Street voices
Janna
·
United States
Just recorded
"Say less. That basically means, maybe when someone asks you to do something, asks you for a favour, tells you to do something, you just say, say less. To mean like, okay, I got it, like, I'll do it, I understand, it's done, you know? Kinda what it means. An example could be, Yo, can you send me the notes you took at Mr. Smith's class real quick? Say less."
What it means
Means I completely understand, no further explanation needed, I am already on board. The ultimate shortcut to agreement. Someone proposes a plan and instead of a long enthusiastic yes, you just hit them with a cool say less and you are both on the same page. Came up through New York hip-hop culture and spread fast because honestly, why use more words when two will do.
Usage examples
"Told my boy there was free food at the block party on Saturday and he just looked at me and went say less, I'll be there at noon."
Where it comes from
Say less originated in the African American Vernacular English of New York hip-hop culture of the late nineteen-nineties and early two-thousands, particularly through the lyrics of Brooklyn and Queens rappers like Roc Marciano and Cam ron, who popularised the phrase as a verbal stamp of immediate agreement that needed no further negotiation. The shortened form gained mainstream visibility in the twenty-tens through the rise of social media platforms and the cultural diffusion of New York urban speech via Twitter and Instagram captions. The phrase has crossed cultural boundaries to become standard slang of the Millennial and Gen Z generations across the English-speaking world, used as the verbal equivalent of a handshake of mutual understanding.
Editors of this term
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