Terms/Slang

[Wisper]

**Note: Under Construction**

Terms/Slang

This list ranges from real life frontier slang to fictional scientific terminology terms. Some entries are real words/terms, some are canon from the series, and some are DoS originals. As the site grows so too does our lexicon. Therefor this list should constantly be growing and expanding. All members please feel free to contribute to the list.

Please supplement this list with the Gorram Chinese thread which includes many Chinese phrases as well as the basics of turning regular speech into frontier slang without needing to learn any special words.


Table of Contents:
1) Frontier Life
-Terms
-Phrases
-Descriptives
-Cussin'
2) Technology
-Ships and Space
*General
*Engines and Flying
*Ship Classes
-Terraforming
-Communications
-Medicine
*Equipment
*Drugs
*Terms
3) Verse Geography
-General
-Planet Nicknames
4) General Verse Terms
-Regional Terms
5) OOC Terms

[Roger]

Frontier Life

Terms

• Advocate - A lawyer.
• Brainpan - Refers to the skull which encases the brain. Another way of saying 'head'.
• Bughouse - Mental hospital.
• Chinese Checkers - A game commonly played in the 'verse. Found on booths and tables in bars and some such.
• Docket - Schedule, calendar, itinerary. Wash: “Nah, she had a pretty full docket.”
• Doxy - Prostitute.
• Drops - Illegal, addictive, narcotic drugs.
• Fancy Rock - Another way of saying a well-to-do planet run entirely by the Alliance.
• Foodstuffs - Food
• Footpad - Pickpocket, low level thief.
• Fuzzie-wuzzies - Folk who are easily swayed and comforted.
• (The) Goods - Loot.
• Latrine - Toilet or at least the place where you'd do your business when a toilet isn't available.
• Peck - A large amount.
• Preacher - Anyone religious.
• Pretty - Noun form of the adjective. “Look at all the pretties!”; “Every piece of pretty is tagged for the scanners.”
• Prod - A crony for someone of the expensive/diplomatic variety.
• Religiosity - Religion
• Scratch - Valuables.
• Second story job - Breaking and entering robbery.
• Shindig - A party, usually with dancing.
• Shiny - Good, valuable, or even cool.
• Sly - Frontier Slang for men who prefer other men sexually, i.e. homosexuals.
• Tetchy - Sensitive, complaining, or irritable.
• Tonic - Amateur or illegal alcoholic drink.

Phrases and Verbs

• Bushwhack - Ambush.
• Git - Go away.
• Hornswoggle - To trick someone.
• Lay Down Arms - To surrender, the act of soldiers putting their weapons down and ceasing hostile actions.
• “Let's hoof it” - Let's get going.
• To be Pinched - Slang for being arrested by law enforcement.
• Rabbiting - Hightailing; running; fleeing.
• Run afoul - To get into trouble with.
• Size someone up - Judge someone, how tough they are or what their intentions might be.
• Sully - To taint
• Suss (out) - To figure out; determine
• Went south - Problems appeared, the plan fell apart.

Descriptives

• A-grade - Top notch; high quality
• All-fired - Completely, extremely. ("Where'd she go gettin' all-fired jealous 'bout this?")
• Awful, Dreadful, Mighty, Plumb, Powerful - Adjectives for emphasis. ("Gettin' awful crowded in my sky.")
• Backbirth - Stupid, naive; a derogatory term for someone born from a primitive or outer rim planet (i.e. "born on a backwards planet")
• Bang-up - Great. ("They did a bang-up job.")
• Corpsified - Dead. Now resembling a corpse.
• Fancible - Fancy/fanciful
• “Let's moon 'em” - Slang for firing off a pulse from your rear engine thus flaring up for a getaway.
• On the dodge - Wanted by the police.
• Ornery - Bad tempered

Cussin'

• Gorram - Combination of "God Damn" and used in the same way.
• Humped - Screwed, f***ed, SOL.
• Ruttin'/Rutting - F***ing.

[Roger]

Technology

Ships and Space
General

• Atmo - Short for atmosphere, the the gases held to a planet or moon by gravity i.e. the area above the surface but not yet outer space. E.g. to "leave atmo."
• Atmospheric Unit - Or simply "AU" is a standard of measurement for distances across space. 1 AU is the distance between Earth-That-Was and the Sun or 149,597,870.691 km.
• Barycenter - Point around which two objects both orbit.
• (The) Black - Space, everywhere in the 'Verse once you break atmo.
• Earth-That-Was - Alternative name for Earth, the planet from which humanity originated. Sometimes abbreviated to ETW.
• ETA - Estimated Time of Arrival.
• Lagrangian Point - One of four gravitational points around an object and the primary it orbits.
• Primary - Stellar body that another body orbits. E.g. Earth-That-Was orbits its primary the Sun and is the primary of the Moon.
• Skyplex - Orbital city or space station.
• Stellar Designation - Official alphanumeric designation given to stars, planets, moons, and asteroids which identify them, different from their common names. Such designations indicate the object's primaries, year of discovery, order of discovery, etc.
• "Towed to Ita" - Euphemism for permanent impound.

Engines and Flying

• Being buzzed – Being actively scanned by another ship’s sensors.
• Blowback – Caused when firing a pulse (full burn) while still in atmo. Akin to being at the epicenter of a nuclear explosion. If you’re lucky, the pulse will actually shoot you forward. Your ship will not be completely incinerated but it will be wrecked beyond belief and hurtling wildly through space. If you’re not lucky your ship won’t escape on the pulse in time but will instead of destroyed by its own pulse.
• Clean your housing - To give a thorough beating, derived from cleaning a spaceship's engine housing.
• Dead in the Water - Floating, drifting; not going anywhere.
• Fire it up - Start the ship.
• Fuel Cells - Condensed fuel in one of three basic varieties: small pulse drive Hydrogen cells, large jet engine hydrogen tanks, and option large jet engine oxygen tanks.
• Get this bird in the air - Launch the ship or take-off.
• Go to blackout - Shut down power on the ship. Useful in avoiding detection by other vessels.
• Go for hard burn/full burn - Burn through fuel cells; or fly fast.; use all engine power with a full pulse.
• Gravity Drive - AKA Ship Core, contains ship pulses and performs several othr crucial functions for the ship. If the Core isn't spinning then the ship is pretty much dead in the water.
• Green for _____ – Having a “green light” (sometimes literally on a cockpit dashboard) for whatever activity. (landing, docking, taking off, firing a missile, etc.)
• Inter-planetary Drive - Pulse drive used for travelling long distances through space.
• (Crazy) Ivan - A stunt/maneuver that can be performed by ships with two side jet engines. One is inverted and sends the ship into a spinning corkscrew motion.
• On the drift - Traveling through space with engines cut and merely "drifting" on your previous momentum. Often combined with "dead in the water."
• Planetary Drive - Jet Engines used to navigate around obstacles in space and to "break atmo".
• Pulse - Controlled nuclear detonation in a pulse/inter-planetary drive used to propel ships through space at high speed.
• Take the helm - Take over flying the ship.

Ship Classes

• Firefly - A very common mid-bulk multipurpose transport vessel in production for the past 85 years.
• IAV - Interplanetary Alliance Vessel, used as a designation for Alliance military ships.
• Scow - A ship modeled like a large, flat-bottomed boat with squared ends. Used to haul bulky cargo (soil, sand, ore, etc.). Can be retro-fitted to serve as cheap passenger vessels for numerous families headed to the Rim.
• Skiff - A small boat, the space equivalent of a rowboat, jolly boat, zodiac, etc. the kind of boat that can transport you between two large ships or from ship to the ground.
• Trans-U – An older model commercial vessel. Hardly ever in use anymore.

Terraforming

• Black Rock - Either an unterraformed world or a world where terraforming failed (e.g. it was claimed that Miranda was a black rock when in truth it had been the Pax not terraforming that caused the problems there).
• Genseed - Genetically engineered crop seeds used on freshly terraformed worlds to quickly cover them in vegetation.
• Helioforming - Process of igniting a gas giant and turning it into a star.
• Over-sized - A plant with twice the mass/surface area (~1.4 times the diameter) of Earth-That-Was. Too large to successfully terraform.
• Sculpting - Process of forming continents and oceans early in the terraforming process.
• Seeding - The process of introducing animal and plant life to a world, one of the final steps in the terraforming process.
• Six Sigma - Large asteroid field in the Kalidasa system orbiting Penglai. What happens to an over-sized planet when one attempts to terraform it.
• Terraforming - Process of creating a new "Earth" on another planet or moon. Transforming a lifeless rock into a habitable garden.
• Terraforming Standard - AKA ETW Normal. Margin of error within which worlds are terraformed, the required conditions to allow life from ETW to thrive. Seasonal cycles and planetary rotation must be exact. Land to water ratio is between 30/40 to 70/60 for planets and 50/60 to 50/40 for moons. Gravity must be within 95% to 105% that of Earth that was.
• Tilling - Process of turning barren rock into usable soil.
• Tilting - Adding a second rotational axis to the planet to standardize the rotation to 365.25 seasonal year and 24 hour day.
• Under-sized - A moon less than 7% the surface area/mass of Earth-That-Was's moon. Too small to successfully terraform.
• Venting - Process of altering/creating a planet's atmosphere as well as cracking and releasing gases and vapors from within the planet.

Communications

• Cortex - 'Verse-wide information network much like the Internet.
• Complete (Comm.) Trip - Time it takes for a message to reach all areas of the 'Verse. Varies depending on the point of origin but can take up to 47 hours from one end of the 'Verse to the other. A return comm. trip is the time it would take to gt a response back from all parts of the 'Verse.
• Lag - Time it takes between sending a message and it arriving at its destination. Seemingly nonexistent at close ranges but as distances increase even light speed communication can take hours or even days to reach the intended recipient. Receiving a response takes twice as long.
• Relay Station - Typically an unmanned space station that broadcasts the Cortex, waves, and other communications across the 'Verse, especially the vast distances between systems.
• Wave - A communication or message: can be sent in text, audio, video, or holographic form. Depending on the distance between sender and receive it can be a live interactive transmission, otherwise it must be pre-recorded.

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Equipment

• 3D Neuro-imager - A three dimensional provision of a brain scan. Simon uses one in the diagnostic ward at St. Lucy's hospital on Ariel.
• Cardiac Infusers - Used to infuse drugs directly and quickly to the heart.
• Cortical Electrodes – Device used to conduct electricity to an internal organ, namely the heart.
• Defibrillator – Much like those we currently use, send an electric charge to the heart in order to get it pumping again.
• Dermal mender - A medical tool that mends severed skin—Simon uses one to reattach Mal's ear.
• Extractor - An instrument used to pull out things like bullet shards.
• Gurney - A transportable hospital bed/stretcher on wheels or potentially even with hovercraft technology.
• Hypodermic needles – aka Hypo: Used to penetrate skin and allow liquids to either be injected or extracted. They serve a particularly good use in providing liquid meds that cannot be ingested (either because they're physically incapable, or the meds would be useless through a digestive tract.). Also used for illegal narcotics.
• Hypo-gun – Alternative (and easier/faster) means of injecting drugs or other liquids into a patient. Higher end models often called "syringe guns".
• Medical monitor - Used to monitor vitals of patients hooked up to it.
• Medvault - Anything from a small safe or cabinet to a fully secure room where meds are located and stored.
• Pulmonary Stimulators - A tool used to stimulate major arteries. Usually a good idea if patients are cyanotic and unresponsive when attempting to resuscitate them.
• Vial - Used to store many types of liquids ranging from blood samples to pharmaceuticals

Drugs

• Byphodine - A med that slows the metabolic state so you can appear to be dead. Used in 'Ariel' and 'The Message'. Usually induces a vomiting side effect once it wears off.
• "Good Night Kiss" - A narcotic compound, applied on the lips most often. Convenient for the low-and-dirty seducers who try and earn a swindle into their gig. Or for something of a more sinister nature, like Saffron in 'Our Mrs. Reynolds'.
• Hydrozepam - A medical supply worth about 200 credits. More costly than Isoprovaline and Propoxine combined. Use unknown.
• Isoprovaline - An immune booster. A common med. Street value for a vial: Fifty platinum.
• Propoxine - A medical supply that costs about 80 platinum. Use unknown.
• Shotadren Alserin - AKA Shota or "magic dust" is an illegal narcotic used for numerous purposes. "Junkies" tend to use it for the immediate but short-lived state of euphoria it gives the user, intensified when mixed with alcohol and other narcotics. Others seek it for its stimulant and rejuvenative properties. Users of shota suffer from an inability to sleep for several days and thus can work long hours while requiring very little sleep. The drug's side effects are mild including: blurred vision, headaches, dehydration, extreme loss of appetite, and the often intended inability to sleep. Shota is mildly addictive.
• Standard Companion immunization package - Equipment provided by the Companion Guild to all companions.

Terms

• BP - Abbreviation for blood pressure.
• DOA - Abbreviation for Dead on Arrival
• “Pulse is thready” - Medical lingo, meaning the pulse on the monitor is wavering on the slow side.

[Roger]

Verse Geography

General

• 34Tauri(2020) - The official designation of the star cluster known as the 'Verse. More commonly shorted to 34 Tauri or just simply Tauri.
• Bai Hu - "White Tiger of the West", Mandarin name for White Sun.
• (The) Border - Planets typically (but not always) located between the Core and the Rim. They are typically more populous, more industrial, and more commercial than Rim worlds.
• (The) Core - Center-most worlds, all within the White Sun System. The population, cultural, technological, industrial, etc. heart of the 'Verse and the seat of the Alliance's power.
• Huang Long - "Yellow Dragon of the Center", Mandarin name for Georgia.
• Prime - Term used to modify some other location which is primary to the speaker. E.g. Persephone Prime would distinguish it from its moons as well as holding it as a place of greater importance in the rest of the 'Verse.
• Qing Long - "Blue Dragon of the East", Mandarin name for Blue Sun.
• (The) Rim - Further edge of the 'Verse. Rim planets are the "frontier."
• The 'Verse - Short for "universe" it is inhabited space, the star cluster of 34 Tauri.
• Xuan Wu - "Black Tortoise of the North", Mandarin name for Kalidasa.
• Zhu Que - "Red Phoenix of the South', Mandarin name for Red Sun.

Nicknames and Shortform

• Beau - Beaumonde
• Gateway - Persephone (and sometimes Hera), so named as the "gateway" between the Core and the Rim, more so than any other Border Worlds.
• Seph - Persephone

[Roger]

General Verse Terms

• Browncoat - Term for veterans of the Independent Armed Forces originating from their brown uniforms. Does not carry a purely negative connotation like Purplebelly does.
• Credit - Standardized Alliance currency. Credits come in paper money as well as the more common electronic form. Credits are dominant in the Core and other areas of heavy Alliance presence.
• Dust Devils - Anti-Alliance terrorist organization.
• Feds - Members of the Alliance, its military, law enforcement, or functionaries. Short for Federals or Agents of the Federal Government.
• Mule - Vehicle typically used for transportation of cargo for commercial or industrial purposes.
• Land Car - An automobile.
• Land Speeder - A hovercraft.
• Platinum - Or simply "Plat", hard/physical currency of the 'Verse. This precious metal is dominant currency in the Border and Rim.
• Purple-belly - A derogatory term used to refer to a member of the Alliance based on the color of their uniforms.
• Reavers - Madmen who live on the edges of civilized space, flying dangerous ships and preying on other space vessels.
• Shepherd - A clergy member of any christian denomination.
• Sticky - A very pliable substance (cross between hot glue and plastic explosive) used as a means of burning through obstacles with precision accuracy.

Regional Terms

• Reds and Blues - "Money" derived from the color of bills printed on Persephone.