-izzle
English edit
Etymology edit
Popularized by rap artist Snoop Dogg, but first put to record by Frankie Smith's 1981 "Double Dutch Bus"[1] is from a style of cant (esoteric slang) used by African American pimps and jive hustlers of the 1970s. The “-iz, -izzle, -izzo, -ilz” speak (which also uses an infix -iz-), similar in some ways to Pig Latin, was developed by African Americans around the period of the Harlem Renaissance, with hotspots of the speak in Oakland, New York City, and Philadelphia. It was partially developed as young African American girls improvised chants and nursery rhymes while jumping rope, with the -iz dialect serving to add syllables when necessary to maintain the rhythm. A similar -iz dialect has also been used by carnies (carnival workers).
Pronunciation edit
Suffix edit
-izzle
- (slang) Forms hip-hop-sounding words, which replaces the word with the first sound of the word followed by -izzle.
- 2001, Cypress Hill, Here is Something You Can't Understand:
- My nizzle, you gon' get hizzle
Relax by the kizzle
An' go get us a couple hizzles
- 2004, Hollywood Reporter, British judge: nizzle-shizzling not an offense:
- A bewigged British judge ruled on Thursday that the lyrics of a rap record urging the listener to “shizzle my nizzle” and referring to a “mish mish man” did not constitute an offense.
- 2005 February 15, “Shortcuts”, in The Guardian:
- Snoop Dogg has always had a refreshing take on British culture. When he met Rod Hull and Emu on The Word, for instance, he took exception to the overindulged bird’s lunge at his genitals (or “lizzle at his gizzle”, to use Snoop’s parlance). After a short struggle, the rapper’s foot rested on the bird-handler’s neck. If only Parky had been so proactive.
- 2012, EpicLLOYD, Nice Peter, Snoop Dogg (lyrics and music), “Moses vs Snoop Dog”, in Epic Rap Battles of History (Season 2)[2]:
- Hand me my chisel, I got a new commandizzle, for y'all.