Vocabulary of the Orion Arm: The L’s and M’s

(Don’t forget to tune in to the latest episode of the Radio Free Covenant podcast!)

We haven’t talked about Covenant’s Trade language and other slang for a while. We should remedy that. Read on to learn common Trade words that start with the English letters L and M.

• Lacoddy (aco, slang): Body. From British Polari.
• Lady Danaïn, The (chiroptim, term): The goddess worshipped by Ya’os chiroptim in Covenant. Usually envisioned as a seven-foot-tall naked chiroptim woman with jet black fur and eyes and gold outlines around her eyes. The Lady Danaïn isn’t a jealous god and allow her adherents to worship other gods; however, most chiroptim esteem her above all other gods and will give her idol the most prestigious place on their altars.
• Lallies (aco, slang): 1. Legs. 2. Knees. From British Polari.
• Lallie tappers (aco, slang): Feet. From British Polari.
• Lattie (aco, slang): Housing. From British Polari.
• Lau (aco, slang): Lay or place upon. From British Polari.
• Lavs (aco, slang): Words. From British Polari.
• “Lay chilly” (Covenant, slang): Stop, freeze, don’t move. Usually said as a command.
• Lewdies (valka, slang): People. From Nadsat, derived from lyudi (people).

• Lills (aco, slang): Hands. From British Polari.
• Lilly (aco, slang): 1. Police, the authorities. 2. Someone trying to ruin your fun. From British Polari.
• Litso (valka, slang): Face. From Nadsat, derived from litso (face).
• Lomtick (valka, slang): Slice, cut. From Nadsat, derived from lomtik (slice).
• Lovely Boot (chiroptim, slang): Loot, money, spoils. An example of chiroptim rhyming slang.
• Loveted (valka, slang): Caught. From Nadsat, derived from lovit (caught).
• Lubbilubbing (valka, slang): Having sex. From Nadsat, derived from lyublyu (having sex).
• Luppers (aco, slang): Fingers. From British Polari.
• Machyefshef, The (chiroptim, term): Ancient Ya’os law that states who a chiroptim can feed on and why. It is made up of many sections or “cantos.” The most famous of these cantos is the first: “Chekalos ovnesech / Yefmilos yefilsech” (“Innocent man, do not die / Guilty man, suck him dry”). Also the Code.

• Malchik (valka, slang): Child. From Nadsat, derived from malchik (boy).
• Malenky (valka, slang): 1. Little. 2. Child. 3. Inferior person. Often used by Matriarchs to describe anyone who isn’t a Matriarch. From Nadsat, derived from malyenkiyi (little).
• Mangarie (aco, slang): Food. From British Polari.
• Manky (aco, slang): 1. Worthless. 2. Gauche, without class. 3. Suspect. From British Polari.
• Martinis (aco, slang): Hands. From British Polari.
• Measures (aco, slang): 1. Money. 2. Pull, social capital. From British Polari.
• Meathead (SADE, slang): Non-SADE sapients, “biologicals”.
• Medzer (aco, slang): 1. Half. 2. Share, take. From British Polari.
• Medzered (aco, slang): Divided. From British Polari.

• Meese (aco, slang): Plain, ugly, or kitschy. From British Polari.
• Merzky (valka, slang): 1. Dirty. 2. Suspect. From Nadsat, derived from merzkiyi (dirty).
• Meshigener (aco, slang): Crazy. From British Polari.
• Messel (valka, slang): Thought. From Nadsat, derived from misl (thought).
• Mesto (valka, slang): Place. From Nadsat, derived from mesto (place).
• Metzas (aco, slang): Money. From British Polari.
• Millicent (valka, slang): Policeman, guard. From Nadsat, derived from militsiya (policeman).
• Mince (aco, slang): 1. Walk affectedly or effeminately. 2. Act without commitment or drive. From British Polari.
• Minimum (Covenant, slang): The minimal lifestyle to which all Covenant citizens are entitled. It includes full medical care and education, private but Spartan living quarters and nutritious if uninspiring food. Despite this, a surprising number of Covenant citizens like minimum, and it’s also had the unexpected side effect of encouraging cheap travel and tourism in the Covenant. Citizens are often required to work 10 hours week for their wards in order to earn minimum, though this can be waived.

• Minoota (valka, slang): Minute. From Nadsat, derived from minuta (minute).
• Mogue (aco, slang): Deceive. From British Polari.
• Mollying (aco, slang): Have sex. From British Polari.
• Molodoy (valka, slang): Young. From Nadsat, derived from molodoy (young).
• Moodge (valka, slang): Man, adult male sapient. From Nadsat, derived from muzhchina (male human being).
• Morder (valka, slang): Snout. From Nadsat, derived from morda (snout).
• Mozg (valka, slang): Brain. From Nadsat, derived from mozg (brain).
• Motovvak (Yashef): Large gun with a high cyclic rate, usually a machine gun.
• Munge (aco, slang): Darkness. From British Polari.

---

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
• Vocabulary of the Orion Arm: The E’s through G’s
• Vocabulary of the Orion Arm: The H’s and I’s
• Vocabulary of the Orion Arm: The J’s and K’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