Rosalind from Montgomery, Alabama, says her mother used to scold her for acting like a starnadle fool. The more common version of this term is starnated fool, a term that appears particular to Black English, and appears in the work of such writers...
In Black English, the word trifling describes a person who lacks ambition or fails to keep promises. Former President Barack Obama used it that way in his memoir Dreams from My Father (Bookshop|Amazon). This is part of a complete episode.
Wilson in Charleston, South Carolina, stopped using the term conversate after being told it’s not a real word. On the contrary, conversate is well-established in Black English as a verb that suggests speaking in a register that’s warmer...
Mickey from Austin, Texas, is curious about a phrase his mother uses: Are you smelling what I’m stepping in? meaning “Do you understand what I’m saying?” It likely derives from Black English Do you smell me? and Do you feel...
Oh, those saditty gals think they’re all that, don’t they? Saditty, or seditty, goes back to the 1940s, where it first appears in news articles from African-American publications. It applies primarily to women act like they’re...
dry snitching n.—Gloss: to reveal a secret or to draw unwanted attention to another person under the guise of doing it accidentally, doing it for the person’s own good, or being helpful. Mainly used in Black English and hip-hop culture...
