Vocabulary of the Orion Arm: The E’s through G’s

The chiroptim are some of the latest arrivals in the Orion Arm. They came here through a portal between our timeline and another where bats and humans evolved side-by-side on Earth. “The Crossing”, as they call it, occurred approximately 200 years ago. At that time, the Earth of their timeline was still deep in the Great Depression.

Most of the chiroptim who entered our timeline are from the Ya’os (literally “our people”), an ethnic group spread over Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East. The portal to our timeline opened in Tayassam, a chiroptim neighborhood in New York City’s Lower Manhattan, and many chiroptim today retain some New Yawker attitude.

The Ya’os were among the lowest of the low in Europe. This brought them into frequent contact with Ashkenazi Jews, with whom they both cooperated and competed. Because of this, much of their slang is derived from Yiddish that they picked up from their Jewish neighbors.

As if living in a world dominated by humans wasn’t enough, chiroptim are blood drinkers and had to suffer literal blood libel in Europe and North America. To cope with this, the Ya’os developed the Machyefshef or feeding Code, which forbade feeding on humans except in extraordinary circumstances.

The situation for chiroptim appeared to be much better in other parts of “the Old World”, particularly in East Asia, where bats are seen as auspicious animals; in Central America, where bats were associated with the underworld; and in Egypt, where jackal-headed chiroptim were associated with the god Anpu. Chiroptim were much more integrated into these societies and often held prestigious positions, even up to the modern era. However, most of the chiroptim in the Orion Arm of Covenant are from the heavily persecuted Ya’os ethnic group.

The chiroptim don’t miss the Old World and aren’t particularly saddened about the portal there collapsing. Instead, they see the Orion Arm of the 28th century as a fresh start and the Covenant as the first society to welcome them with open arms.

Some “feral” chiroptim want to keep to “the old ways” that kept them alive in the Old World. Millennia of persecution leave deep scars, and the ferals are understandably suspicious of their new hosts. The rest of the chiroptim, however, are eager to integrate into this new world.

Read on to learn common Trade words that start with the English letters E through G.

• Earth-2 (human, slang): Human name of the parallel Earth from which the chiroptim came. Also not-Earth or the 616. See also Old World, the.
• Ecaf (aco, slang): 1. Face. 2. Front, disguise. 3. Pretense. From British Polari. Also eek.
• Eegra (valka, slang): Torture. From Nadsat, derived from igra (game).
• Eemya (valka, slang): Name. From Nadsat, derived from imya (name).
• Ends (aco, slang): Hair. From British Polari.
• Esong (aco, slang): Nose. From British Polari.
• Fambles (aco, slang): Hands. From British Polari.
• Fantabulosa (aco, slang): Wonderful. From British Polari.
• Fart Planet (valka, term): The scientific term valka use for gas giants.
• Feral (general, term): Chiroptim who hold to the “old ways” and don’t like non-chiroptim. Tend to be very pagan and bound by codes of honor.
• Filly (aco, slang): 1. Child. 2. Someone who is naïve, slow, or sheltered. From British Polari.
• Firing Solution (spacer, term): Trajectory for guns or missiles, which takes into account the velocity of the projectile, the vectors of both attacker and target, and numerous other factors. In other words, it’s where you point your weapon right before you pull the trigger. Have a firing solution means you’ve calculated a firing solution and are ready to attack a target with your spaceship’s weapons. Also solution.
• Flashover (term, general): The moment when an artificial intelligence becomes self-aware and become SADEs.
• Flowery (aco, slang): 1. Lodgings, usually temporary. 2. Hideout. From British Polari.
• “Fly against the wind” (calerre, slang): 1. Act against the wishes of society, family, or friends, rock the boat. 2. Do things the hard way, make things difficult.
• “Fly into a thunderhead” (calerre, slang): To do something stupid, especially if you knew it was stupid.
• Fogus (aco, slang): 1. Tobacco. 2. Anything you take to help you concentrate or cope, up to and including hard drugs. From British Polari.
• Forella (valka, slang): Penis. From Nadsat, derived from forel (trout).
• Fress (chiroptim, slang): Eat without manners. From Yiddish.
• Funny Sense (chiroptim, slang): Fence, someone who buys stolen goods. An example of chiroptim rhyming slang.
• Futz (chiroptim, slang): Tinker, do busywork. From Yiddish.
• Gap Year Corps (Covenant, slang): The armies of recently graduated students who get jobs maintaining and cleaning their wards during the “gap years” between school and whatever comes next. It’s similar to the United States’ Civilian Conservation Corps and gives young men and women a chance to burn off youthful energy in something constructive.
• Gazetta (valka, slang): Gossip, intelligence. From Nadsat, derived from gazeta (newspaper).
• Geh Ways (chiroptim, slang): Go figure, who knows? From Yiddish.
• Gelt (aco, slang): Money. From British Polari.
• Generation 1 (general, term): The first “generation” of acoes, which were vat-grown and asexual. These acoes have cybernetic brain implants to reduce training time and provide indoctrination and skills useful to their owners. Also Gen-One.
• Generation 2 (general, term): The second “generation” of acoes. The first Generation 2 acoes were vat-grown with the ability to reproduce sexually. These acoes generally aren’t born with the cybernetic implants that Generation 1 acoes do. However, they also have more free will and none of the indoctrination of Generation 1 acoes. Generation 2 acoes are illegal in almost every part of the Orion Arm except for the Covenant. Also Gen-Two.
• Geshsach (chirtoptim, term): Literally “beautiful child.” A derogatory term for anyone immature or naïve.
• Geshilsekh (chiroptim, term): Literally “the children’s death.” Chiroptim will allegedly force their children to kill a condemned man by feeding on him. The trauma of the incident is thought to make chiroptim children more likely to follow their feeding Code or Machyefshef. There are no recorded incidents of geshilsekh in the Covenant, but there are rumors of it in Noch Yassam. See also Machyefshef and Noch Yassam.
• “Get a firing range named after you” (military, slang): To do something stupid or dangerous, usually both. Most militaries in known space name their firing ranges and other training facilities after soldiers who earned their medals posthumously – that is, who died doing something stupidly brave or bravely stupid.
• Ginchy (Covenant, slang): An all-purpose slang word contributed by the chiroptim. If something is ginchy, it can be anything from good or desirable to fancy, gaudy, elegant, cool, or sexy. Can be used sincerely or ironically, so context is important. See also pukka, which is the noun form of “ginchy”.
• Glass Jaw (Covenant, slang): The psychological fragility of recent immigrants. Also the flipouts.
• Glazz (valka, slang): Eye. From Nadsat, derived from glas (eye).
• Gloopy (valka, slang): Foolish, stupid. From Nadsat, derived from glupiyi (stupid).
• Golden Ticket (Covenant, slang): Being elected to certain positions in a Covenant commonwealth, especially as Defense Agents. These positions are still voluntary, however, and many elected people never take these positions. This has led the Covenant saying, “Many people get a golden ticket, but not everyone takes the ride.”
• Goloss (valka, slang): PA system, public announcement. From Nadsat, derived grom golos (voice).
• Goober (valka, slang): Lip. From Nadsat, derived from guba (lip).
• Good Fun (chiroptim, slang): Gun. An example of chiroptim rhyming slang.
• Gooly (valka, slang): March. From Nadsat, derived from gulyat (walk, stroll).
• Gorlo (valka, slang): Throat. From Nadsat, derived from gorlo (throat).
• Govoreet (valka, slang): Speak. From Nadsat, derived from govorit (speak).
• Grazzy (valka, slang): Sweaty and tired, especially from sex From Nadsat, derived from gryuzniyi (dirty).
• Grease (chiroptim, slang): Bribe.
• Gromky (valka, slang): Loud. From Nadsat, derived from gromkii (loud).
• Groody (valka, slang): Breast. From Nadsat, derived from grud (breast).
• Gruppa (valka, slang): Work team in a hive. From Nadsat, derived from gruppa (group).
• Gulliver (valka, slang): Head. From Nadsat, derived from golova (head).
• Gumbo Ya Ya (music, Covenant): Gumbo ya ya, is a chaotic, multispecies musical genre where everyone brings whatever instrument they like and then tries to make some kind of coherent music together. Band sizes can easily number in the twenties and even thirties. Gumbo ya ya often sounds either like a demented marching band, similar to the real-life band Mucca Pazza, or like Dixieland jazz via the Mos Eisley cantina. Popular acts include Thee Hot Pickles, Thirty Plus Three, Joyous Noise, and Cookin’ with Gas. Also gumbo.
• Gypsy Fleet (human, slang): Derogatory term for archipelago fleets. See also archipelagoes.

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See Also:

• Vocabulary of the Orion Arm: The A’s
• Vocabulary of the Orion Arm: The B’s
• Vocabulary of the Orion Arm: The C’s
• Vocabulary of the Orion Arm: The D’s

Note: Some of these terms are original, but the rest are gathered from numerous sources. This is only a partial list of these sources.

• Santa Barbara Jewish Connection: The First Words You Learn
• Military.com: Glossary of Military Terms & Slang
• Glossary of Military Terms & Slang from the Vietnam War
• Hobo Terminology
• In the 70s
• 60s Slang
• 1940s Slang: Hepcats and All That Jive
• 1930s Slang
• Sage Dragonfly – 1930’s Sayings/Slang
• Dirty 30s! – Slang of the 30s
• 1920’s & 1930’s Slang
• Life of Boris
• Molls and Dolls: 1920 Slang Dictionary
• Soomka.com – Nadsat Dictionary (reprinted from the novel
  “A Clockwork Orange” by Anthony Burgess
• Wikipedia: Polari
• Wikipedia: Yiddish Words Used in English