Whip

When a car is referred to as a Whip.

When the steering wheel was first put into use in automobiles, it was called the "whip". The whip is what you used to control the horses on a stagecoach, hence the analogy. Many years later, various hip hop artists noticed that the Mercedes-Benz logo resembled a steering wheel. They then proceeded to use the old term "whip" to describe any Mercedes-Benz vehicle. The term has now been generalized to classify any expensive automobile.

Hi chris.r!! Just like "wet", I have never heard a steering wheel called a whip. Is it another British term? You can never tell what those Brits will come up with.;)

Have you seen the movie Snatch? A really funny movie so if you haven't seen it "give it a go". Dennis Farina, the actor who just died a couple of days ago, played an American in London who was flustered by the Brits' accents and slang, uttered a line that went like this: (paraphrased) "Speak English! I thought this was the country that spawned the language but I haven't heard anybody speak it yet!":D


http://tv.yahoo.com/blogs/tv-news/la...182917042.html

Hi Vicente, Snatch was a phenomenal movie! Whip is more of a slang term used in the U.S. I know it's used in the east coast, but not sure if it's common in the rest of the country.

Hi chris.r! I was raised on the southern East Coast and never heard the expression. Maybe it's more regional, like a New England thing? They have some unusual ones, like frappe for a milkshake.

I've heard the term "whip" used here, but it doesn't necessarily refer to expensive vehicle. It is just another slang term to mentions someone's car. Let's jump in my whip! :cool::p

The truth is, it could be in use in Texas and I'm not aware of it. At my age I don't get to mingle with the younger ones who invent slang, so I'm far from being an authority.

This is an excerpt from Urban Dictionary ( a source I consider extremely unreliable:p)

This is just one contributor's comment:

Currently the most overly used word to describe ones car regardless of the cars make or model. It's most commonly used in "Ricer" rags or on MTV Cribs by soon-to-be bankrupt rappers that no one besides MTV has heard of. Not to be confused with "Rides" which is another trendy word for cars, which makes more sense, but still should not be used by anyone with an IQ higher than 20.

I LOVE it vicente!!! LOL!!!! That is so true!! And I the last part to be the funniest, not to be used by anyone with an IQ higher than 20!! LOL!!

Yeah, kvillanueva, I laughed at that too which is why I thought it was worthy of posting.:p I kinda feel that way about a lot of the Urban Dictionary stuff.

The key here might be "...another trendy word for cars...". chris.r's original post cited the origin but I wonder how long it's actually been around. I still have my doubts about the source. Seems to me "rein" would be a better choice since stagecoach horses are steered by the reins. I'd be more inclined to think it came from "whip around", which means, in one context, to run about, as in, "He likes to whip around town in his new car". I don't think that phrase had anything to do with horses but came from one of the alternate definitions of whip, i.e., to move quickly.

Per Dictionary.com:

[I]verb (used without object)
14.
to move or go quickly and suddenly; dart; whisk: She whipped into the store for some milk[/I].

In any case, Cheers! chris.r.:D It was a good post!! I learned something and that's what it's all about here in the foro. Thanks.;)

My friends and I sometimes might use some of the "slang" terminology but it is mostly just fooling around and poking fun at those that actually speak that way. There is no way you will ever catch me speaking about my car and referring to it as a whip or speaking about my house and calling it my "crib". No way!!!

Ni yo! I always try to warn people learning English not to rely on slang or even try to use it because even native speakers don't always understand the meanings of some slang and it could be dangerous!;)

That is so true. Sometimes they come up with the weirdest names/terminology for things that I don't even know what it means and then when that happens I feel old because I'm not young and hip anymore and know all the slang terminology. LOL!!!