totes’ and ‘whatevs' Mumbai’s nightlife

Walk on rocky socks

This weekly column chronicles Mumbai’s nightlife. From five star pubs to dive star bars, here’s a tribute to all that and much more.

It’s surprising enough that words like ‘totes’ and ‘whatevs’ have made it to the Oxford Dictionary’s website. But it’s odd that far more creative phrases such as ‘talk on the big white phone’ (slang for vomiting) or ‘walking on rocky socks’ (a colloquial term for the word ‘drunk’) haven’t. And these aren’t the only amusing synonyms that haven’t got the attention they deserve, despite having some pretty valid purposes to serve.
HT PHOTO; PICTURE FOR REPRESENTATION There can be many advantages to having a few lesser-known slang expressions up your sleeve. For instance, it’s relatively tough to decipher a statement like, “Drop by the gashouse to get some firewater; the cat house is great too, I’ve heard.” But if you knew that ‘gashouse’ is slang for bar, as are ‘firewater’ for liquor and ‘cat house’ for jazz, then it would just be fun watching your unassuming company bewildered.
Mentioned below is a list of some of the most bizarre slang for 10 commonly used terms, overheard on a night out in any city. Call them conversation starters, party tricks or just some random knowledge passed down by American writers Albert and Esther Lewin, authors of The Thesaurus of Slang.
1. ALCOHOL: idiot oil, King Kong, squirrel dew, panther
2. BAR: taproom, honky-tonk, blind pig, gargle factory
3. CHAMPAGNE: giggle juice, angel foam, laughing water
4. DANCE: juke it, cut a rug, trip the light fantastic

5. DRUNK: seeing pink elephants, loud and proud, on a toot, irrigated, walking on rocky socks
6. PARTY: bender, opener, rub, donkey roast
7. RESTAURANT: scarf and barf, ham and eggery, beanery
8. SINGLE PERSON: swingle, Robinson Crusoe
9. UNSOCIABLE: cold fish, dolo, offish, dog up
10. VOMIT: call Earl, waste groceries, worship the throne
Let’s hope some of these catch on. Then ‘raising a toast with King Kong’ can actually mean something.