Four Hundred

"Four Hundred" means a short-lived oligarchy that replaced the democratic government of ancient athens following the athenian coup of 411 . It is one of many casual words teens pick up from friends, social media, music or sport, and on its own it carries no particular warning. If you hear your teen use it, it is fair to ask what they mean by it in their friend group, since meanings drift quickly. Asking out of curiosity rather than alarm tends to keep the conversation open and useful.

"Four Hundred" is informal English meaning a short-lived oligarchy that replaced the democratic government of ancient athens following the athenian coup of 411 . It is used widely across English varieties. A more formal or neutral equivalent would be something like "a short-lived oligarchy that replaced the democratic government of ancient athens following the athenian coup of 411 " expressed in standard vocabulary. A common mistake is to assume "Four Hundred" can replace its standard equivalent in every register; keep it for spoken or casual situations and use the formal form in writing.