Slanging Hash!

One element that adds a lot to a character’s voice is the slang they use.

The MC in The Fancy Deep comes from a part-Japanese mother and an Irish Dad. Using Japanese and Irish slang, I created her own series of words that include mashed-up expletives, personal pronouns and adjectives. She’s also a gem-cutter & jeweler, so I use some of the jargon from her trade as part of the “Aysia-speak.”

While working on the novel, I listened carefully to my friends and family, even myself, to try and discover some unique slang in my real world.

Here are some of the frequent “isms” of friends & family and some of my own:

1. “What in America?” (This is mine)
   
2. “Awesomesauce” (Elana Johnson)
   
3. “Frawesomesauce” (Ditto)
   
4. “Sheena Easton!” (Instead of the “Sh—“ word.) (Mine again).
   
5. “Gotta jet” (Some guy in the cubicle next to my office says this every few minutes. Yet he never does . . . jet, I mean.)
   
6. “Burgess Meredith!” (Expletive by John Cusick from my lit agency – love this one)
   
7. “Preciate cha’” (Utahns the world over).
   
8. “Shushi” (Mikko, our CTO says “sushi” with a Finnish accent. As a result, our entire office calls it “shushi” now).
   
9. “Ping me” (All the programmers I work with). : )
   

What are some of your “isms?” Share!