Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. a violent, aggressive criminal.

1971		F. Hilaire Thanatos 122: Get off me, you fucking barracuda.
1981		J. Ellroy Brown’s Requiem 16: The woman was on her knees, hurling invectives. Her best shot was ‘urban barracuda’.

2. a domineering, argumentative person.

1990

L. Goodison Baby Mother and King of Swords 15: J.P.’s hairdressing parlour, where barracudas gather to wash their hair and wash their mouths on other women.

3. a predatory homosexual, desperate to obtain a desired partner no matter what it takes.

1972

(ref. to mid-1960s) B. Rodgers Queens’ Vernacular 27: barracuda (kwn LV, mid ’60s) predatory, shrewd individual capable of stooping to devious tactics; a hunter par excellence.

4. a sexual enthusiast, esp. female.

1972		D. Jenkins Semi-Tough 99: [She] could turn into some kind of barracuda in the rack.
1974		D. Jenkins Dead Solid Perfect 146: [T]hey call [shots of attractive females] ‘hooking a barracuda,’ or ‘a honey shot,’ or, as a matter of fact, a ‘hold it’.

5. (US campus) an unpleasant woman.

1988

Eble Campus Sl. Mar. 1: barracuda – hateful or spiteful female.