get one’s chippy on v. phr.— «“It says ‘I’m gonna get my chippy on.’ What does that mean? Chips?” Choc takes a beat. Looks at me like I’m nuts. “My chippies,” Choc says. “Chips is money. Cheddar. Whatever…dollar...
one-time n.— «A disheveled black man rides close to the car on his bike and taunts us. “I know what time it is,” he says. “‘One time’ means police,” Feldtz says. “That’s what they call us, ‘one time.’”» —“Inside the...
box n.— «It’s where the drugs are. Where the crack is. An area that soft-spoken, veteran police Lieutenant Lionel Garcia calls “the box.” It’s an informal term in cop-speak that means the floating area of most concentrated...
sketch n.— «I caught him wandering Alameda and Seventh streets in the late morning after a decidedly rough night, trying desperately to break out of a sketch with a Happy Meal.» —“Inside the Box With the Super Dope...
Suck n.— «The tagline for Sam Mendes’ war movie ”Jarhead” is ”Welcome to the Suck.” ”The Suck” in this case is happily not the movie. Like the film’s title, which is slang for a Marine grunt, ”the Suck” is Marine slang for...
tombstoning n.— «Morris also told of recent indications that Medicaid, Social Security and other HEW claims are being filed in the names of dead persons. The subcomittee chairman, Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.), called this “tombstoning...