shotta
n.— «“Shottas,” a slick but dull new shoot-’em-up from Jamaica, doesn’t penetrate the mysteries of high-rolling, high-risk thug life. It perpetuates them. In the local patois, the title means “gangsta,” and that appears to be the most aspired-to occupation.» —“Violent and slick ‘Shottas’ lacks perception and a pulse” by Wesley Morris Boston Globe (Massachusetts) NOv. 3, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
In the 15th century, the word respair meant “to have hope again.” Although this word fell out of use, it’s among dozens collected in a new book of soothing vocabulary for troubled times. Plus, baseball slang: If a batter...
The term skycap for workers who help with luggage at an airport was coined by analogy with redcap, a term for porters on trains who wore red caps. Skycap was the winning entry in a contest. Another contest, held in 1923, gave us the word scofflaw, a...