the drip

The children sized up their teacher in her bright orange pants and sunflower-patterned top. ‘That looks weird’ said one.  ‘Na, she’s drip!’ said another.  A couple more nodded sagaciously in agreement.  The teacher was nonplussed.

It turns out that to have the drip is from Black American English and means ‘to dress stylishly’. The drip could be your clothes or your jewellery (bling).  To be dripping in something is to be wearing a lot of it:  She’s dripping in gold!  Of course if you are dressed in this way, you have to be able to carry it off so there is personality and sexiness involved as well. Basically, though, drip focuses on the stuff you are wearing whereas swag, a related term,  focuses on your bearing and manner.  Swag is also Black American English and is possibly related to swagger.  The first meaning was ‘a kind of stylish walk’, the second meaning ‘self-assurance, confidence’.  Both words were made popular through American rap in the early noughties.

So the teacher should relax.  To be told that she was drip was a compliment.