the heat of a sound clash, a…
- Sound bwoy A sound-system deejay or selector — and, especially, a rival one in a 'sound clash'…
- Sound clash A musical battle between rival sound systems, each playing its best and most exclusive…
- Sound system A mobile setup of powerful speakers, amplifiers, selectors and deejays that brings…
- Soundclash A head-to-head competition between rival sound systems, each trying to outdo the other…
- Sour Beyond the taste, 'sour' describes a sulky, bad-tempered, or spoiled mood — a 'sour…
- Sour orange Sour orange — the tart, thick-skinned Seville-type orange whose sharp juice is a…
- Soursop A large, spiny, dark-green fruit with soft, white, tangy-sweet, fibrous pulp, most…
- Soursop leaf The leaf of the soursop tree, boiled into a bush tea widely drunk in Jamaica as a…
- Spanish Town The old capital of Jamaica (until 1872) and the capital of St.
- Spanish wall An old style of house wall built by filling a timber frame with stones, marl, and lime…
- Speaky-spokey Speaking in an affected, over-refined 'proper' English accent to sound educated or…
- Spen To spend — the Patois pronunciation of 'spend', with the final 'd' dropped.
- Spenda A big spender — one who flashes and lavishes money freely, buying rounds, sponsoring…
- Spent Used up, worn out, or drained — of money, energy, or a thing past its usefulness.
- Spice The seasonings that define Jamaican cooking — above all pimento (allspice), scotch…
- Spice bun A dark, sweet, spiced bun — the everyday, year-round cousin of the Easter bun — made…
- Spidah A spider — the Patois pronunciation of 'spider'.
- Spinner A small, thin dumpling rolled between the palms into a little twist or spindle and…
- Spirit-weed A strongly aromatic low herb (culantro / fitweed) with long saw-toothed leaves and a…
- Spit To spit — to force saliva from the mouth.
- Spliff A marijuana cigarette — a hand-rolled joint of ganja, often large and cone-shaped.
- Sports day The big annual school athletics day, when pupils compete in races and field events…
- Spousy A term of address or reference for one's partner or lover — affectionate for a steady…
- Sprat A very small silvery fish, fried whole and crisp — bones and all — and eaten as a…
- Spring A natural source where fresh water rises from the ground — a spring, prized as clean…
- Sprinter A short-distance runner — a source of enormous national pride, for tiny Jamaica is the…
- Squaddie A member of one's crew or close circle — a squad-mate, a tight friend you run with.
- Square Square — the central meeting point of a town or district, the junction where roads…
- Squat To crouch down on the heels — 'squat dung' means to hunker down low, as country people…
- St Vincent yam A Jamaican yam variety — often said quickly as 'sinvincent' — with a soft, floury white…
- Stagga To stagger — to walk unsteadily, lurching and swaying, most often from being drunk, but…
- Stamma A stammer or a stutter — and, by extension, a person who stammers.
- Stamp an go A crisp saltfish fritter — flaked salted cod mixed into a seasoned flour batter and…
- Stamp and go Saltfish fritters — flaked salted codfish mixed into a seasoned flour batter with…
- Stamp foot To stamp the foot hard on the ground — in anger, in protest, in a child's tantrum, or…
- Standpipe A public communal water tap on a post, set in a yard, lane, or street corner, where…
- Star apple A round, deep-purple tropical fruit (Chrysophyllum cainito) whose soft, sweet, milky…
- Stay pon cow back an cuss cow 'Stay pon cow back an cuss cow' — to sit on the cow's back and curse the cow.
- Steam down To cook food — especially fish or vegetables — gently in a little seasoned water or its…
- Step-fada A stepfather — the Patois pronunciation of 'stepfather' ('fada' = father).
- Step-mada A stepmother — the Patois pronunciation of 'stepmother' ('mada' = mother).
- Steppa A bold, forward-moving person who 'steps' with confidence and doesn't back down — a…
- Steppers A militant, driving style of roots-reggae rhythm with a steady four-to-the-floor…
- Steups The written form of the long teeth-sucking sound that expresses contempt, annoyance…
- Stew chicken Chicken seasoned, browned, and stewed down in a rich brown gravy with onion, garlic…
- Stew peas A hearty stew of red peas (kidney beans) cooked down with coconut milk, salted pig's…
- Stinking toe The fruit of the West Indian locust tree (Hymenaea courbaril) — a hard brown pod…
- Stirring stick A wooden stick or paddle used to stir stiff, thick cooking that a spoon can't handle —…
- Stone A stone or pebble — though in Patois the fuller word 'rockstone' is more usual for a…
- Stone Love One of the most famous and longest-running sound systems in the world — the 'Stone Love…
- Stoosh Snobbish, upper-class, or putting on airs of refinement — describing someone who…
- Stout Stout — the strong, dark, sweetish beer, above all Dragon Stout and Guinness, beloved…
- Stranger nuh know where di deep water deh 'Stranger nuh know where di deep water deh' — a stranger doesn't know where the deep…
- Strap The leather strap or belt used to give a beating as punishment — a classic instrument…
- Stretch To stretch — to reach and extend the body, arms, and legs, as on waking or after…
- Strika A striker — the goal-scoring forward in football (soccer), a sport followed with…
- String up di sound To set up and wire the sound system for a dance — connecting the speaker boxes, amps…
- String vest A man's mesh or netted undershirt — the loose, open-weave 'string' vest worn next to…
- Stringy mango A mango full of stringy fibres — the kind you suck rather than slice, working the sweet…
- Strong Strong — powerful in body, spirit, or effect.
- Strong-back Two linked senses.
- Stucky A children's chasing game, a form of freeze tag: whoever is 'it' chases the others, and…
- Studio One The legendary Kingston recording studio and record label founded by Clement 'Coxsone'…
- Stupidness Stupidity, nonsense, or silly behaviour — 'stupidness' (often softened to 'chupidness').
- Stush Posh, high-class, and refined — or, less kindly, stuck-up and snobbish.
- Style To insult, mock, or diss someone — to show them up or put them down in public, often in…
- Style up To dress stylishly and show off your style — to 'style up' yourself is to fix up sharp…
- Suck To suck — to draw on with the mouth: sucking a sweetie, a mango seed, or juice from a…
- Suck-suck A homemade frozen treat of sweet flavoured water or juice frozen in a small plastic…
- Suffera A poor, downtrodden person who bears the daily hardship of ghetto life — one of the…
- Sufferation Suffering, hardship, and oppression — above all the long, grinding struggle of the poor…
- Sufferer A poor, struggling person — one of the downtrodden masses who bear the weight of…
- Sugar Diabetes — 'the sugar', the everyday word for the disease.
- Sugar ant The tiny ants that swarm anything sweet — appearing as if from nowhere the moment…
- Sugar cane The tall grass whose sweet juice is crushed to make sugar and rum — the crop at the…
- Sump'm Something — a heavily compressed pronunciation of 'something', where the middle…
- Sun hot The blazing heat of the sun;
- Sun shower Rain falling while the sun is shining — a light shower out of a bright sky.
- Sunday best Your finest clothes — the good outfit kept for church on Sunday, and for weddings…
- Sunday dinna Sunday dinner — the big, special midday meal that anchors the Jamaican week: rice and…
- Supple-jack A tough, flexible woody vine (or a whip made from it) used as a switch for beating —…
- Supuozin Supposing;
- Susu A rotating savings club of the same kind Jamaicans call 'pardner' — members contribute…
- Susumba Small, round, pea-like green berries — turkey berry, also called 'gully beans' — with a…
- Susumber Small, round, green pea-sized berries — also called 'gully bean' — with a distinctive…
- Swaaty Sweaty — drenched in sweat, as after hard work or in the blazing 'sun hot'.
- Swag Style, confidence, and cool self-presentation — the way you carry yourself, dress, and…
- Swat To strike a quick, sharp, flat blow — to swat, as at a mosquito or a fly, or to give…
- Sweat bee The tiny bee (or bee-like fly) that is drawn to sweat and settles persistently on the…
- Sweep smaddy foot A folk belief that if a broom sweeps over your foot while someone is sweeping, it…
- Sweet Beyond 'sugary', 'sweet' in Patois means delicious, pleasing, or thoroughly enjoyable.
- Sweet cassava The variety of cassava that is low in the toxic compounds and safe to eat after simple…
- Sweet mout A smooth talker — someone with a honeyed, persuasive tongue who flatters and…
- Sweet plantain A ripe plantain — its skin yellow and blackening, its flesh turned soft and sweet — as…
- Sweet potato The starchy, sweet-fleshed tuber that in Jamaica is simply the default 'potato' —…
- Sweet to di belly Deeply satisfying and pleasing — literally 'sweet to the belly'.
- Sweet yam A Jamaican yam variety with a soft, moist, faintly sweet white flesh, valued for its…
- Sweet-mouth Smooth, flattering talk used to charm, persuade, or win someone over — and a person who…
- Sweetheart A romantic partner or object of affection.
- Sweetheart man A woman's lover on the side — a boyfriend or kept man outside of, or in addition to…
- Sweetie A sweet or candy — the everyday word for the boiled sweets, mints, and hard candies…
- Sweetie-come-brush-me A small, very sweet Jamaican mango variety with one of the most charming names in the…
- Sweetsop A knobbly, pale-green tropical fruit (Annona squamosa) with soft, sweet, custard-like…
- Swell-up Swollen — puffed up from injury, illness, an insect bite, or infection.
- Swimma A swimmer — the Patois pronunciation of 'swimmer', with the everyday r-to-a shift (as…
- Swipe To snatch or grab something quickly in one swift motion — often to take it slyly or…
- Syrup Sweet, brightly coloured flavoured sugar syrup — most famously the strawberry-red syrup…
T
- Tallawah Strong, sturdy, fearless, and full of fortitude despite small size — the word carrying…
- Tam A large, round, knitted or crocheted cap — most famously the Rastafari tam, often in…
- Tamarind ball A sweet-and-sour treat made from tamarind pulp kneaded with sugar — and often a little…
- Tamarind switch A thin, whippy rod cut from a tamarind tree, kept for beating children as punishment —…
- Tambourine The jingling hand drum — a small frame with metal discs set in the rim — that drives…
- Tambran Tamarind — the brown pod tree whose sticky, sour-sweet pulp is a Jamaican favourite.
- Tambran ball A sweet-and-sour treat made from tamarind pulp ('tambran') rolled with sugar — and…
- Tambrin Tamarind — the sour brown pod fruit, and the many things made from it.
- Tan To stand — but far more often to stay, remain, or wait, and to describe how something…
- Tan deh Literally 'stay/stand there', from 'tan' (stand, stay, remain).
- Tan far, si good You see a situation more clearly, and judge it better, from a distance than when you…
- Tan pon it long To stay on or stick with something for a long time — to persist, hold your position…
- Tan-up To stand up, or to be standing — from 'tan' (stand, from 'stand') plus 'up'.
- Tangelo A juicy citrus fruit, a cross between a tangerine and a grapefruit/pomelo, with…
- Tantalize To tease, provoke, or torment someone persistently — needling and aggravating them…
- Tap To stop or cease — 'tap it!' means 'stop it!'.
- Tapioca The starch extracted from cassava — used to make a smooth, translucent porridge or…
- Tarpon A large, powerful silver fish with big shining scales, found around coasts, harbours…
- Tarry service A prayer meeting where believers 'tarry' — wait earnestly on God through prolonged…
- Task-work Piecework — labour paid by the completed job or measured 'task' rather than by the day…
- Tata An affectionate and respectful term for an old man, father, or grandfather — a way of…
- Taxi-man A taxi driver — the man who runs a route or charter taxi, a familiar figure of Jamaican…
- Tea In Jamaica, 'tea' means any hot morning drink — not only leaf tea.
- Teacha A teacher — the Patois pronunciation of 'teacher'.
- Tear To tear or rip — but 'tear up' also means to destroy or wreck, and, in dancehall, to…
- Teef To steal — and, as a noun, a thief.
- Teet an tongue mus meet Even the closest people — family, lovers, best friends — will sometimes clash or fall…
- Tegareg A rowdy, unruly, ill-mannered ruffian — a boisterous hooligan with no manners and no…
- Teif To steal;
- Tek To take — in the full range of English senses (grasp, accept, carry, use up) plus…
- Tek baskit carry wata 'Tek baskit carry wata' — to use a basket to carry water.
- Tek care a mi heart A tender plea or trusting request made to a romantic partner — to be gentle with one's…
- Tek in To be taken suddenly ill — to fall sick without warning.
- Tek kin teet cover heart bun To hide deep hurt, anger, or grief behind a smile — putting on a cheerful face ('kin…
- Tek set To fix on someone and harass or torment them persistently — to single a person out for…
- Tek set pon To fixate on and persistently harass, pester, or victimise someone — to 'take set on' a…
- Tek taxi 'Take a taxi' — to travel by taxi, above all the shared 'route taxi' that runs a fixed…
- Tek time An instruction to go slowly, be careful, or handle something gently.
- Tek time mash ant, yuh find him guts Patience and careful, gentle handling accomplish delicate things that force and haste…
- Tek weh To take away or remove — and also to run off or make oneself scarce.
- Tek weh yuhself A blunt command telling someone to leave, clear off, or remove themselves from a place…
- Temper A fit of anger, and the disposition to anger — 'him inna him temper' means he's in a…
- Tenement yaad A crowded inner-city yard of small rented rooms sharing one common yard, kitchen, and…
- Tenement yard A rented urban yard of many small single rooms, each home to a whole family, ranged…
- Tenky 'Thank you' — the everyday Patois 'thanks', warm and quick.
- Testify To stand up in church and publicly tell of God's goodness in one's life — sharing a…
- Testimony A public statement in church of what God has done for you — a personal account of a…
- Tetter A folk name for a patch of skin disease — a dry, scaly, itchy or discoloured spot such…
- Thatch palm A palm whose broad, fan-like leaves are the traditional material for thatching roofs…
- The Rock An affectionate nickname for Jamaica itself — 'the Rock' — used especially by Jamaicans…
- Threads Clothes — slang for one's outfit, especially good, stylish clothes.
- Three quarter Trousers cut to three-quarter length — ending below the knee, partway down the calf…
- Three-foot horse A monstrous spectral horse of Jamaican folklore that gallops on three legs, faster than…
- Throw partner To take part in a pardna savings scheme by paying in your regular contribution —…
- Thyme The herb thyme — a base seasoning of Jamaican cooking, its sprigs thrown into the pot…
- Tiday fi mi, tomorow fi yuh Whatever trouble, loss, or hardship falls on one person today may fall on you tomorrow…
- Tie up In obeah, to bind someone spiritually — to 'tie' a person so as to control, hold, or…
- Tie-head A member of the Revival / Zion churches, so nicknamed because the women wrap their…
- Tie-out To tether a grazing animal — a goat, cow, or donkey — on a rope to a stake or tree so…
- Tief a look To sneak a glance;
- Tief-out Two senses.
- Time longer than rope 'Time longer than rope' — time stretches further than any rope.
- Tin mackerel Canned mackerel — cheap, filling tinned fish that is a mainstay of the Jamaican store…
- Ting A tart, sparkling grapefruit soda made in Jamaica since the 1970s — refreshing, not too…
- Tings a gwaan Things are happening;
- Tings nuh easy 'Things aren't easy' — a plain, common acknowledgement of hard times: money short, life…
- Tinka A thinker — the Patois pronunciation of 'thinker', with the 'th' hardened to 't'.
- Toaster An early sound-system deejay who 'toasts' — chants, rhymes, and talks rhythmically over…
- Toasting Chatting or half-singing rhythmically over a riddim — the Jamaican vocal style, dating…
- Toe-jam The gunk — dirt, sweat, and dead skin — that collects between the toes, especially…
- Too much rat neva dig good hole Too many people working on one task get in each other's way and spoil it — the Jamaican…
- Too much sidung bruk breeches 'Too much sidung bruk breeches' — too much sitting down wears out your trousers.
- Top shotta A top-ranking gunman or gang figure — the highest 'shotta' (shooter/badman), a feared…
- Top-up Prepaid phone credit — and the act of buying it.
- Topanoris Snobbish, uppity, and high-society — stuck-up and putting on grand, upper-class airs.
- Toppa The very best — the top of the top.
- Tote To carry a load — especially a heavy one, and especially balanced on the head or in the…
- Toto A dense, moist coconut cake — a simple baked square of flour, grated coconut, brown…
- Tough hair Coarse, tightly-curled, kinky hair that is 'tough' or 'hard' to comb through.
- Tough up yuh face Steel yourself and put on a bold, unbothered face — to brace yourself and press on…
- Town The city — most often Kingston, the capital, spoken of in contrast to the rural…
- Town-man A city dweller — someone from 'town' (Kingston and the urban areas), as opposed to a…
- Trace To curse someone out loudly and abusively — to quarrel at them with a torrent of…
- Tracing A loud, cutting verbal quarrel — cursing someone out in stinging, insulting language…
- Track and field Athletics — running, jumping, and throwing events — the sport in which tiny Jamaica has…
- Trash-house An old-time hut roofed and sometimes walled with dried plant 'trash' — thatch of banana…
- Travel good A farewell wishing someone a safe journey — 'safe travels', said to a person setting…
- Trench Town A poor but musically hallowed neighbourhood of West Kingston — the cradle of ska…
- Trickify Tricky, cunning, and deceptive — given to tricks and sly manoeuvres.
- Tripe The stomach lining of a cow, cooked long and slow until tender in the hearty dish…
- Tripe and bean A stew of tripe (the cleaned stomach lining of the cow) cooked long and slow with broad…
- Trod To walk, journey, or make one's way through life — used above all by Rastafari for the…
- Trouble deh a bush, Anansi carry it come a yaad Trouble was far away and minding its own business until someone meddled and brought it…
- Trouble nuh set like rain 'Trouble nuh set like rain' — trouble gives no warning.
- True-true Absolutely true, genuine, the real thing — 'true' doubled for emphasis, a classic…
- Trumpet tree A fast-growing tree with big, hand-shaped silvery-backed leaves and hollow, jointed…
- Trumping The rhythmic, foot-stamping, over-breathing worship of Revival and Zion churches —…
- Trus Credit — buying goods now and paying later, on trust.
- Truss To give or take goods on credit.
- Tuff Hard, difficult, or unyielding — 'life tuff' means times are hard, and 'di work tuff'…
- Tumble dung To fall down, topple, or collapse — 'tumble' plus 'down'.
- Tump To punch or hit hard with the fist — to land a heavy, solid blow.
- Tumpa A stump — the short remaining part of a limb, so 'tumpa-foot' describes a person with…
- Tun cornmeal 'Turned cornmeal' — cornmeal stirred ('turned') into a stiff, savoury mound as it cooks…
- Tun up Lively, hyped, and full of energy — at the very peak of excitement.
- Tun-tun A stiff, moulded cornmeal or flour porridge, cooked thick and 'turned' (stirred hard)…
- Tunda Thunder — the Patois pronunciation of 'thunder', with the 'th' hardened to 't'.
- Tunda showa A thunder shower — a sudden downpour with thunder, the heavy, short-lived storm that…
- Tunti A vulgar slang word for the vulva or vagina.
- Turn cornmeal A savoury dish of cornmeal stirred, or 'turned', into a thick, smooth mass as it cooks…
- Twang A foreign or affected accent — especially an American or British one, real or put on…
- Twelve Tribes of Israel One of the main houses of Rastafari, founded in 1968 by Vernon 'Prophet Gad' Carrington…
- Two bull cyaan reign inna one pen Two strong leaders cannot rule the same place at once — like two bulls penned together…
- Two mout Two-faced and deceitful — a person who says one thing to your face and another behind…
- Tye To tie — the Patois spelling of 'tie'.
U
- Uncle An uncle — and, like 'auntie', a respectful courtesy title for any older man, whether…
- Unnu You (plural) — 'you all', 'y'all'.
- Unu The plural 'you' — 'you all', 'you people'.
- Up inna di air 'Up in the air' — unsettled and undecided, or, of a person, putting on airs and acting…
- Upful Positive, uplifting, and encouraging — full of good, rising energy.
- Uptown The wealthier, more affluent parts of Kingston — and, by extension, the whole middle-…
V
- Vaps A sudden impulse, whim, or urge that comes over a person out of nowhere.
- Verandah The porch or covered gallery running along the front or side of a Jamaican house — the…
- Vershun The instrumental 'version' of a reggae tune — the stripped-back rhythm track (the…
- Version The instrumental cut of a reggae song — the bare 'riddim' with the vocals stripped out…
- Vex Angry, annoyed, cross — and as a verb, to anger someone.
- Vex money Emergency money kept in reserve so you can leave a situation the moment it turns sour —…
- Vex-up Worked up and angry;
- Vexation Annoyance, aggravation, or a source of anger — the state of being 'vex' (angry), or the…
- Vibes The feeling, energy, or atmosphere of a place, person, or moment — the whole mood of a…
- Vibes-up To hype up, energise, and create a good atmosphere — to get the 'vibes' (mood, energy)…
- Vienna sausage The little tinned sausages — cheap, soft, and pink — that are a pantry staple in…
- Village ram A very promiscuous man who has been with many women around the district and fathered…
- Voicing In Jamaican studio culture, the act of recording a vocal — singing or deejaying — over…
W
- Waan To want;
- Waata Water — the Patois pronunciation of 'water', with the vowel opened out.
- Wagwan 'What's going on?' — the everyday Jamaican greeting, a run-together of 'what a gwaan'.
- Wah do yuh 'What's wrong with you?' or 'what's the matter with you?' — asked of someone acting…
- Wah fi do 'What can you do?' — a resigned shrug at a situation you can't change.
- Wah gwaan The everyday Jamaican greeting — literally 'what's going on?' It works both as a…
- Wah gwaan bad a mawnin cyaa come good a evenin 'Wah gwaan bad a mawnin cyaa come good a evenin' — what has gone bad in the morning…
- Wah mek An interrogative meaning 'why' or 'what makes it so', literally 'what makes'.
- Wah sweet nanny goat The opening of a well-loved proverb — 'wah sweet nanny goat a go run him belly' — used…
- Wah sweet nanny goat a go run him belly 'Wah sweet nanny goat a go run him belly' — what tastes sweet to the nanny goat will…
- Wah yuh a seh Literally 'what are you saying?', but used as a warm, everyday greeting like 'what's…
- Wake The traditional watch kept over the dead — nights of gathering, singing, prayer, and…
- Walk good A parting blessing meaning 'travel safely' and 'take care of yourself' — a warm wish…
- Wam 'What's the matter?' or 'what's wrong?' — a run-together contraction of 'what happen'.
- Wamp A fake, worthless, or disappointing thing — or a person who turns out to be all show…
- Wan-yeye man a king inna blind man country 'Wan-yeye man a king inna blind man country' — a one-eyed man is king in the country of…
- Wanga An obeah charm or magical working — of African origin — made to bring a specific…
- Wanga-gut Greedy and gluttonous — with an insatiable, grasping appetite for food, and by…
- Wangla A brittle sweet made from sesame seeds bound together with melted sugar or syrup into a…
- Wanti wanti From the proverb 'wanti wanti cyaa get it, getti getti nuh want it' — those who want a…
- Wanti wanti cyaan get it, getti getti nuh want it 'Wanti wanti cyaan get it, getti getti nuh want it' — those who badly want a thing…
- Wanti wanti cyaan getti, getti getti nuh want it Those who badly want a thing can't get it, while those who have it don't appreciate it.
- Wanti-wanti cyaa get it, getti-getti nuh want it 'Wanti-wanti cyaa get it, getti-getti nuh want it' — those who want a thing badly…
- Wash board The ridged board used for hand-washing clothes — you rub the soaped garment up and down…
- Wash meat To rinse raw meat, chicken, or fish before cooking — traditionally with water and often…
- Wash pan A large metal or enamel basin used for washing — clothes, dishes, or bathing a baby —…
- Wash-belly The last-born child of a family — the baby of the household, often especially cherished…
- Wash-out A purge — a cleansing of the bowels taken deliberately for health, using a laxative…
- Waste man A worthless, good-for-nothing man — a layabout with no ambition, no job, and no use to…
- Wasteman A worthless, useless man — a good-for-nothing with no ambition, reliability, or purpose.
- Wata more dan flour 'Wata more dan flour' — there is more water than flour.
- Watch To watch — to look at, observe, or keep an eye on, and often to watch out or be careful…
- Watch night The New Year's Eve church service that runs late into the night to 'watch' the old year…
- Watchekong Cheap canvas-and-rubber shoes — plimsolls or basic sneakers, the kind worn for school…
- Watchie A watchman or security guard — the man who keeps watch over a premises, gate, building…
- Water cracker A hard, plain, round biscuit — the classic Jamaican water cracker — eaten with…
- Water truck A tanker truck that delivers water to homes and communities, especially where there is…
- Water-belly A swollen, fluid-filled belly — the distended abdomen seen in serious illness (such as…
- Waterside The edge of a river or stream where people gather — to wash clothes, bathe, fetch…
- Wattle and daub An old way of building a house wall from a woven framework of sticks ('wattle') packed…
- Waul To howl, wail, or cry out loudly and mournfully — a long, loud lament.
- Weary Tired and worn out — bone-tired from hard work or a long day.
- Weed head A habitual, heavy smoker of ganja — someone forever smoking 'weed'.
- Weh A multi-purpose question and linking word — 'where', 'what', or the relative…
- Weh part Where;
- Weh yuh deh Literally 'where are you?', but used both as a genuine request for someone's…
- Weh yuh seh Two uses.
- Wen chubble kech yuh, pickney shut fit yuh When trouble catches you, a child's shirt fits you.
- Wen coco ripe, it muss buss 'Wen coco ripe, it muss buss' — when the coco is ripe, it must burst.
- Wen dawg a sleep, nuh wake him 'Wen dawg a sleep, nuh wake him' — when the dog is sleeping, don't wake it.
- Wen horse dead, cow fat 'Wen horse dead, cow fat' — when the horse dies, the cow grows fat.
- Wen water throw weh, it cyaa pick up 'Wen water throw weh, it cyaa pick up' — once water has been thrown away, it cannot be…
- Wha nuh dead, nuh dash weh Don't throw away what still has life or use left in it — and, more broadly, never say…
- Wha sweet nanny goat a go run him belly 'Wha sweet nanny goat a go run him belly' — what tastes sweet to the goat now will give…
- Whappen 'What's happening?' — a casual greeting run together from 'what happen'.
- What sweet nanny goat a go run him belly What tastes sweet and pleasurable now will bring you trouble later.
- What yuh do inna dark mus come to light Whatever wrong or secret thing you do in private will eventually be exposed for all to…
- Whatnot A small stand of open shelves for displaying ornaments, photos, china, and knick-knacks…
- Wheel an come again Rewind and play it again — a call, originally from the dancehall and sound-system…
- Wheel an come again The selector's move of stopping a hot tune and spinning the record back ('wheeling') to…
- Wheel up To rewind and replay a tune from the start because the crowd loves it.
- Whelk Whelk — the small sea snail picked off the rocks at the shore, boiled and eaten as a…
- When ashes cold, dawg sleep inna fireside 'When ashes cold, dawg sleep inna fireside' — once the fire has died and the ashes are…
- When cock crow a midnight A folk belief that a rooster crowing at midnight or other odd, unnatural hours (rather…
- When cow tail cut off, God blow fly Providence looks after those who cannot help themselves.
- When fire deh a muss-muss tail, him tink a cool breeze 'When fire deh a muss-muss tail, him tink a cool breeze' — when the fire is at the…
- When fowl drink water, it say tanks to God Always give thanks for what you receive, however small.
- When plantain waan dead, it shoot 'When plantain waan dead, it shoot' — when the plantain plant is about to die, it sends…
- When plantain want dead, it shoot A last, striking flourish often comes just before the end.
- When puss belly full, rat batty bitter When the cat's belly is full, it suddenly finds the rat bitter and not worth catching.
- When ripe fruit ready, it mus drop Everything happens in its own time, and what is ready to end will end — you cannot…
- When trouble tek yuh, pickney shirt fit yuh When hardship strikes, you will accept and make do with what you would never have…
- When yuh buy beef, yuh buy bone You have to take the bad along with the good — nothing comes entirely without drawbacks.
- When yuh go a jackass house, yuh nuh talk bout ears Be tactful about people's sensitive points when you are in their company or on their…
- When yuh hand inna lion mouth, yuh tek it out easy When you are in a vulnerable position or dependent on someone with power over you, act…
- Whentime When;
- Whine To dance by rolling and gyrating the hips and waist in slow, circling motions — the…
- Whip Whip — in modern slang, a car, especially a nice one: 'a criss whip' is a clean, sharp…
- Whirlwind A spinning column of wind — a dust devil that rises on a hot, still day, whirling up…
- Whistling frog A tiny tree frog whose high, piping whistle fills the Jamaican night, especially after…
- White rum Clear, high-strength overproof rum (famously Wray & Nephew) — fiery, cheap, and…
- White-belly dove A Jamaican dove with a pale, whitish breast and belly — the 'white-belly', one of…
- White-liver A folk-belief condition, said of a woman, of having an insatiable sexual appetite —…
- Who baan fi heng cyaa drown 'Who baan fi heng cyaa drown' — he who is born to be hanged cannot drown.
- Who spit inna di sky, it fall inna dem face Whatever harm or disrespect you send out will come back on you.
- Whole heap A great many;
- Wi The first-person plural pronoun — 'we', 'us', and 'our'.
- Wi deh yah We're here;
- Wick The flat cotton strip in a kerosene lamp or a candle that draws up the oil to the flame…
- Wicked Two nearly opposite things, told apart by tone.
- Wid With — the Patois pronunciation of 'with', where the 'th' becomes a hard 'd'.
- Wid a quickness Very quickly;
- Wifey An affectionate term for a serious, committed girlfriend or wife — marking her as the…
- Wifey material A woman regarded as good long-term partner or marriage material — one who is faithful…
- Wild cane The tall wild reed or cane that grows in dense thickets along riverbanks and in damp…
- Willie Bounce A popular mid-2000s dancehall dance — a bouncy, rocking step with a shoulder-and-body…
- Wind Gas in the belly — the trapped air that causes bloating, discomfort, and colic.
- Wine To dance by rolling and gyrating the waist and hips in a smooth, circular motion — the…
- Wine up To roll and gyrate the hips and waist in dance — the signature movement of Caribbean…
- Winjy Small, thin, and puny — undersized and often sickly-looking.
- Wiss A tough, woody climbing vine ('withe') that hangs from trees and winds through the bush…
- Woi An exclamation of sudden pain, alarm, or distress — 'ow!', 'oh no!', 'oh dear!' It…
- Word sound power The core Rastafari principle that words are not neutral — they carry sound, and sound…
- World Dance A classic dancehall dance move created by the legendary dancer Gerald 'Bogle' Levy — a…
- Worried Worried, anxious, troubled in the mind — weighed down by concern over money, a sick…
- Wray and Nephew The iconic Jamaican white overproof rum — 'J.
- Wring neck To kill a chicken by twisting and wringing its neck — the traditional yard method of…
- Wuk To work — 'gone a wuk' means gone to work.
- Wutless Worthless, good-for-nothing, and irresponsible — the Patois form of 'worthless'.
- Wutliss Describes a person who is lazy, irresponsible, and of no good use — especially someone…
X
Y
- Yaad Home — whether one's own house, one's community, or Jamaica itself.
- Yaad-man A Jamaican man — one from 'yaad' (Jamaica, home) as opposed to abroad.
- Yaago 'You are going to' — a run-together of 'yuh a go', marking what someone is about to or…
- Yabba A large, round earthenware pot or bowl of red clay — traditional Jamaican cookware and…
- Yah Here, this place — the everyday word for 'here', as in 'come yah' (come here) and 'wi…
- Yah mon 'Yes, man' — an affirmation meaning yes, sure, of course, or no problem.
- Yah so Right here;
- Yam A starchy edible tuber — a cornerstone 'ground provision' in Jamaican cooking, boiled…
- Yam hill The mound of loose, heaped-up earth into which a yam head is planted so the tuber can…
- Yam-stick A long, straight pole or stake driven into the ground for a yam vine to climb, so the…
- Yamhead A stupid, dull-witted person — a blockhead whose head seems as solid, heavy, and…
- Yampi A small, soft-fleshed variety of yam with a thin skin, prized for its smooth, almost…
- Yard Home — one's house and the ground around it — and, by extension, Jamaica itself when…
- Yard fowl Literally a free-ranging yard chicken that scratches around the home — tougher and…
- Yard-dog The mixed-breed dog kept in the yard as a guard and companion — not a pedigree pet but…
- Yardie A Jamaican — one from 'the yard' (Jamaica), used especially of Jamaicans abroad in…
- Yaso Right here;
- Yawn To yawn — to open the mouth wide and draw a long breath, out of tiredness, sleepiness…
- Yeah man 'Yeah man' — an easygoing 'yes', 'sure', 'of course', or 'no problem', the relaxed…
- Yellow snake The Jamaican boa — the island's largest native snake, yellowish with dark markings…
- Yellow yam The most common Jamaican yam — a large starchy tuber with rough brown skin and firm…
- Yellowtail The yellowtail snapper — a reef fish with a yellow stripe and yellow tail, one of the…
- Yes I 'Yes I' — a Rastafari-inflected 'yes', affirmation, or greeting, where 'I' replaces…
- Yet Yet — up to now, still, so far.
- Yeye The eye — but it carries more than sight.
- Yeye-ball The eyeball — 'yeye' being the Patois for eye.
- Yeye-water Tears — literally 'eye-water'.
- Young bud nuh know storm The young and inexperienced don't recognise danger and won't heed warnings, because…
- Youth A young person — a boy or young man, and a warm term of address for one ('yes, youth'…
- Yow A call for attention or a casual greeting — 'hey!', 'yo!', 'listen up'.
- Yuh You — the ordinary second-person pronoun, singular, serving as subject, object, and…
- Yuh cyaa plant corn an expect peas 'Yuh cyaa plant corn an expect peas' — you can't plant corn and expect peas.
- Yuh good A casual check-in greeting meaning 'are you okay/are you doing alright', asked with…
- Yuh ketch cow by him horn, but man by him word 'Yuh ketch cow by him horn, but man by him word' — you catch a cow by its horns, but a…
- Yuh mad 'Are you crazy?' — an incredulous challenge to someone saying or doing something…
- Yuh nuh see it 'You know? / You see what I mean?' — a rhetorical tag dropped at the end of a point to…
- Yuh play wid puppy, puppy lick yuh mout If you play with a puppy, the puppy will lick your mouth.
- Yuh pretty bad 'Yuh pretty bad' — you are extremely beautiful.
- Yuh see mi A conversational tag meaning 'you understand me?' or 'you know what I mean?' — used to…
- Yuh si 'You see / you know' — a filler and agreement-seeking tag, and a way to press a point…
- Yuh want di egg but yuh nuh want di hen You want the reward but not the work, cost, or responsibility that produces it.
- Yush A casual, energetic greeting between friends — like 'yo!', 'hey!', or 'what's up!'.
- Yute A young person, especially a young man — but also a friendly term of address between…
Z
- Zeen An expression of agreement, understanding, and acknowledgement — much like 'I see'…
- Zinc Corrugated galvanised metal roofing sheet — the wavy 'zinc' that roofs countless…
- Zinc fence A fence made of sheets of corrugated galvanised metal ('zinc') — the ubiquitous rusting…
- Zion The promised land of Rastafari belief — Africa, and Ethiopia in particular — understood…
- Zion train A spiritual image of the journey to Zion — the promised land of Africa, redemption, and…