(AAVE) Bad, not good; (by extension) ugly or crazy.
(AAVE) Bad, not good; (by extension) ugly or crazy.
"You hear his new one Tha Carter III? Sixteen cuts, they all good. Not one of 'em bootsy." Skinny Pimp said, “Fifty's the bigga nigga. Boy got some knock."
Bootsy means: Bad, not good; (by extension) ugly or crazy.. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than risky behaviour. If your teen uses it, context will usually make the intent clear. A short, curious question about where they heard it is usually all that is needed to know whether to follow up. For most families this word will pass by without incident; it is more a vocabulary curiosity than a parenting concern.
Bootsy means: Bad, not good; (by extension) ugly or crazy.. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than risky behaviour. If your teen uses it, context will usually make the intent clear. A short, curious question about where they heard it is usually all that is needed to know whether to follow up. For most families this word will pass by without incident; it is more a vocabulary curiosity than a parenting concern.
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
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Slang from Black American Vernacular English (AAVE), hip-hop, drag and ballroom culture, the Caribbean, and NYC street vocabulary. The single largest source of new mainstream English slang in living memory.
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Browse all slang words starting with B.
(drag slang) Used as an intensifier: very, to a great degree; exceptionally.
(AAVE, slang) The genitals.
(AAVE, slang) Extremely good; excellent.
Bootsy mode is the state of operating at an aggressively low standard — when someone has fully committed to being off, sloppy, or chaotic and shows zero signs of pulling it together. It's not just a bad day; it's a lifestyle choice, at least temporarily. A group chat goes bootsy mode when everyone starts sending unhinged memes instead of answering the question. Your coworker is in bootsy mode when they reply-all with a typo-ridden email at 4:58 PM on a Friday. The key element is that the person in bootsy mode is clearly aware and simply does not care.
William Earl "Bootsy" Collins (born October 26, 1951) is an American bass guitarist, singer, and songwriter.
bootsy means: Bad, not good; (by extension) ugly or crazy.. Register: neutral, standard English. A common learner mistake is using the word in a register it does not fit, or assuming a single global meaning; native speakers immediately notice when slang appears in formal contexts, so always check the surrounding register before producing it yourself. A formal-English equivalent (a synonym or descriptive phrase) is usually safer in writing. When in doubt, paraphrase rather than reuse the slang form.
““May the Force Be With You” Bootsy Collins — Bootsy? Player of the Year (1978)”
“🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on #KEXP's #VarietyMix Bootsy Collins: 🎵 May the Force Be With You #BootsyCollins ▶️ 🪄 Automagic 🔊 show 📻 playlist on Spotify ▶️ Song on #Spotify:”
“William Earl "Bootsy" Collins (born October 26, 1951) is an American bass guitarist, singer, and songwriter.”
“He later formed his own P-Funk side project known as 'Bootsy's Rubber Band'.”
“Parliament-Funkadelic bassist Bootsy Collins.”
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