Definition: Turbo (noun) a compressor that increases the power of internal-combustion engines found in cars, motorbikes etc. Shandy (noun) A drink made by mixing one part beer and one part lemonade (American English=soda)

Turbo Shandy: An extra-potent shandy made with one part beer and one part alcoholic lemonade, which ‘increases the power’ of the beer.

Example sentence: “If you lot have been out since 5 o’ clock I’ve got a bit of catching up to do. I’d better get on the turbo shandies right away.”

Explanation: In contrast to Japanese laws regarding the consumption of alcohol before driving, British laws are less strict about the amount of alcohol you can drink before getting behind the wheel(1). The exact amount varies depending on factors such as the person in question, whether they’ve eaten anything, the speed with which they consume the alcohol and the type of drink consumed. In the case of beer, approximately two pints is the maximum amount most people can drink before driving.
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この記事の日本語版はこちらをご覧下さい
The introduction to this series of articles can be found here

Definition: Mentalist (noun) A person who engages in strange or crazy behaviour; Mentalist (adjective) strange or crazy

Example sentence: “I’ll never go to the Log Kit Hamburger Restaurant in Sasebo ever again. I had to wait an eternity for my food, the hamburgers were average and the owner is a total mentalist”

Explanation: Unlike most of the expressions on the My Favourite Slang list – which have no direct translation or widely known equivalent in Japanese language – ‘mentalist’ is basically the same as the word henjin in Japanese, meaning a ‘strange or crazy person’. There are actually numerous ways to convey this idea in English, varying in intensity from ‘eccentric’ to ‘weirdo’ to ‘freak’; ‘Mentalist’ falls somewhere between ‘weirdo’ and ‘freak’, ranging from mildly derogatory to mildly offensive depending on the context it’s used in.
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この記事の日本語版はこちらをご覧下さい
The introduction to this series of articles can be found here

Definition: A child who is shocked by the sight of foreigners, staring at them in amazement and sometimes becoming frozen to the spot.

Example sentence: “Most kids in Kyoto are used to seeing foreigners all the time so they don’t bat an eyelid. If you go to Kagoshima though, it’s a different story - they’re all Gameboy Droppers down there.”

Related expressions: Adult Gameboy Dropper (noun) - The same as a Gameboy Dropper, but older and less likely to drop whatever they’re holding.

Explanation: Because they live in such a racially-homogenous country kids in Japan are used to seeing only Japanese people around them, especially since most of them have never been overseas and rarely see foreigners on TV. As a result they’re often visibly shocked when they see a foreigner, their amazement manifested in stares, paralysis or remarks to their parents.
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この記事の日本語版はこちらをご覧下さい
The introduction to this series of articles can be found here

Definition: Being on the receiving end of extra-diligent inspection from Japanese Customs Officials on account of being non-Japanese

Example sentence: “I was lucky to avoid the full body cavity search bearing in mind I was FWG”

Related expressions: RWG - Riding While Gaijin

Explanation: Last month I came back to Japan from an overseas trip only to receive my usual welcome from Kansai Airport’s Customs officials. Every time I’ve entered Japan through that airport I’ve had my bag searched, apart from the one time I was travelling with a Japanese friend. On that occasion the Customs Official quizzed us about where we’d been, how long we’d known each other and how we met for what seemed like ages, until finally - clearly desperate to search my bags but unwilling to offend my Japanese travel companion - he allowed us through.
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この記事の日本語版はこちらをご覧下さい
The introduction to this series of articles can be found here

DEFINITION: Runway (noun) A strip of land with a covered surface used by aeroplanes (US English = airplanes) for take off and landing; Futon (noun) A soft mattress used for sleeping on.

Runway futon (noun) A futon put down/laid out in a tiny area of hastily-cleared floor space in a messy one-room apartment.

EXAMPLE SENTENCE: “It’s about time I tidied up my apartment – I had to settle for the runway futon again last night”

EXPLANATION: One of the downsides of living in a one-room apartment is the lack of storage space, resulting in either a sparse, minimalist lifestyle or over-crowding and untidiness. In my case, I’m a bit of a ‘hoarder’ and rarely throw anything away (apart from rubbish/garbage of course).

This means that no matter how good my intentions are, or how many space-saving devices I buy from the ¥100 shop or home centre, my apartment is simply impossible to keep tidy. I start leaving things out on the carpet so I know where they are, these things keep accumulating, and before long there are piles of paper and junk all over the place. I’ve spoken to other people who live in one-room apartments and it seems this is a problem shared by many of them, especially since most people sleep on futons not beds.
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Words and phrases I like to use in conversation

In this series I’m going to be introducing you to some of my favourite slang expressions, most of which are related to my life in Japan in one way or another. Some of these expressions I coined myself, some of them I stole from friends, while others are in common use in spoken English in England or elsewhere.

For each word or phrase I’ll be giving a definition, plus some background information such as notes on usage or origin, or further explanation of their meaning. As I write posts about each expression I’ll add the links to the list of slang at the bottom of this post.

Enjoy…

Your homework:

Do you know any other good slang (English or Japanese) you’d like to share?

Post your replies below, or email me at bigonjapan[at]gmail.com

My favourite slang list:

• crop dusting
• eigo bandit
• foreplay futon
• Flying While Gaijin (see ‘FWG’)
• FWG
• Gameboy dropper
• gutbuster
• hit up
• J-trash
• LBH
• lemmings
• Loser Back Home
• The Louis Vuitton Game
• mentalist
• naijin
• necking turds
• the overlap
• Pringles girl
• Riding While Gaijin (see ‘RWG’)
• runway futon
• RWG
• templed out
• tip whore
• turbo shandy
• turd necker (see ‘necking turds’)
• Washington