wack

See also: Wack

wack on Wikipedia

English

Alternative forms

whack

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /wæk/
Audio (General Australian): (file)
Rhymes: -æk
Homophone: whack (wine–whine merger)

Etymology 1

Back-formation from wacky. Alternatively, possibly a blend of white +‎ black, in the sense that it may appear black on the outside, but it's really white on the inside. Compare oreo.

Adjective

wack (comparative wacker, superlative wackest)

(originally African-American Vernacular, slang) Annoyingly or disappointingly bad, in various senses; lousy, corny, cringy, uncool, messed up.
Every record they ever made was straight-up wack.
- 2003 September 15, Michael Chapman; Matthew Chapman, “Teen Girl Squad Issue #4”, in Homestar Runner‎^[1], spoken by Strong Bad as Cheerleader (Matthew Chapman):
  Ya'll are so wack.
- 2011 May 20, 9th Wonder (quoted), Jaeki Cho, “9th Wonder Tells All: The Stories Behind His Classic Records”, in Complex‎^[2], archived from the original on 16 November 2022:
  The next day, Phonte gets in, and I let him hear the song, and he goes, 'This dude is wack, but what’s up with that beat though?' And I said, 'It's ours.'
- 2017 January 23, Colin Stutz, “Justin Bieber Says He Can't Listen to The Weeknd's 'Wack' Music”, in Billboard‎^[3]:
  When TMZ asked Bieber whether he can listen to The Weeknd’s music, the pop superstar replied, "Hell no I can’t listen to a Weeknd song. That shit's wack."
- 2018 March 21, Des Bieler, “'That's wack': LeBron James doesn't like idea of NBA postseason play-in tournament”, in Washington Post‎^[4]:
  "No, no, no," James said Wednesday (via ESPN). "That's wack. That's wack. Why? You got to earn your spot to be in the postseason. No consolation for finishing last. That's corny. That’s corny. That's wack. To play for what? What are they playing for?"
- 2018 September 19, Chauncey Alcorn, “Dak Prescott takes heat from Dallas Nine protester after Cowboys game arrests: "He's so wack"”, in Mic‎^[5]:
  "He's so wack for that," Jeffryes said of Prescott. "As a black man you should want to speak out against police brutality and racial injustice. You have a black father. One day you will have black children."
- 2018 October 3, Joe Price, “50 Cent Quits Instagram Over Post Being Taken Down: 'I'm Done'”, in Complex‎^[6], archived from the original on 16 November 2022:
  While it's not clear what the offending post was that resulted in removal, it is evident that he's not happy about the decision. "I'm done with Instagram this shit is wack,' he wrote.
- 2021 June 10, Cecilia D'Anastasio, “How Roblox Became a Playground for Virtual Fascists”, in Wired‎^[7]:
  Or, just as likely: Bobby thinks that guy is wack and sucks at Fortnite, and he doesn't accept Ryland's friend request. Next game, he'll go for the shotgun.
- 2022 July 20, Logic (quoted), Joshua Espinoza, “Logic Says 6ix9ine Is One of Many Rappers Who Put Up a Facade: 'That's Not Really Who They Are'”, in Complex‎^[8], archived from the original on 16 November 2022:
  […] but if there's somebody out there that's like, 'Oh, his music is wack,' what they're really saying is he's wack... But he's like, 'I don't give a fuck 'cause this isn't even really me.'

Derived terms

wack out

Noun

wack (plural wacks)

An eccentric; an oddball; a weirdo.
(dated, 70s drug slang) PCP, phencyclidine (as also whack).

Synonyms

wackjob, wacko; see also Thesaurus:strange person

Derived terms

wicky-wack

Translations

eccentric

Finnish: kumma tyyppi, kummajainen (fi), outo lintu
Russian: чудак (ru) m (čudak)
Swedish: galning (sv) c

Etymology 2

Clipping of wacker (“a Liverpudlian; a resident of Liverpool, England”)

Noun

wack (plural wacks)

(UK, Liverpool) A friendly term of address.
Synonyms: pal, mate
- 1966, The British Journal of Photography, volume 113, H. Greenwood, page 17:
  A few well chosen words such as "Let's be having you wack!", works wonders. The dockers know that they've got a Scouse to deal with. I'm not saying that a Southerner couldn't handle the situation, but the job might well take longer.
- 2011, Douglas Reeman, Torpedo Run, Random House, →ISBN:
  Leading Seaman Hanlon, a tough young man from the Liverpool docks, greeted him with, 'Wot's up with you, wack? Lost yer bleeding maor summat?'
- 2019, Richard Woodman, Voyage East, Canelo, →ISBN:
  One of the young men stepped forward to explain. It was obviously an enthusiasm of his. 'Hey, Wack, gerron wiv it, eh?'

References

“wack”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
“wack”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
“wack”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

cawk