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Teenage slang has always been important in youth culture. It’s the dialect of the younger generation. A special language that says, “This is us. This is how we talk.”

Of course, most slang expressions don’t last very long. They’re not supposed to. It’s like the pop charts where records come in, stay for a while and disappear again. Why not test your knowledge of some current UK favourites in the quiz below?

Part 1.

Read the sentences below; you should be able to work out the meanings of the slang words (underlined).
 

• You should never believe what you read about new bands. It’s all hype.
• I felt ill last night. I think I must have eaten something dodgy.
• My sister hates getting up in the morning. She’s a real dosser.
• I’d like to go out tonight, but I can’t. I haven’t got any dosh.
• He’s only seventeen but he’s already a millionaire. He’s a real whizz-kid.
• My girlfriend works for a music magazine, she gets lots of freebies; she even had tickets for the last Spice Girls gig.
• I hate it when my granny buys me clothes, they’re usually really naff, I’d hate my friends to see me wearing that kind of stuff!

Part 2.

Now match the slang words  in column A with the jumbled meanings in column B
 
 

Part 3.

Fill in the gaps in the sentences below with the appropriate slang word from the list above.
 

1. I’ve got two ________ for the Oasis  ________  next week. Do you want to come? 
   
   
2. I can’t understand him, he’d sooner hang around at home than go out and get a job. He’s such a ________! Me, I’d sooner work and get some ________ than be broke all the time.

 

(Adapted from the Youth Culture Dossier by Stephen Radley published by Macmillan pages 16-17, ISBN 0-333-47244-6)

In order to check your answers click here.