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Slang of the Week: hit me on the hip (verb phrase)
page me

Example:
Hit me on the hip tomorrow and we can make plans for dinner.

Celebrity quote:
“Here's the number to my cell or hit me on the hip/ Here's the number to the crib (house) where I really live.”
- Chante Moore on the song Straight Up

Technology has an interesting effect on slang. Pagers (also called beepers) have been available to private citizens since the 1950s, but initially they were used primarily by professionals such as doctors. As the service and range improved, they became more popular for personal use.

They also became the communication tool of choice for drug dealers, and by 1994, that problem had become so pronounced that New York replaced many pay phones in high crime areas with old-fashioned rotary dial phones because they would not work with pagers. Now that most people have cell phones, that is not longer a useful barrier and in any case, pagers have become so commonplace that they are no longer stigmatized in that way.

But the old pay phones still influence slang. Rappers often talk about enemies who drop dimes on them. This term for calling the police to tell them about someone’s illegal activities has not changed, even though pay phones now cost fifty cents instead of ten.

What’s new at Slang City?
“We're gonna eat some great food and enjoy the scenery and we are going to send you off in style, mon frere.” Translated quotes from the Oscar nominated film Sideways. (Warning: contains many bad words.)