My peoples! What up?
I just come back from beautiful Trinidad and Tobago. Well, technically just Trinidad as I didn’t have a chance to visit Tobago. Next time. I spent a glorious week there and am already planning my next trip.
I spent the first half of the week attending the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival And the rest of the week hanging out with #TriniBoo an he fren dem. From chilling on the beach to hanging in the local bars to touring the island it was an all around good time. But some of the best times I had were spent just listening to the locals talk. I loved listening to and watching (cuz most times the conversations required full body re-enactments) the rapid fire back and forth of an animated Trini discussion.
Many times, me ain’t really understand what was being said. Sometimes the speed at which folk talked was just too fast, but often, I just didn’t know the words that were being used. I spent a lot of time saying “Wha?” “Wha you said?” “What that mean?” “Say again.” “Me ain’t understand.” LOL!
But I came away with a slew of new words and phrases. I find myself repeating them over and over again. Practicing the accent and cadence, not in preparation for any play or performance, but just because I love their sound.
Which is how this super-sized edition of WIWOTW came about There were just too many goodies to share and I couldn’t stand to dole them out one week at a time. Below are a few of the words and phrase I like the most. Some are pure Trini sayings, some may only be used by #TriniBoo an he fren dem, some are used throughout the Caribbean. All are amazing and should be used to pepper your conversation whenever possible. Enjoy!
Soldyah – Soldier. A title used to address another person. Ex. “Soldyah! You hear dat? It nah right man. It not right!” The American equivalent would be Son or Bruh. Shout-out to Reggie the taxi driver for this one.
Ya’unnastan? – Do you undertand? The American equivalent would be Nah mean? And in the same vein, it’s generally a rhetorical question used to underscore a point.
Wuz de scene? – What’s up What’s going on?
‘Ol on, eh? – Hold on. Gimme a minute. This one makes me giggle. It’s so short and said so quickly, I just think its cute.
Ent! – This word right here? This word right HERE?! LOL! This one is my all time fave. It’s an exclamation that means ‘Isn’t that so?!’ But depending on the context and intonation it can be funny, deadly serious, gossipy, you name it. The American equivalent would be Word! or For real! Ex. “I find she does tink she real smart.” “Ent!
Tanks, eh? – Thank you. A simiple phrase but the way it’s said makes me smile. Especially if its being used sarcastically. Quick story:
I felt very Trini when on the last day of my stay when I took taxis from Picton St. in Woodbrook (shout-out to Nicole of WhenDidIBecomeMyMom.com for taking time out of her day to chat with me) to San Juan (pronounced Sah Wah) all by myself! Ok, #TriniBoo was directing me via phone but still. And as I exited the cab I handed over my $3.00TT and said ‘Tanks, eh” with a big ol’ grin. I might have passed for a local if I hadn’t looked so bewildered once I realized I wasn’t quite sure that I had gotten out at the right stop.
Jeeznages! – Pronounced Geez-an-ages. An exclamation of disbelief along the lines of the American, Seriously? Are you kidding me?
In a gear – To get things organized/in order. Ex. “ We moving to the new house this weekend, plenty wuk to do, so me and he in a gear now.” I always misunderstand this one cuz the way I know it to be used is when you are all wound up, in a negative way, about something/someone. Ex. “I don’t know what to do now! That boy got me in a gear today!”
Macco – Busybody. A nosy person. Whenever #TriniBoo and I walked down his street, a certain Indian lady would always happen to be in her yard and call out hello. #TriniBoo would respond politely then whisper to me “You see de macco?” and laugh. Or as we approached her house he’d whisper “Look de macco.” Cracked me up every time.
Lime – To hangout. Can be used as a verb and a noun. Ex. “Is Shelly lime you going by?” ” We limin’ over at Donald house, come nah!”
Allyuh – All of you. Ex. “Allyuh comin’ to the shop or wha?”
Pace – Crunch time. A moment of time in which a lot of work must be done quickly. “You see once carnival season start, is pace!”
There are plenty more but this post is long enough. I’ll share the rest out over the coming weeks. Allyuh try behave yourselves now! Me ain’t want hear nuttin’ bout RACA readers gettin’ on bad. Ya’unnastan? 🙂
Which Trini words/phrases did I miss? Are there alternate meanings that I didn’t get? What are your favorite Trini sayings? Tell me nuh!
This was awesome…. dem Trini ppl can really lime and they invent a new slang quarterly…. Excited to see the Caribbean unified.
you neva lie! i only spent a week in t n t but by the end i was all limed out! how they manage me ain’t know.
LOVED this post, ent? And how you were able to translate the meanings so well. (I remember one time I told someone I wanted to buss a wine…and she said that it would probably hurt, lol)
Adanna–Everybody Peeping is one of my favorite songs. Even my kids know it now!
now i have to check out this song peeping…de macco game is real in the field!
Yes, I enjoyed this one. Although, I’m Grenadian we use all of these terms too. LOL @ Ent! Def one of my favorites. There is a song called Ent! You’ll probably like it and “Peeping” is a tribute to all dem macco and dem.
I’ve only heard Trini’s use ent and I absolutely love it! lol