ghetto adj.
1. second-rate, old-fashioned, inferior, badly made [negative connotations].
![[US]](/static/img/flags/us.png "United States") | Campus Sl. Apr. 5: ghetto – not cleanly done, sketchy: ‘That last pool shot I made was so ghetto.’ Not properly put together or built: ‘The parts of my bike don’t even fit right. It looks ghetto.’ Dirty, in shambles: ‘I feel ghetto this morning.’. | |
| Teen Lingo: The Source for Youth Ministry 🌐 ghetto adj./adv. 1. Something undesirable. ‘That place is ghetto’ 2. Acting out of control or just trying to receive attention. ‘Marisa, stop acting ghetto!’. | |
| Campus Sl. Apr. | |
![[UK]](/static/img/flags/uk.png "United Kingdom") | Dirty South 5: I didn’t have to queue up with the free dinner ghetto kids at school. | |
| Generation Kill ‘Get Some’ ep. 1 [TV script] Here we are invading a country with ghetto hoopdies. | |
| Alphaville (2011) 293: Not cool, Rambo. All ghetto and unprofessional and shit. |
2. superior, first-rate [bad = good model].
| ‘Good Stuff’ 🎵 I got the haters, and the jackers [...] / Tryin’ to close me down, but I got ghetto love. | |
 | Online Sl. Dict. 🌐 ghetto adj [...] 2. of superior quality, excellent; COOL. (‘Man, his shit is ghetto!’). |
3. tough, aggressive, confrontational [perceived positive connotations].
| ‘So Many Teachers’ 🎵 Strictly I be ghetto, so you know it’s from the heart. | |
| Source Oct. 146/3: I was so ghetto, threatening the crowd, talking about if anybody takes it, I’ma see you. | |
| ‘The Code’ in Brooklyn Noir 182: She was hard like him, ghetto. | |
| Didn’t Nobody Give a Shit 74: How rude! So ghetto! |
SE in slang uses
In compounds
(US black) a police helicopter.
| et al. A2Z. | |
| Online Sl. Dict. 🌐 ghetto bird n 1. a police helicopter using a spotlight. (‘Hey, the ghetto bird is out.’). | |
| Ebonics Primer at www.dolemite.com 🌐 ghetto bird Definition: the police helicopter Example: Mane [sic] da ghetto bird be creepin up on us. | |
| Teen Lingo: The Source for Youth Ministry 🌐 ghetto bird n. A police helicopter. Known as the only thing that flies in the ghetto. | |
| Sun. Times 6 Nov. 🌐 One black businesswoman, an acquaintance, was unforgiving: [...] ‘Lenny wants black people on TV but not in his bed. We too ghetto for him? Dark skin not sexy enough?’. |
a large stereo tape recorder-cum-radio carried by youths.
| Johnson City Press (TN) 6 Dec. 26/2: A ‘ghetto-blaster’ on the shoulder of a young boy scratches forth Top 40 Noise. | |
| ‘Senior Citizen Caine’ in Minder [TV script] 36: Here you see this. They call them ghetto blasters. | |
![[Aus]](/static/img/flags/aus.png "Australia") | You Wouldn’t Be Dead for Quids (1989) 86: A ghetto blaster about the same size as a large suitcase. | |
| Straight Outta Compton 21: Whenever we had to sit outside we always took a ghetto box with us. | |
| White Shoes 227: Packing all his clothes, his shaving gear and his ghetto-blaster. | |
| Ruthless 246: A plethora of audio cassettes, a top-of-the-range ghettoblaster [...] and his trusty Beretta. | |
![[Ire]](/static/img/flags/ire.png "Ireland") | The Joy (2015) [ebook] She has a ghetto blaster with her. | |
| Port Authority 1: Drinking cider and playing Billy Idol on his ghettoblaster. | |
| Rosa Marie’s Baby (2013) [ebook] ‘I got a ghetto blaster and some good tapes’. | |
| Times Mag. 30 Apr. 50/3: The buldings and the ghetto blaster at first sight suggest street-cred urban deprivation. | |
| Crongton Knights 2: Summer jams pumped out of ghetto blasters. |
(US black) attractive female buttocks.
| Campus Sl. Mar. 4: ghetto booty – large rear end. | |
| Ebonics Primer at www.dolemite.com 🌐 ghetto booty Definition: nicely shaped, somewhat large buttocks. Example: Damn that woman got some good ghetto booty! | |
| Turning Angel 334: He said I had a ghetto bootie [...] You know . . . a butt like a black chick. |
(US black) cheap, potent liquor.
| Ebonics Primer at www.dolemite.com 🌐 ghetto champagne Definition: cheap, potent liquor, usually 40s or malt liquor. Gets you more drunk for your dolla’. Example: Yo bitch! Gimme five dollars so I can get some ghetto champagne and get my drink on! |
(US black) referring to anything flashy and impressive in black culture, spec. fashion.
| College Sl. Research Project (Cal. State Poly. Uni., Pomona) 🌐 Ghetto fabulous (adj.) A good thing that is ghetto. | |
| No Lights, No Sirens 45: Roxanne, another ghetto fabulous, sexy Latina. | |
| Night Gardener 95: One of those ghetto fabulous girls. | |
| ? (Pronounced Que) [ebook] She was wild [...] ghetto fabulous, but it all caught up with her. |
(US black) a large, well-rounded pair of buttocks.
| Ebonics Primer at www.dolemite.com 🌐 ghetto onion Definition: a large, well-rounded pair of buttocks. Example: Damn! Jennifer Lopez sho’ has a ghetto onion! |
(US) a large, well-rounded pair of buttocks.
| asstr.org 🌐 ‘That bitch got a full trunk, dog, [...] Mm - mm - mm. Nice ghetto shelf fo' a white girl’. |
(US black) a large, 70s-model automobile.
| College Sl. Research Project (Cal. State Poly. Uni., Pomona) 🌐 Ghetto Sled (noun) A car that looks like it has gone through hell and back but which the driver thinks is the shit. | |
| Ebonics Primer at www.dolemite.com 🌐 ghetto sled Definition: extremely long sedan, typically dating from the mid-70’s. Example: Ned, I’ll swing by your place and pick up you and Thelma in my ghetto sled you trick-ass bitch! |
(US black gang) a leading gangster.
| Do or Die (1992) 226: The people actually involved in the attack on B-Dog were ‘ghetto stars’ — O.G.’s with very, very serious reputations. | |
| Monster (1994) 5: A Ghetto Star is a neighborhood celebrity known for gangbanging, drug dealing, and so on. |