‘Bussin,’ ‘Chitterlings’ and ‘Promised Land’ Among First 10 Words Added To African American English Dictionary

Oxford’s first-ever Dictionary of African American English is set for 2025 release and the first 10 words to be included in the upcoming workbook have been unveiled.

One year after Oxford University Press announced its plans to release the “Oxford Dictionary of African American English,” a presentation was recently held that revealed the lexicon’s 2025 release date and news of the first 100 words that will be included, NY Times reports.

Henry Louis Gates Jr. the literary critic and African American history professor at Harvard University who also hosts PBS’ “Finding Your Roots” is the editor of the new dictionary that will be researched and edited from both Oxford Languages and the Harvard University Hutchins Center for African & African American Research, according to NBC News.

“Everybody has an urgent need for self-expression,” Gates said of the new dictionary’s relevance.

“You need to be able to communicate what you feel and what you think to other people in your speech community… That is why we refashioned the English language.”

The name and etymology of 10 out of the first 100 words were made public by The Times in anticipation of the dictionary’s release. Readers can expect detailed descriptions of phrases like “bussin,” “chitterlings,” and “cakewalk,” among the list that is still taking public contributions HERE.

Take a look at 10 of the newly unveiled words and definitions below.

bussin (adjective and participle): 1. Especially describing food: tasty, delicious. Also more generally: impressive, excellent. 2. Describing a party, event, etc.: busy, crowded, lively. (Variant forms: bussing, bussin’.)

grill (noun): A removable or permanent dental overlay, typically made of silver, gold or another metal and often inset with gemstones, which is worn as jewelry.

Promised Land (n.): A place perceived to be where enslaved people and, later, African Americans more generally, can find refuge and live in freedom. (Etymology: A reference to the biblical story of Jewish people seeking freedom from Egyptian bondage.)

chitterlings (n. plural): A dish made from pig intestines that are typically boiled, fried or stuffed with other ingredients. Occasionally also pig intestines as an ingredient. (Variant forms: chitlins, chittlins, chitlings, chitterlins.)

kitchen (n.): The hair at the nape of the neck, which is typically shorter, kinkier and considered more difficult to style.

cakewalk (n.): 1. A contest in which Black people would perform a stylized walk in pairs, typically judged by a plantation owner. The winner would receive some type of cake. 2. Something that is considered easily done, as in This job is a cakewalk.

old school (adj.): Characteristic of early hip-hop or rap music that emerged in New York City between the late 1970s to the mid 1980s, which often includes the use of couplets, funk and disco samples, and playful lyrics. Also used to describe the music and artists of that style and time period. (Variant form: old skool.)

pat (verb): 1. transitive. To tap (the foot) in rhythm with music, sometimes as an indication of participation in religious worship. 2. intransitive. Usually of a person’s foot: to tap in rhythm with music, sometimes to demonstrate participation in religious worship.

Aunt Hagar’s children (n.): A reference to Black people collectively. (Etymology: Probably a reference to Hagar in the Bible, who, with her son, Ishmael, was cast out by Sarah and Abraham [Ishmael’s father], and became, among some Black communities, the symbolic mother of all Africans and African Americans and of Black womanhood.)

ring shout (n.): A spiritual ritual involving a dance where participants follow one another in a ring shape, shuffling their feet and clapping their hands to accompany chanting and singing. The dancing and chanting gradually intensify and often conclude with participants exhibiting a state of spiritual ecstasy.

Gates confirmed that all of the words that will be included in the African American English dictionary will also be added to the Oxford English dictionary.

“That is the best of both worlds” Gates said. “Because we want to show how Black English is part of the larger of Englishes, as they say, spoken around the world.”