What does “OG” mean in English slang?

Gen Z Revives Tae Bo With Billy Blanks

WhatsAppGmailTelegramEmail

B1 English listening practice · American English · Picked for people who know some

💡 Did you know?
OG
Slang for "the original, respected one"
short for “original gangster” — now just means a respected pioneer or veteran

Near the end of this interview, the host asks fitness pioneer Billy Blanks: “Isn’t it cool that you could show your daughters that you were an OG?” OG started as “original gangster,” slang from Los Angeles gang culture in the 1970s. It has since broadened far beyond gangs: today it usually means someone who was there first and is respected for it.

Hip-hop spread the word through the 1980s and 90s (Ice-T’s 1991 album “O.G. Original Gangster” is a famous example), and its meaning kept widening. Now people call a favourite teacher, an old restaurant or the first version of a video game “the OG.” Here it’s a compliment for making Tae Bo huge in the 1990s: “you were TikTok before TikTok was cool,” as the host puts it.

How common are the words?

How common are the words in this B1 English listening practice video?

90.9%
of words are in the top 2,000 most common English words
Most of the words in this video are common English words.

How common in written English

87.1%
Top 1,000
90.9%
Top 2,000
96.6%
Top 5,000

How common in spoken English

93%
Top 1,000
97.1%
Top 2,000
100%
Top 5,000
👄 Words for talking
This video uses words people often say in English.

Harder words in this video

These words are harder than B1. Here is what they mean.

tiktok
5×
Not in top 5,000
social media app
taibo
2×
Not in top 5,000
fitness program
mhmm
1×
Not in top 5,000
(informal) acknowledgment sound
off your phone
1×
not using your phone or device

Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · SUBTLEX-US 2012 (spoken). These numbers are close, not perfect.

See American English Videos You Can Understand on Reelang

Open English page