Pro wrestling, a fake sport with a very real following, has a trove of lingo all its own that can be found in the newsletter and website PW Torch. One saying, “red means green,” refers to the fact that a wrestler who winds up bloody will get a...
Who you calling a jabronie? And what exactly is a jabronie? (Or a jaboney, jadroney, jambone, jiboney, gibroni, gibroney, gabroney, jobroni, jobrone, etc.) Grant traces this playful insult, meaning a “rube” or “loser,” to the 1920s, when Italian...
Here’s a variant of a phrase that’s familiar to many African-Americans, but virtually unknown to most others: “I’m so broke I couldn’t buy a louse a wrestling jacket.” What’s its meaning and origin? It’s also heard “buy a flea a wrestling jacket” or...
shit the bed v. phr.— Note: Used in professional wrestling to mean “have stage fright” or “to be unable to go through with a plan.” «A: It is the total package, yes. It is the charisma. It the ability to take the audience on a ride. It is hopefully...
worked adj.— «At this point it is unsure if this is real or “worked” (a professional wrestling term meaning “scripted”) but all early indicators point to this event being a real life situation.» —“Wrestling Superstar Scott Hall a “No-Show” for...
cut a promo on someone v. phr.—Gloss: in professional wrestling, to record a promotional video containing taunts and trash talk about an upcoming opponent. «The former Ravens teammates have engaged in a war of words recently—or, to use wrestling...