lung, n. — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

lung n.

[note SE lungs, the fire-blower for a chemist]

1. in pl., a powerfully-voiced person.

1755

Johnson Dict. Eng. Lang. (1785) n.p.: Lungs. Formerly a cant term denoting a large and strong-voiced man.

2. (orig. US, also lungers) in pl., the female breasts; occas. in sing., thus lungy adj., having large breasts.

1932		joke cited in G. Legman Rationale of the Dirty Joke (1972) I 75: Teacher has a sweater like that, and every time she bends down, her lungs fall out.
1966		Trimble 5000 Adult Sex Words and Phrases.
1972		D. Jenkins Semi-Tough 19: She obviously has a whole bunch of dandy lungs underneath a silk blouse.
1976		D. Ireland Glass Canoe (1982) 136: I was there when this big girl took a fancy to him [...] She stepped out in front of him and bumped his chest with one enormous lung.
1982		Maledicta VI:1+2 (Summer/Winter) 132: Chichi (breasts, boobies, grapefruits, headlights, lungs).
1983		R. Aven-Bray Ridgey-Didge Oz Jack Lang 35: Lungers Female breasts.
1995		G. Pelecanos Down by the River 127: [M]agazines whose covers almost exclusively featured women with extralarge lungs.
2000		R.G. Barrett Leaving Bondi (2013) [ebook] ‘You’ve sure got a good set of lungs on you, Roxy. I mean . . . noisewise’.
2006		MrSkin.com 🌐 The latest installment of the star opera, Enterprise, starring lungy Jolene Blalock.

3. (US) constr. with the, tuberculosis.

1953

Kramer & Karr Teen-Age Gangs 154: ‘I got the lungs.’ He coughed delicately.

4. (drugs) a form of pipe used for smoking cannabis.

2001

Da Smokehouse Marijuana Gloss. 🌐 lung [uk] – 2 litre plastic bottle with a poly-bag attached to the bottom. When the bag is pulled out of the bottle the smoke fills it up.

SE in slang uses

In compounds

lung biscuit (n.)

(US campus) a lump of phlegm.

1988

Eble Campus Sl. Mar. 7: lung biscuit – globule of spit; phelgm.

lung-box (n.)

the mouth.

a.1889		Brighton Beach Loafer n.p.: My tar, if you don’t close your lung-box I shall run you in [B&L].
1890–1904		Farmer & Henley Sl. and Its Analogues.
1953		‘John Eagle’ Hoodlums (2021) 28: Kirk felt his lungbox sob, he wiped his face.

lung butter (n.)

(US) phlegm, sputum.

2023

F. Bill Back to the Dirt 97: ‘Then she goes and tosses her lung butter all over my goddamn carpet’.

lung-buster (n.)

(Aus./N.Z.) a cigarette.

1988		McGill Dict. of Kiwi Sl. 70/2: lungbuster cigarette.
1990		Tupper & Wortley Aus. Prison Sl. Gloss. 🌐 Lung buster. Cigarette.
2002		oddville.homestead.com 🌐 These cigaretts [sic] are highly addictive and are highly expensive. Vykkers Scientists say that 1 out of every 5 won’t live after smoking thier [sic] first one. Slogan: ‘Lungbuster Cigs, who wants to grow old anyway?’.
2016		N. Cummins Adventures of the Honey Badger [ebook] She sucked on her lung buster and blew smoke rings towards him.

lung-duster (n.)

(US black) a cigarette.

1929		M.A. Gill Und. Sl.
1940		‘Smokers’ Sl.’ in AS XV:3 Oct. 335/2: A cigarette is a [...] lung-duster.
1949		Monteleone Criminal Sl. (rev. edn).
1994		P. Baker Blood Posse 29: He pulled a crumpled pack of lung-dusters from his pocket.

lung warts (n.)

(US) the female breasts, esp. when small.

1946		H.A. Smith Rhubarb 94: After seeing her on the stage for the first time he [...] wrote ‘What a pair of lung warts!’.
1979		E. Torres After Hours 45: Bouncin’ them lung-warts all over my face.
1999		Roger’s Profanisaurus 3 in Viz 98 Oct. 19: lung warts euph. Stits (qv); fried eggs. See Parisian breasts.