https://doi.org/10.25312/j.8983
Izabela Walczak https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7357-963X University of Humanities and Economics in Lodz, Poland iwalczak@ahe.lodz.pl
On Reverse Dracula and Picky Bites – introduction to study of Urban Dictionary
This article provides an introductory examination of Urban Dictionary, focusing on its attributes and distinctive features. In the article the functionalities of the webpage are explored, the structure of entries is analysed and a typology of definitions is proposed. Through detailed analysis of specific examples from the Urban Dictionary lexicon, the dynamics of this user-generated content platform is discussed. The paper highlights the significance of individual and social perspectives of users as well as the aspects of creativity, humour and narratives included in the definitions. The paper aims to contribute to better understanding of the phenomenon of Urban Dictionary in the context of social linguistics.
Artykuł jest szkicem do analizy angielskiej wersji Słownika miejskiego (Urban Dictionary), stanowiący omówienie jego charakterystycznych cech i atrybutów. W artykule naświetlono funkcjonalności strony internetowej, przeanalizowano strukturę wpisów oraz zaproponowano typologię definicji. Bazę opracowania stanowi szczegółowa analiza konkretnych przykładów z zasobów Urban Dictionary. W artykule podkreślono dynamiczny charakter platformy wynikający z tego, że hasła tworzone są przez użytkowników, z uwzględnieniem indywidualnych i społecznych kontekstów. Omówione zostały aspekty kreatywności, humoru i narracji zawarte w definicjach. Wnioski pozwalają na lepsze zrozumienie zjawiska słowników społecznych w kontekście socjolingwistycznym.
The objective of this article is to describe basic attributes of the sociolinguistic phenomenon of Urban Dictionary. Despite its name, the webpage offering an open repository of lexicon is not a dictionary understood as:
a book which explains or translates, usually in alphabetical order, the words of a lan- guage or languages (or of a particular category of vocabulary), giving for each word its typical spelling, an explanation of its meaning or meanings, and often other informa- tion, such as pronunciation, etymology, synonyms, equivalents in other languages, and illustrative examples. (Oxford English Dictionary, n.d.)
or more contemporarily – as the same definition explains, the format does not necessarily require the traditional form of a book:
Also (from the late 20th cent.): an electronic resource performing this function. (Oxford English Dictionary, n.d.)
The term dictionary, although explicitly used by the creators of the site and possibly applied in that character by users, is not in fact an accurate definition. The standard process of creating and building entries and the dictionary does not apply in this case. The webpage is being continually expanded with new entries, without guidelines, standards or supervision. As a result, it does not offer the consistency or reliability assured by traditional dictionaries. Although, certain attributes mimic the ones of standard dictionaries (e.g. word and expression definitions, examples of usage, an alphabetical order of entries), it is was not originally meant as a classic dictionary, as indicated by the founder:
Twenty years ago, I started Urban Dictionary as a place for everyone to share their language. It was intended to subvert the authority of the traditional dictionary and to document our messy, weird, and unpredictable language as it evolved. Every day, regular people add thousands of definitions, making it a living cultural document. Since 1999, our community has written over 12 million definitions. I’m proud that Urban Dictionary has become a source of laughter and an irreplaceable reference made by and for the people. (Pekham, 2020)
A number of features disqualify it as a source of reliable information, e.g. multiple entries offering similar but not precisely the same definitions, contributions offering completely different definitions of the same lexical item or phrase. Certain words or expressions are clearly not used by more users of English than the creator of the entry; they seem to be idiolectic, fun or nonsensical entries. By definition, Urban Dictionary provides a space for informal and slang language but standard or formal word definitions are also available, although the register is rarely indicated. Some definitions are limited to hyperlinks and examples of usage, only.
Spelling and punctuation are inconsistent, there is no convention or standard, neither is there a clear indication as for the variety of English used in the entries, although the access to the platform is global and there is evidence (https://www.similarweb.com/ website/urbandictionary.com/#geography) that users contributing with their inputs represent not only American English but also British or Australian. Unlike most online
dictionaries, pronunciation is missing; both IPA and the option to listen to the recording of the pronounced word.
There are multiple reasons which explain the above; first of all, neither the adminis- trators of the site, nor contributors (to a large extent) are linguists or experts in various fields and the entries do not undergo any formal process of scrutiny or verification. It is possible for anyone who has access to the network to create a definition, as announced on the webpage (Urban Dictionary is written by you). In fact, the contributions do not have to be made by native or fluent speakers of English; the entries may be inaccurate, incorrect or irrelevant or they might be non-existent words or expressions. There are multiple definitions of the same lexical items or or phrases. It is an example of the so called User Generated Content, like Wikitionary or Wordnik; there are also standard online dictionaries that invite its users to contribute e.g. with new entry proposals or signalling errors (Lew, 2014).
Thus, it is concluded, that a comparative study of standard dictionaries and Urban Dictionary would not result in scientifically, pragmatically promising and worthwhile findings. Instead, it is viewed as a linguistic but also social phenomenon, both from the perspective of its passive and active users. The article does not consider the ethical side of the enterprise in the context of political correctness, a topic that attracts media attention and has been the subject of research (Niekrewicz, 2017; Parham, 2019).
The subsequent sections of the article discuss the research undertaken and the limita- tions of the study, the structure of the webpage; characteristic features of entries and their types, as well as categorization words and phrases in Urban Dictionary. The findings are based on specific examples of definitions and their analysis.
A selection of 150 of entries were the subject of qualitative analysis. The lexical items and phrases were selected on the basis of the ‘word of the day’ prompted on the main page of Urban Dictionary and the ‘random word’ functionality. The lexicon analysed in the article was created between December 2004 and November 2023 (based on the dates of entry creation provided with each definition). The words and expressions as well as their definitions were analysed from the following angles: structure and contents of entries, their meaning and types of lexicon. Resulting from the analysis, the anatomy of the typical Urban Dictionary entry was presented and their types were defined.
The main limitation of the conducted study is related to the vastness of research material – by 2020 Urban Dictionary contained over 12 million definitions (Pekham, 2020). Another constraint was the lack of information about the motivation of users, both contributors and passive visitors. It is unknown e.g. why people create definitions and based on what criteria the entries are read, assessed or used by those who access them.
Urban Dictionary was founded in 1999 by Aaron Peckham a computer science student at the California Polytechnic State University. He created the site as a parody of the con- ventional dictionaries, intending to capture the evolving nature of the English language, especially slang and colloquial terms. In its early years, Urban Dictionary grew rapidly due to its open model and its attractiveness to users lay in its ability to document and define the ephemeral slang and phrases used by different subcultures, communities and internet users. Since its creation the platform continued to expand its user base and the size of lexicon repository and it has become one of key resources for understanding contemporary slang and cultural references that might not be found in traditional dictionaries (Parham, 2019).
The internet site of Urban Dictionary contains the search functionality in the form of a bar that allows users to enter terms, retrieve corresponding definitions and check alternative meanings created by users. The search function offers word and expression suggestions and the search results are ranked based on the relevance and user votes. Another option available is the Browse functionality, which allows to look for look for lexicon alphabetically. Each letter of the alphabet provides a link to a list of terms starting with the letter, which leads to further exploration of vocabulary.
Apart from the ‘word of the day’ displayed on the main page, a casual selection of entries is offered to users who can click on a ‘word lottery’ button to be taken to a randomly selected entry. This feature is designed for exploratory browsing to discover new words and phrases. It is a popular feature of online dictionaries, e.g. in the Polish counterpart of Urban Dictionary, Słownik miejski it is the Losuj słowo (randomizer) functionality.
The 3 functionalities described above (alphabetical lists, word of the day and randomizer) support an exploratory way of using the dictionary, the equivalent of casual browsing through traditional books. Metaphorically speaking, it is not about going straight to the final destination but taking a walk and looking around. It also reflects the way, in which other internet resources are used e.g. through scrolling social media feeds.
Since the platform is commercial, it contains such features as the store offering branded merchandise and products with the Urban Dictionary entries, e.g. it is possible to buy a polycrisis mug, a Premature articulation T-shirt, a godfather syndrome sweatshirt or a potato shed hat. Advertising banners below each entry encourage users to buy products featuring the word or expression (https://urbandictionary.store/?_sp=cefd24e1-4373-497f- 8c10-986b2be0dffe.1719584960667). Share buttons make it possible to post selected entries on Twitter or Facebook, which increases site brand awareness and consequently its popularity and commercial potential. The similar role is played by the subscription option of the ‘Word of the Day’.
The key functionalities form the contributor’s point of view, are the login and a new entry submission option. In principle, anyone may submit any word or expression, as announced in the webpage banner – the dictionary is built on the definitions generated by users. Still, the content is moderated and entries may be flagged and reported, if inappropriate or incorrect definitions are identified by users, adherence to the platform guidelines and policies is ensured. The site’s content guidelines were updated in 2021 and
they encourage thinking in terms of wide audience and context, creativity and humour, but prohibit harassment, discrimination and inciting violence against others. Notably, submitting the definitions of offensive words is allowed, as long as they do not breach the policy terms:
Don’t be an asshole. We are okay with people defining offensive words. After all, people use offensive words in the real world and a resource for understanding what those words mean can be valuable. However, we are not – and never will be – okay with people using a definition to harass, discriminate, and/or directly incite violence against others. (Urban Dictionary Content Guidelines, n.d.)
Finally, the webpage contains links to the blog, information for advertisers, helpdesk, terms of service, accessibility statement, information collection notice, the form to report bugs, systems status and data subject request form.
An entry in Urban Dictionary consists of the word or expression, its definition and an example or examples of usage. As there is no standard defined the length and contents of entries may differ considerably; similarly, certain definitions provide multiple examples of usage and some contain none.
Certain entries resemble fora or blog entries, short essays or points of view, like the definition of the music genre dark ambient below including its detailed definition, examples, subjective point of view and recommendations:
Dark ambient is like a marriage between ambient and industrial. Is naturally dark and much more interesting than regular ambient. Doesn’t feature any cheesy synths, unless made by an ex black metal musician (that oftenly makes people bitch about whether the music is dark ambient or not; it usually is not). Usually doesn’t feature any guitars. On those rare cases when it does (like in drone doom), it’s definitely non-conventional use.
Much influenced by “musique concrete”, dark ambient features recorded sounds, oftenly of non-musical nature.
Dark ambient can have various esthetics. Moaning and chanting, chain rattling (no, that’s no ghost) raison d’etre-like stuff, radioactive droning of Fallout soundtrack, heavy pounding sounds of mechanisms, crazy shamanic drum-machine sounds, abrasive noise fragments - all these can make up different moods in dark ambient. People who don’t get dark ambient music, are found scrolling through the tracks in their desperate attempt of finding “where does at least SOME music start?” There’s also a tendency among some cultist freaks to puke up some really lousy synth pads and moans, put runes or pentagrams and some pseudo-religious texts on an album cover and call it “dark ambient”, or “pagan/ritual/black dark ambient”, or “neo-satanic nazi anti-nazi superficial industrial death dark ambient”. Trust me, you don’t wanna listen to that crap.
Don’t get scared away by Deutsch Nepal’s track names. That guy is a sick bastard, but he still makes some good dark ambient. (https://www.urbandictionary.com/ define.php?term=dark+ambient, accessed: 15.06.2024)
In contrast, some definitions are very short:
Glo day
You or someone’s birthday
Happy glo day Tyrique (https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=g- lo%20day, accessed: 15.06.2024)
In the analysed entries, the longest had 697 words and the shortest 4. Similarly, the number of examples of usage varied from 0 to 4.
Authorship is typically marked by the user’s username, some of which are the expression of users’ creativity and a sense of humour, e.g. Pseu D. Onym, UncleMcFlirty, deflatedwaffles, boredchicks LudwigVan, I like to define words, A real source, Whiz-dom or PokarFace. In some cases the nickname is humorously linked to the entry, like in the definition of the word slerp submitted by slerper:
to drool in your sleep; to generate exceptionally long drops of spit connecting the cor- ner of your mouth with the puddle around your pillow
Look, he’s slerping again! (https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?ter- m=slerp, accessed: 15.06.2024)
The use of usernames is related to another attribute of crowdsourced content, namely anonymity, which means that anyone can add any word and create any definition in a democratic and open manner. As long as the entry eligible under the ‘code of conduct’, any definition is accepted. As a consequence, there are numerous entries that contain senseless, non-existing items or clearly incorrect definitions. The mechanism that to some extent verifies the quality or value of entries is peer voting.
Each definition may be ranked by other users and the number of upvotes (‘thumbs up’) and downvotes (‘thumbs down’) is displayed under each entry. The number of interac- tions and the proportion of positive and negative reactions may vary considerably; while some definitions trigger no reactions whatsoever (e.g. serotonic), some (e.g. New York) provoked 7793 votes, out of which 6842 were positive. On average, the analysed entries were ranked by 171 users, with 83% of ‘thumbs up’ and 17% of negative reactions.
There are three types of entries in Urban dictionary: informative, humorous and nonsensical; at times the motivations of the contributors seemed to have been mixed and there are a number of informative definitions with a humorous quality or nonsense elements. Similarly, nonsensical contributions may be created because of their humorous value.
Some entries mimic the function of standard dictionaries, both in their form and informative value for other users, providing multiple definitions (although some maybe inventions of the author); in others – informal register, proper spelling and grammar as well as relevant context, related words or expressions and examples of usage are observed, like in the two examples below:
A cowpoke
(noun) A lazy cowboy who neglects their duties on a farm or ranch.
(noun) A rural person in an urban environment, such as an office, who’s mannersisms are notably different, less competitive, and often performed at a slower pace than the urbanites. The term may be used in either an endearing or insulting way.
(verb) The act of pressing one’s finger against a domesticated bovine for the purpose of testing the quality of meat or just for fun. Usually the index finger is used.
(noun)(slang) A male person with a tendency to have sex with only overweight females. (https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=cowpoke, accessed: 15.06.2024)
Special Snowflake syndrome
‘Special snowflake’ syndrome, is a disease in which the subject believes that because she occupies a subculture mildly different to the mainstream, she is inherently better, and above them. The subject will never state that she is better, but it is implied, as is the belief that she is rare in her qualities, despite, in reality, being an only slightly less common cliche. Subjects suffering from this syndrome have been known to make state- ments such as “I’m the girl who’d rather stay home reading Harry Potter than get drunk and get ‘sweet hooks’,” and will frequently act as if she is under tremendous pressure to act like a ‘typical girl’, not realising that ‘typical girls’ are a myth, and those she looks down upon are not what they seem.
See also: tumblr cliche, First world problems.
“As soon as she picked up that digital camera and bought some vans she caught Special Snowflake Syndrome.” (https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Spe- cial%20Snowflake%20Syndrome, accessed: 15.06.2024)
Some contributors provide the origin of the entry (e.g. brown acid or gorp), other include information about the lack of etymology:
fifty
In Cork, Ireland means your date not showing up. She never came. I got a fifty.
Origin unknown.
by Gearóid Ó Laoi (https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=fifty, accessed: 15.06.2024)
Certain entries contain a detailed explanation of the word origin may offer stories, also referring to the meaning and context of the expression, like in the case of happy happy joy joy:
From the hilarious tv cartoon Ren & Stimpy, happy happy joy joy is defined as when the world expects you to put on this happy and joyful face when what you really want to do is shriek at the top of your lungs and rip your hair out in anger/frustration/misery. To make everyone happy though, you put on this mask of happy happy joy joy while singing a silly song.
Just as you were ready to leave work for the day, the boss tells you he wants you to work both Saturday and Sunday on the new project. You’re on salary and so will get no more $$ for sacrificing your weekend. However, the boss is considering you for that vacant position where you’d have your own office with a window, so you happy happy joy joy and say, “Sure thing, boss!” with a big toothy grin on your face. (https://www.
urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=happy%20happy%20joy%20joy, accessed: 15.06.2024)
The entry above includes in fact two stories; one explaining the origin of the word and detailed description of the situation and context in which the expression would be used. Some definitions contain typologies, like in the below definition of the word moderator:
Mr. Whatever: This type of moderator doesn’t really know how he/she even became a moderator in the first place, but they are one nonetheless. They mostly ignore their job unless in the presence of higher-ups. Often looked down upon by the other moderators. Sometimes possesses traits similar to Sir Social.
Sir Social: This type of moderator is usually liked by the majority of the community. He/She often treats everyone as equals, and fully engages with everyone, even offering advice to struggling users if needed. Sir Social is known to be very lenient.
The Rules Guy: The average moderator. A few warnings then punishments as needed. That’s it. As long as you follow the rules, you won’t be on his/her bad side. (https:// www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Moderator, accessed: 15.06.2024)
Certain words or expressions seem to have been created with the intention of creating social value to other users and so that they offer entertainment, like e.g. Reverse Dracula:
Sleeping on your front, face down, arms by side. (the reverse of Dracula) Very uncomfortable.
This morning i woke up in Reverse Dracula (https://www.urbandictionary.com/de- fine.php?term=Reverse%20Dracula, accessed: 15.06.2024)
Other examples represent different kinds of new word formation such as acronymic, morphological and phonological neologisms, compounds and borrowings: WFR, milquetoast, incompalitable and al chile.
Other entries offer humorous definitions of existing words or expressions, e.g.:
Handle with care
Just like “Fragile” or “This side up”, this labeling will almost 100% guarantee that your parcel will be tossed, bounced, drop-kicked, and/or stomped upon by disgruntled/ delinquent shipping-personnel during its entire journey from you to your intended recipient. Yep, I’m talking to YOU, USPS/UPS/FedEx!!! There --- I said it --- got it off my chest! :P
During the infamous “angry political activists shooting at passing semi-trucks” period back in the 80’s, some truckers apparently resorted to painting their trailers with huge “Caution: explosives” –type signs to discourage nearby riflemen who would prefer not to get blown up themselves along with their intended targets. A cartoon in a magazine during that time showed two redneck 18-wheeler-drivers discussing a huge “WHAM- MO DYNAMITE” label that the speaker has painted on the side of his van; the driver is saying something like, “Actually, I’m hauling dried prunes, but I feel a lot safer this way, rather than my having ‘Handle with care’ written on there instead.” (https://www. urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Handle+with+care, accessed: 15.06.2024)
The source humour may be irony or sarcasm and is often combined with informative value of the definition, see e.g. the definition of picky bits:
A term used by Brits to describe a meal reserved for (approx. 7 annual) hot weather days because it is too hot to cook. Consists of sweet and savoury finger food, along with beer, cider, Capri Sun and wasps.
Child: “What’s for tea?” Mum: “Picky bits”
by scfcspaceman (https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Picky+bits, accessed: 15.06.2024)
A different category groups nonsensical entries such as:
plmnkoijbhuygvcftrdxzsewaq
When you’re so bored you orderly type out the letters of the keyboard in such a fashion as to go down a diagonal column, then do the next one up, and then the next down and so on, backwards.
Woah, I’m so cool for typing in plmnkoijbhuygvcftrdxzsewaq! (https://www.urbandic- tionary.com/define.php?term=plmnkoijbhuygvcftrdxzsewaq, accessed: 15.06.2024)
Nonsensical entries are non-existing words or the definitions of proper lexicon that do not reflect the meaning but are the expressions of opinion, comments and texts potentially relevant only to their authors. In fact, certain contributors treat (and are allowed to by the site moderators) Urban Dictionary like a forum open to accommodate any input in any form as long as it is acceptable within the site policy.
Somewhere in between the two above mentioned categories, namely new word formation and nonsensical entries are the words and expression that form a hybrid category of nonsensical neologisms such as baconphilia, beerratated, blingual, blackground, calendar wolf, odlam, sagatitis, Spa’d or Schpadooder. These are creative words or expressions idiolectic in nature, not belonging to general discourse with little or no potential to become a part of general usage.
Urban dictionary was meant as a repository of newly appearing slang and informal words and expressions reflecting the rapidly changing fads and fashions. Clearly, if analysed from the perspective of its specialization, it prioritizes certain areas of language, similarly to other types of slang dictionaries, e.g. Słownik miejski. A big proportion of areas covered by the contributors are specific to interests of young people. e.g. changes in lifestyle, popular culture, fashion, dating etc. The table below illustrates the categories and subcategories identified by the author of the article:
Table 1. Categories of entries
Category | Subcategories | Examples |
Society | General | Polycrisis, scamwich |
Politics | French Revolution | |
Travel | jungalow | |
Generations | Millennial gray, OK, boomer | |
Celebrities | Beyoncé | |
Popular culture | TV series, film, The office | |
Work | Pity Pizza | |
Technology | Tamagotchi effect | |
Lifestyle | General | Hydro Homies |
Leisure | armchair tourist | |
Partying | craft herpes, Pow wow | |
Going out | brass monkey, Zion Curtain | |
Alcohol and drugs | Lean, dodo | |
Sport | Melter, Chocolate Abs | |
Fashion | Townies, floordrobe | |
Relationships | Dating | Boyfriend Island |
Sex | Thembo | |
Friends | Scurryfunge, Bichy Nichy | |
Family | almond mom, buzzkill, Mollycoddle | |
Self-expression and creativity | Personal comments | yellow |
Creative outputs | Haunters Hangover, Poem | |
Names | Kayley, Kenley, Audrey, Cole, Danielle, Francesca, Jonathan, Gabrielle | |
Language and commu- nication | Political incorrectness | Negronious, Paki |
Everyday language | I hate it here, shanksh, gravies | |
New phenomena | Covid-19 |
Source: own elaboration based on research material retrieved from urbandictionary.com.
Some entries may be qualified to more than one category, e.g. Ego Birth, which might be categorized under Society or Drugs:
The opposite of Ego Death. An Ego Birth is when a person, usually a (cis caucasian male) takes psychedelics, then proceeds to become more of an insufferable person than they were before. They often brag about discovering basic human empathy and under- standing in their late twenties.
That guy definitely had a ego birth, he took acid once now constantly gloats about gaining basic human emotions. (https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?ter- m=Ego+Birth, accessed: 15.06.2024)
Self-expression and creative entries can be as interesting as the entry for medieval diss track:
my mill grinds, pepper and spice You’re mill grinds, rats and mice My hand picks, only what grows Your hand picks, only your nose My grain tastes, delightful
Your grain tastes, very frightful My mother cooks, with much care, Your mother cooks, with her hair My wife smells, of pure honey Your wife smells, of bad money My fields are, happy to see
Your fields are, sad to decree My hat fits, like a fiddle Your hat fits, like it’s little My king is, smart and wise Your king is, full of lies
My sheep will, keep us alive Your sheep will, fail to arrive
medieval diss track is fire (https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=me- dieval+diss+track, accessed: 15.06.2024)
The paper aimed to deliver an introduction to a comprehensive overview of Urban Dictionary, examining it from both linguistic and sociolinguistic perspectives. The study highlights the role that the crowdsourced platform plays in reflecting changes in culture, society as well as in language. The findings unveil the dynamic nature of contemporary reality, illustrating how user-generated content becomes a barometer for current trends, linguistic creativity and freedom of expressions with its positive and negative aspects. It provokes reflection of the ephemeral nature of reality and language: everchanging, shaped by fads and fashions and its users.
The challenge of capturing and codifying language, which is inherently fluid and is increasingly complex raises a question of value of these attempts. The concept of linguis- tic prescriptiveness appears to be in decline, in the context cultural shift towards valuing individuality idiolects and the erosion of standardized language norms.
The concept of language usage raises the question of determining the critical mass required for linguistic conventions to stabilize, analogous to the problem of a sand dune where it is impossible to determine when grains stop to be singular instances and become a coherent entity. Consequently, who determines if a word or a phrase exists and how is this determination made? What are the relevant criteria to assess if a word or expression is a valid and ‘appropriate’ lexical items or expression? In this context, the internet may serve as a linguistic corpus, providing a comprehensive but continuously evolving dataset that dynamically reflects the collective and individual language its users.
The above questions indicate that further research on Urban Dictionary could shed light on, for example, linguistic and cultural trends, societal norms and values. Future studies might also concentrate on the implications of user-generated content on language standardization and the linguistic diversity in digital communication. Additionally, promising areas of analysis include the types of narratives found within the entries, such as personal stories, urban legends and contemporary folklore and pop culture. The study of humour in the definitions might become one of the ways forward, too.
The research suggests potential benefits of using Urban Dictionary. Practical applications include education in general, as well as foreign language learning, where it can be used to check the meaning of slang words, offering both explanatory and social value; numerous nonsensical entries may become a trigger and exercise material to teach critical thinking; other entries can provoke discussions on the nature and structure of language. Users may benefit from its entertainment value and explore Urban Dictionary to satisfy their curiosity, aid their self-expression and provide deeper and better understanding of lexicon within broader contexts offered by the user generated content. Furthermore, finding suitable counterparts in translations in slang dictionaries in other languages can prove a great exercise in identifying the proper register, usage, and relevance in translation studies. Finally, Urban Dictionary may become a tool for engaging younger generations as it reflects language changes, general trends and provides concrete, potentially relevant examples from society, lifestyle and communication.
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