throw it up
v. phr.— «She and other deputies exchange gang information. “Kids try to fly in under the radar, try to keep their gang links secret.” But, she said, you might see a student “throwing it up,” jargon for making gang hand symbols, and that’s when she moves in.» —“Resource officer battles gang activity” by Hugh Muir Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg, Maryland) Nov. 6, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
In Cockney rhyming slang, apples and pears is a synonym for “stairs,” and dustbin lids means kids. Plus, sniglets are clever coinages for things we don’t already have words for. Any guesses what incogsneeto means? It’s the...
Aubrey in Waco, Texas, says her mother used to warn the kids against contracting honkus of the bonkus, a fanciful name for a contagious disease. This colloquial term probably comes from the words bonk and konk, meaning “to hit” or...