Many of our words can also be verbs, nouns, adjectives - take yuh pick - depending on the use.
Also, is there really a right or wrong spelling?
A
ah : I
ahow : weird, any feeling out of the ordinary
allyuh : you all
ayeyayaye : sound of exasperation; OYE! (altho, as usual who the hell knows how this is spelled)
B
beppin: nodding off/trying hard to stay awake/fighting sleep...u know like when u nod off and the jerking motion wakes u up and u try to pretend it didn't happen
better fete: our version of "better yet", even better
bhaji: a green leafy vegetable that could be spinach cousin
boatride: fete on a boat - boat goes out sailing for the duration of the party and then docks at the end
bol'face: pushy, unreasonably and shamelessly demanding
Boil down like bhaji: settled down/relaxed
(to) bouf (really have no idea how to spell this word): to chastise; also used like "yuh get bout"
bong to: bound to
boss/bess: best, excellent, rhell good
brackets: () parentheses
breakfast fete: party that starts at the crack of dawn. usually attended right after another party. Best if it is outdoors and u get to see the sun come up
bucket ah drop: a whole lot; rhell rhell rain. okay so i normally use this to describe how much rain might be coming down but figured it was applicable to get my point across with my sweating that one day fus i was sweating profusely
buh wha d: an expression to show how dare u? as in what the jail/ass/fcuk/any of those kinda terms...a contraction if u will of the entire expression (not sure how else to describe this)
C
carnival jumbie: someone who cannot get enuf of carnival. LOVES the music, the vibe, goes to all the fetes, will attend carnivals in all countries (at least once if they can) - a fanatic, if you will
catspraddle: fall
(to) chain up: instigate
chile: child
(to) check: to visit
chounx: a wee bit
coff down: hit someone with your fist i.e. like boxing
cooler fete: a fete where patrons walk with their own coolers full of whatever they want to eat/drink. coolers can homemade, makeshift, whatever vessel they want that they can fill up. Drinks are not normally sold because only idiots will pay for drinks at a cooler fete! lol
cyah: cannot
D
d; the
daiz: that is
dem: them
doh: don't
doubles: Trini street food; a "sandwich" (if u will) made up of 2 bara (flat fried dough (fluffy and light)) and filled with curry flavoured split peas
E
eh: a question - excuse me? also can be used to say that something is not being done, not happening ie I eh doing that! when used twice like "eh eh", it means no
eh heh (hmmmmm how to describe this?): said with a questioning intonation but of course no answer rhelly expected like oh yeah? that's what u think? oh really?
F
fas: nosy
fete: big big party - drinks, music, plenty people
fus: not sure how to describe this...used for emphasis as in "I was sleeping blissfully this morning - not even dreaming FUS it was a good sleep!"
G
geezanages: sound of exasperation like geez louise
gimme ah bligh: give me a free pass/go easy on me - anything along those lines
goatmout: HAH...this is actually "goat mouth" but who has time to pronounce and/or write that properly. Anyway, when we say u putting goatmout on somebody, it means that you are jinxing them or bringing them bad luck.
gyurl: girl
H
hadda: have to
hol it dong: an expression like "take care" that you'd say to someone as you're leaving
house and land: a very large umbrella
I
I eh go lie: I'm not going to lie
in ah bunguhlation: who knows how to spell this? not me…anyway an expression we use to describe an abundance of (whatever you're describing)
J
Jibbin: Chilling out, relaxing, shooting the breeze
J'ouvert (pronounced "joo-vay"): derived from French patois and means daybreak. it marks the official start of carnival at home and begins at 4am on Carnival Monday morning.
L
lil: little
lime: hangout - wasting time talking about nothing for hours and hours on end...can involve food, drinks or music; can be planned or impromptu (these are the best ones)
M
make ah turn: go somewhere
maxitaxi: A passenger van used for public transport...passengers know where it'll be going based on the colour of its stripes
mornin mornin: good morning; also mornin neigbour
Me eh know: I don't know
meh: my, me (depending on the context -of course)
My ass is grass: shit out of luck, up a creek without a paddle, all those types of expressions
N
normelnormel: normal (it's a Trini thing, you wouldn't understand 🙂
O
ole talk: banal chitter chatter, shooting the breeze, jes talking
P
pace: hectic non stop goings on
pholourie (puh-lorr-rie): Trini street food; balls of split pea flour deep fried and served with some kind of chutney
play mas: jump up (in the parade) in costume with your band of choice during carnival
poc: Not sure that I can write a definition for this but ... So if someone asks you to do something for them, we like to respond, "what happen? Yuh hand poc?" meaning Is something wrong with your hands that you can't do it yourself?
poemeone: woe woe woe is me
R
Rum Punch: Here's the recipe, "1 of sour, 2 of sweet, 3 of strong, 4 of weak (or any other combination preferred by maker)'
rhell: real (i spell it how we says it...we don't say "R-E-E-L, we say something like R-E-A-L)
S
small ting: this one is hard…things that you not going to get your panties in a bunch over; stuff that you are willing to let go, no big deal
stickin: hesitating, "hemming and hawing"
steups: a sound made by sucking one's teeth; also known as chups, schups - signifies exasperation, frustration, indifference
to storm: to show up uninvited or without paying to get in somewhere
sweet drinks: soda, pop, carbonated drinks
sorrel: drink made from the sorrel flower primarily at Christmas; flavor can be enhanced with Cherry Brandy or other type of alcohol
T
take in front: being proactive
ting: thing
toute bagai: French creole slang we use to denote everything, all things, the whole shebang
W
wha's: what is
wha yuh go do: what can u do
wine: the dance of soca - gyrating your hips/waist (NOT shoulders) to the beat of the music with or without a partner
wha'am: what happen
whiteman: bruise that occurs when skin comes off and instead of blood you see white
Y
yuh: you or yours depending on the context