AAVE and hip-hop slang for holding a firearm sideways — rotating the gun 90 degrees so it's horizontal rather than vertical when firing.
AAVE and hip-hop slang for holding a firearm sideways — rotating the gun 90 degrees so it's horizontal rather than vertical when firing. The style became iconic through 1990s gang culture and was heavily popularised by movies and music videos. Tactically it's considered impractical (it seriously affects accuracy), but visually it became a strong cultural symbol. The term is widely referenced in rap lyrics, films, and video games.
Add your own interpretation of "gangsta hold".
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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(slang, automotive, AAVE) A driving position in which the driver holds the wheel with the hand nearest the window while leaning toward the passenger seat or sitting in a very reclined position.
(AAVE, slang, intransitive) To maintain control of a situation or location.
(slang) A robbery at gunpoint.
(AAVE, slang, intransitive) To hold up one's side in a relationship.
Every action movie from the nineties had someone using the gangsta hold like it was the coolest thing ever.
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(slang, AAVE) The act of holding a gun sideways.
"gangsta hold" means: The act of holding a gun sideways.. It carries a violent or aggressive reference, so it is worth noting the context. In most cases the word is used jokingly or for emphasis rather than as a sign of real intent. A calm question about where it was heard is usually all that is needed; pay more attention to behaviour and tone than to the word itself.
"gangsta hold" means: The act of holding a gun sideways.. Register: informal slang, fine in casual conversation, texting and social media but not in academic essays, business writing or formal speech. Note the regional or dialect label (AAVE) — usage may sound odd outside that variety. A common non-native mistake is to use the word in the wrong register, or to assume one fixed meaning when it is actually polysemous; always check the surrounding register and the audience before producing it yourself. In formal writing, prefer a neutral synonym or a short descriptive phrase, and use this word only when you have heard or read it being used naturally in a comparable context.
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