Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
choke
lots of something
cockaroach
steal; rip off.
da kine
a catchall word of many meanings that epitomizes the essence of pidgin. Da kine
is a euphemism for pidgin and is substituted whenever the speaker is at a loss for a word
or just wants to generalize.
geev um
give it to them; give them hell; go for it. Can be used as an encouragement. If a
surfer is riding a great wave, the people on the beach might yell, “Geev um, brah!”
grinds
food
hana hou
again. Especially after a concert the audience shouts “hana hou” (one more!).
hele on
let's get going
howzit?
as in “howzit, brah?” What's happening? How's it going? The most common
greeting, used in place of the more formal “How do you do?”
lesgo
let's go! do it!
li'dis an' li'dat
like this or that
lolo
stupid, crazy
mo' bettah
A better way of doing something.
pakalolo
“crazy smoke”; marijuana; grass; reefer
pau
a Hawaiian word meaning finished; done; over and done with. Pau hana means end of
work or quitting time. Once used by plantation workers, now used by everyone.
seestah
sister, female
shaka
hand wave where only the thumb and baby finger stick out, meaning “thank you, all
right!”
shoots
Whatever, sure, in agreement. Example: “What, you like go Makena today?”
“Shoots!”
rubbah sleepah
rubber slippers, sandals, flip-flops. Referring to slippers as sandals is only
something that “mainlanders” would do.
stink eye
Basically frowning at someone; using facial expression to show displeasure.
Hard looks. What you'll get if you give local people a hard time.
talk story
spinning yarns; shooting the breeze; throwing the bull; a rap session. If you're
lucky enough to be around to hear
kupuna
(elders) “talk story,” you can hear some fant-
astic tales in the tradition of old Hawai'i.
tanks, brah
thanks, thank you
to da max
all the way
wea stay?
literally, “where stay?,” as in to ask a location. Examples are “wea the car stay?,”
“wea you stay?,” or the gloriously grammatical “wea you stay going” (where are you
going).
We go
Let's go! Usually used in conjunction with “shoots,” as in “shoots we go!”
