Street voices
Hugues
·
United States
"Badass. A word used to describe something as really cool. Dude, did you see when he caught the shield in the trailer, man? Oh yeah, totally. Winter Soldier is so badass."
What it means
Badass is what you say when plain cool isn't hitting hard enough. It's for a person, move, look, comeback, riff, bike, whatever's got grit, swagger, and that don't-try-me energy. It's praise, but with a bit of teeth on it.
Usage examples
"Dude, when Bucky caught the shield in that trailer, the whole room lost it. That was badass as hell, man, even my quiet mate yelled."
"She quit the toxic job on the spot, absolute badass."
"That was a badass guitar solo, the whole crowd went wild."
"That biker rolled up in the rain like it was nothing. Proper badass."
"You finished the set on a busted ankle? That's badass, not gonna lie."
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Where it comes from
Badass turns up in American English around the 1950s. It builds on the older slang use of bad for tough, dangerous, or impressively cool, then slaps on ass as a rough intensifier. From there it sticks as a punchy compliment for someone or something fierce, bold, and seriously impressive.
Other ways to say it
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