| Slang
of the Week: diss (verb)
disrespect
ho/hoe (noun)
prostitute or easy woman
Example:
The presidential candidate claimed to be a family man, but after he
was photographed in his car with a ho, his party dissed
him and his political career was over.
Celebrity quote:
“I am so angry, Nicole Kidman dissed me acted like
she didn't know who I was, Michelle Sarah Geller or whatever her name
is, ya know Buffy the crocodile slayer ho, acted like
she was the queen backstage or something. I am so angry, wait until my
next album I am going to write a song about them.”
-Eminem, talking about his bad experience at the MTV Music Awards
Eminem probably knows that Buffy slays vampires and not crocodiles –
that’s just his way of dissing her. It’s
something he does a lot, especially to other musicians. He calls dance
music king Moby a “bald headed fag” (fag
is a derogatory term for homosexual) in Without Me. In The
Real Slim Shady, he accuses Christina Aguilera of being a ho.
And he has also written songs dissing his mother and
his ex-wife, Kim. You would think a guy named after a chocolate candy
would be sweeter!
Ho comes from the standard word whore (prostitute) and
has long been popular in Christmas related jokes. (What did Santa say
when he walked into the whorehouse? Ho! Ho! Ho!) In hip
hop music, it is possible to find examples where it is simply intended
to mean “woman”, but most women are offended by all uses of
the term.
On the other hand, the word also expresses laughter, and it is often used
in that way. So if you don’t live in the US but come for a visit,
don’t be shocked if you see Ho-hos snack cakes
in the grocery store. Apparently, manufacturer Hostess (which also produces
the famous Twinkie snack cake) wasn’t worried that people would
misunderstand when they introduced it in the late 1960s, even though the
slang word had been around for at least ten years at the time.
What’s new at Slang City?
Eminem by request! We translate his song Sing
for the Moment for a fan from France. Also in MUSIC check out Eminem’s
Lose Yourself.
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