'That's phat, brotha! Innit?' Tesco issues guide to teenage slang for its older staff

Last updated at 18:07 31 May 2007

Tesco are teaching street slang to older workers to help them understand and communicate with their younger colleagues.

Employees over retirement age have been issued with a phrasebook listing more than 30 of the most common phrases used by teenagers.

To older folk, "getting caned" means receiving six of the best in the headmaster's study, and "rank" is one of the few things told to the enemy, along with one's name and number.

The new phrasebook helpfully points out that rather than a beating, "caned" means doing something to excess, and "rank" means disgusting or horrible.

Scroll down for phrases included in the guide...

Among the other 30 expressions listed are "ballin" meaning doing well, "bad" meaning good, "phat" meaning wicked, and "A and B and the C of the D" meaning above and beyond the call of duty.

Tesco in Eastbourne, East Sussex, is the first to issue the guide because of its high proportion of older workers in the seaside town dubbed God's Waiting Room.

Pensioner Val Plant, 62, has eight grandchildren and works in the store's grocery department.

She said: "We had great fun trying this out with the younger lads in the store. It's a good - or should I say 'bad' - idea.

"It will certainly help me get what my grandchildren are actually talking about over Sunday lunch."

Fellow OAP Ruth Bevilacqua, 67, works in the clothing department at the store, whose motto is Every Little Helps.

She said: "If you only mix with people your own age you sometimes lose touch with what's going on with the younger generation."

Ashley Coley, 18, works in the pricing department at the store which employs more than 500 staff.

He said: "It's a nice idea because obviously youngsters today frequently speak slang and older people don't understand it."

The Tesco Youth Slang Guide was drawn up by a panel of youngsters recruited by the supermarket giant and is promoted as "the one-stop guide for lingo-lean staff to get word-savvy on today’s most 'deadly' street phrases".

It says: "In today’s fast-moving world, diversity stretches further than different faiths and cultures - the communication barrier can often exist between generations.

"This leaflet aims to help bridge the generation gap and offer a one-stop guide for older members of staff looking to get down wiv the chat with their younger colleagues and customers. After all, we’re all one team."

A spokesman said: "We want to make Tesco an enjoyable place to work as well as to shop so we try to make life a little easier and more fun for our staff.

"This guide is a good example and will help our older staff feel supported and some of our younger colleagues better understood."

Phrases included in the guide include:

• A and B the C of D: Above and Beyond the Call of Duty

• Am I bovvered?: I don’t care

• B in the D: Back in the Day

• Bad: Good NB: this can also mean bad; when in doubt, just nod

• Ballin’: Doing well

• Blood: Mate, chum

• Brotha: Mate

• Buggin: To act crazy or strange

• Cane: To do something to excess

• Cuss: Defame