Dookie

Dookie (noun / slang)

(Also spelt Dooky)

Definition: Turd, dog dirt, or a lump of actual poo. Also slapped onto anything that turns out to be total, unadulterated rubbish.

Pronunciation: /ˈduː.ki/ (rhymes with spooky)

Where It Comes From: Started out as American playground talk in the 70s and 80s—just a silly kid word for dirty things. 90s hip-hop groups made heavy gold chains called “dookie ropes,” but Green Day blew the word wide open in 1994 by naming their massive punk album Dookie after getting food poisoning on tour. US cartoons like Rugrats and South Park cemented it, and British kids started copying it straight off Nickelodeon and MTV.

How People Actually Use It: Two main ways: you either stepped in it, or you bought something that plays up.

You shout it when someone’s dog leaves a mess across the park pavement. You also chuck it at a terrible movie, a dodgy takeaway kebab that gave you an upset stomach, or a mate’s ugly new haircut. It works because it sounds childish and gross without carrying the bite of a full-blown swear word.

Examples in the Wild:

• “Don’t walk across the grass in your new trainers, it’s riddled with dog dookie.”

  Translation: “Avoid that patch of grass; there is animal mess everywhere.”

• “Tried playing that new video game last night—proper dookie graphics.”

  Translation: “The visual quality on that game is laughably poor.”

• “Turn that radio station off, every single track they play is dookie.”

  Translation: “Change the channel; their music selection is dreadful.”

Similar Slang: Shite, Crap, Dog muck, Turd, Rubbish, Pants, Bin juice