Trini slang dictionary
Heard someone call the fete bess, or say they have a tabanca? This is your plain-English guide to the Trini slang, words and phrases you will hear in Trinidad and Tobago, from the mas camp to the doubles stand.
50 terms, A to Z.
B
- Bacchanal/BAK-uh-nal/nounA word that covers any wild commotion: scandal, a fight, confusion, gossip, or a riotous good time.Everyday talk
- Bake and shark/BAKE an SHARK/nounSeasoned fried shark served hot in a puffy fried bake (bread), loaded at the counter with sauces such as chadon beni, tamarind and garlic, plus pineapple and salad.Food
- Bazodee/bah-zo-DEE/adjectiveDazed, confused and disoriented, most often because of love.Everyday talk
- Bess/BESS/adjectiveExcellent, awesome, or very attractive, depending on what it describes.Everyday talk
- Bobolee/BOB-oh-lee/nounA stuffed effigy of Judas Iscariot, made from old clothes, that communities beat with sticks on Good Friday.Everyday talk
C
- Callaloo/KAL-uh-loo/nounA thick green soup made from dasheen leaves, coconut milk, ochroes (okra) and pumpkin, sometimes with salted meat or crab.Food
- Chip/CHIP/verbTo shuffle your feet along to the beat of the music, the steady, easy dance step that carries masqueraders for hours down the road.Carnival
- Chutney/CHUT-nee/nounIndo-Caribbean dance music rooted in the traditional songs sung by women at Hindu weddings, played on instruments such as the dholak drum and dhantal.Music
- Commess/kuh-MESS/nounConfusion, mix-up and juicy drama, usually involving gossip and other people's business.Everyday talk
- Corn soup/KORN soop/nounA thick split-pea soup with chunks of sweetcorn, vegetables and small dumplings.Food
- Cyah/KYAH/verb (auxiliary)'Can't'.Everyday talk
D
- Dimanche Gras/dee-MAHNSH GRAH/nounCarnival Sunday, and the big night-time show held that evening at the Queen's Park Savannah in Port of Spain.Carnival
- Doh study it/DOH STUH-dee it/phrase'Don't worry about it' or 'don't pay it any mind'.Everyday talk
- Dotish/DOH-tish/adjectiveFoolish, silly or plain stupid.Everyday talk
- Doubles/DUB-bulz/nounTrinidad's favourite street snack: two pieces of soft fried bara bread with curried channa (chickpeas), dressed with cucumber, pepper sauce and chutneys.Food
E
F
J
- J'ouvert/JOO-vay/nounThe pre-dawn street party that opens Carnival, starting in the dark hours of Carnival Monday (from 4am).Carnival
- Jab Jab/JAB jab/nounA traditional devil mas character.Carnival
- Jab Molassie/JAB moh-LASS-ee/nounThe molasses devil, one of the oldest forms of devil mas.Carnival
- Jumbie/JUM-bee/nounA spirit or ghost, usually a troublesome one, in Trinidad and Tobago folklore.Everyday talk
- Jump up/JUMP up/verb and nounTo dance and jump with the crowd to soca or steelband music, especially on the road at Carnival.Carnival
K
L
- Las lap/LAHS lap/nounThe last lap: the final hours of Carnival on Tuesday evening, when revellers follow the music trucks for one more jump before the festival ends and Ash Wednesday arrives.Carnival
- Lime/LIME/noun and verbTo hang out with friends, with no agenda beyond good company.Lime & fete
- Liming/LYE-ming/verb (present participle) and nounThe act of hanging out: chatting, eating, drinking and passing time with friends.Lime & fete
M
- Maco/MAH-koh/noun and verbA nosy person who minds everybody's business but their own, or the act of being nosy.Everyday talk
- Macocious/mah-KOH-shus/adjectiveNosy, always curious about other people's drama.Everyday talk
- Mamaguy/MAH-mah-guy/verbTo sweet-talk, flatter or fool someone with insincere praise.Everyday talk
- Mas/MAHS/nounShort for masquerade.Carnival
- Mas camp/MAHS kamp/nounThe home base and workshop of a mas band, where costumes are designed, built and assembled.Carnival
- Moko jumbie/MOH-koh JUM-bee/nounA stilt-walking masquerade character towering over the crowd on stilts that can be 10 to 15 feet tall, in bright costumes with long pants or skirts.Carnival
O
P
- Pan/PAN/nounThe steelpan, the tuned steel drum born in Trinidad, and by extension the whole steelband movement.Music
- Panorama/pan-oh-RAH-mah/nounThe national steelband competition, held in the Carnival season and the biggest stage of the year for pan.Music
- Panyard/PAN-yard/nounThe home base of a steelband, where the instruments are kept and the band rehearses.Music
- Pelau/peh-LOW/nounA one-pot dish of rice, pigeon peas and meat (often chicken), browned in caramelised sugar and usually cooked in coconut milk.Food
- Picong/pee-KONG/nounTeasing, mocking banter, sometimes biting but usually in good humour.Music
- Playing mas/PLAY-ing MAHS/verb phraseTaking part in Carnival as a masquerader in costume, crossing the stage and dancing through the streets with a band, rather than watching from the side.Carnival
R
S
- Soca/SOH-kah/nounThe high-energy dance music of Carnival, created in the early 1970s by Lord Shorty, who blended calypso with Indian rhythms and instruments such as the dholak and dhantal.Music
- Steups/STEWPS/noun and verbThe long sucking-of-the-teeth sound Trinidadians make to show annoyance, contempt or disbelief.Everyday talk
- Sweet hand/SWEET hand/noun phraseA gift for cooking.Food
T
W
- Wajang/wah-JANG/noun and adjectiveA badly behaved, rough or unworthy person, or behaviour of that kind.Everyday talk
- Waz de scene/WAZ deh SEEN/phrase (greeting)Literally 'what is the scene?'.Everyday talk
- Wine/WINE/verb and nounTo dance by rolling and gyrating the hips and waist to the rhythm.Carnival
- Wotless/WOT-less/adjectiveLiterally 'worthless'.Lime & fete
How we put this together
Every entry lists the sources we used, and terms we could not yet confirm are marked as still being checked. Many of these words are said far more often than they are written, so expect a few spellings.
Know a better example or a word we missed? Tell us. To hear the words in action, start with the soca hub.