Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Ghetto Vocabulary

I started watching The Wire recently, and it made me realize that I am not as fluent in Ebonics as I'd like to be. I really want to increase my ghetto vocabulary, and a trip to Tee's Ribs 'N' Things a few days ago added to my urban education. For example, I learned the Law of BBQ.
Law of BBQ: Bar-b-que is better from restaurants with bars on the windows.

Tee's had the best BBQ I've ever had, and the ghetto-fabulousity of the place made the experience even better. There were bars on the windows, a sign declaring "No Guns Allowed," and a bike with stolen tires tied to a meter out front. There was also a sign that I took a picture of saying "No O Dawgs Allowed." Being a curious little blonde girl with poor impulse control, I asked the cashier "What's an 'O Dawg?'"

If you don't already know, take a guess before you read on. Is an "O Dawg" some kind of weapon? Drug? A new breed of trouble-causing hoodlum?

An "O Dawg" is a big T-shirt with the arms cut off, so the arm holes make big "O" shapes. Now that you know what an O Dawg is, please, don't wear one. Nobody wants to see that.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Except for Brad Pitt. I will take him in an O Dawg any day. Wanna see?

http://perezhilton.com/2008-01-21-warning-may-induce-heat-stroke

g.

Anonymous said...

FYI . . .Ebonics does not equal ghetto vocabulary. While the conversations on "The Wire" are certainly ghetto, the conversations represent Baltimore street vernacular (I'm sure that you understand how the vernacular may change from region to region since you are from Troy, AL) Thus, it follows that what you heard on "The Wire" was not Ebonics.

Just wanted to point this out.

Sharon said...

Sure, but the local vernacular spoken on The Wire is a form of Ebonics.

Anonymous said...

I think usage of the term "Ebonics" reeks of late-nineties white middle class pretension. I mean, wasn't it on the cover of TIME?

g.

Sharon said...

I'll agree with you on that one, g. At least it's a funny word though.

Anonymous said...

Third-wave feminism = SHEbonics.

g.

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