Happy Ending-isms: A Helpful Guide to Understanding One of TV’s Wittiest Shows

 

If you check out this site often, you know we love Happy Endings.  For the uninitiated,  the sitcom follows the lives of six friends: Penny, Dave, Brad, Jane, Alex and Max, and their sometimes complicated inter-personal relationships. Initially, the show could have suffered in comparison to Friends. There are similarities: a runaway bride in the pilot episode, tight-knit siblings, a spacey blonde, and a guy with commitment issues. However, Happy Endings quickly established itself as a clever quip-filled funfest like no other. One of the best things about Happy Endings is its original and sometimes completely nonsensical dialogue. These besties have created a language all their own (with a little help from the urban dictionary). So, if you want to breathe some new life into your humdrum vocab, below is a guide to just some of the unique slang, abbreviations and puns from the show.

1) Mr. Reich-Alex’s nickname for Douglas Hitler; a man Penny dates.

2) sando-Max’s abbreviation for a sandwich.

3) scooch-Usually, a unit of measurement for space, Penny uses it as an indicator for a brief moment of time.

4) vajanea-Jane’s nickname for her vagina

5) pexted-Penny is penis texted by a tween she meets at a Bar Mitzvah.

6) snooch-A term of endearment Brad uses for his wife, Jane. “A cute thing.”

7) turtleing-When a man in a coffee costume retreats completely inside the cup.

8) slawsome-An adjective that Penny uses to describe her enthusiasm for cole slaw.

9) BBF-black best friend-Used by Max to describe Brad.

10) GFF-gay fat friend-Used by Brad to describe Max.

11) bottom frenching-Ass kissing or any oral to behind contact. Jane uses this at a car dealership to indicate no deal has been made.

12) sex nose-How Brad says he likes to refer to his penis.

13) dangle room-Brad’s dad uses this term to describe the amount of space for allowable genital movement in the crotch of a man’s pair of pants.

14) lay down, move around/downtown parade-Alex’s terms for sexual relations

16) Lance Charmstrong- A nickname Brad has bestows upon himself indicating his abundance of natural charisma and charm.

17) Misery-ing Me-When Max holds his best friend Penny hostage in order to spend time with her physical therapist alone.

18) Shia Labeouf-ey- A noun Alex and Dave use as an adjective to negatively describe an apartment.

19) Nava Ho Hos-A dessert Alex makes that pays homage to Dave’s American Indian roots.

20) zooks-A negative verb similar to sucks or stinks. Penny uses it to describe being stuck in a full upper body cast.

21) Yoko Uno-Max’s “one man experimental band.”

22) Gayfty- A single girl’s gay best friend, who can fill in as a faux boyfriend. Penny uses it to refer to Max

23) ‘Rari- A Ferrari. Penny’s abbreviation of the car a wealthy man drives.

24) Tegan Aerosphere-The heroine of Penny’s imaginary self-published post-apocalyptic tween book series.

25) mos def- Jane’s way of saying most definitely.

26) sabado- Spanish word for Saturday. Brad uses it to refer to his perfect weekend day: shopping, working out, taking a sauna and eating lunch.

27) chooch-Someone unintelligent. In this context, Jane uses it to describe a car salesman.

28) Gay Guevera- Moniker Alex bestowed on Max when he led a boycott against a chain coffee franchise.

29) Keepin’ It Kosh-Alex’s vow to eat only kosher food after enjoying all the delights of a Bar Mitzvah buffet.

30) Erogonomic Work Hammock—The incorrect moniker Alex’s gives a sex swing she got at a flea market and is currently using as a dining room chair.

31) Handrew Jackson—Jane’s nickname for the way a woman handles a certain part of the male anatomy.

32) Sinbrad—Brad’s ventriloquist figure, who is dressed and coiffed a la the 90s comedian

33) Mandonna—Max’s all-male Madonna tribute band

 

Want to catch up on Happy Endings? Check it out on Hulu or abc.com!