Crossed Plus One Hundred vocabulary glossary

Alan Moore has done quite a bit of future jargon in Crossed Plus One Hundred, and elsewhere (including Halo Jones, WildCATS, etc.) It’s one of his ways of telling readers that we’re in the future, and that language changes over time (think of the difference between, say Shakespeare and present-day English.) At times it becomes a kind-of puzzle to de-code.

An example of Alan Moore dialogue including plenty of 2108-speak: rashing, jungling, urbs, churchface, hup, etc. Image from Crossed Plus One Hundred, No.1, Page 6, panels 2-3. Words by Alan Moore, art by Gabriel Andrade

Below I have tried to create an overall glossary of 2108-speak words/phrases in alphabetic order. I have tried to include in the glossary below specific new uses of words, plus stuff (places, names) that I think wouldn’t be familiar to many readers. Things that the Crossed say is in italics; things humans say is in un-italicized regular. If this page gets long, I might split into multiple pages. If you’re looking for a very specific usage on a specific page and panel, and you don’t see it here, you might also try the annotations for that issue. NOTE: “glossary” sounds neutral, but this CONTAINS SPOILERS. 

>More 2108-speak detail at my general notes on CPOH language and my blog post on CPOH language
>Go to Crossed Plus One Hundred Annotations Index

THANKS to commenters for contributing: Neron, Damian Gordon, dvn61danny, Charlotte Gore, Phil Uribe, and others.

CROSSED PLUS ONE HUNDRED GLOSSARY A-Z

(to) accident = to get into accident/s, to screw up

(to) actual – as in “…then the Surprise actualed.” (CPOH4, P10,p3) = to happen, to manifest, to get

AFAWK = As Far As We Know
(to) afawk – as in “wouldn’t be the first time we afawked ourselves” = to assume we know more than we do (verbification of AFAWK)

(an) agreed = an agreement

Alleghania = a geographic area that includes Tennessee. Derived from “Allegheny” a Native American name for a river, mountains, and other things in that area. Alleghania more or less stands in for America in CPOH humans’ minds.
Alleghanians = people of Alleghania

air play-in = airplane

(to) anal – as in “Oldwoman George can anal the resource committee.” (CPOH1, P7,p2) = apparently a swear word referring to anal sex. (Future Taylor is just swearing for emphasis… so maybe she’s saying “Oldwoman George can do something fucking awesome to the committee.”)

and but = used frequently where today we just say “but”

(an) ask = a question

(to) attitude = to have an attitude

audy / (to) audy  = to sound, to hear, to sound like – it’s related to “audio” or “audible.” Below are examples of its usage
“George was just trying to make run audy useful”(CPOH1, P6,p3)
“Audied like ‘pack ’em in’, but those voices you can’t tell.” (CPOH1, P17,p3)

(to) back up for – as in “her peoples want her here, so they backed up for George” = to back (someone)

(a) believe = a religion, a religious belief
(to do a) believe – as in “I don’t skull why people do believes” (CPOH4, P23,p1) = to practice a religious belief
(a) believe-center (or believe-centre) = a church, place of worship

bio-boobies = biological booby-traps set by the Crossed, by applying their bodily fluids to bullets, sharp sticks, and even envelopes. (Thanks commenter dvn61danny.)

bio-fuel = bio-diesel

bird-drop – as in “okay, next, our bird-drop. It’s wolfs we skull.” = decline in bird (ostrich) population

bird-bunk = pen (for ostriches)

(to) blade off = to cut off with blade

(to) born = to give birth to
borned = born

Bofol = Bashful (name of Crossed leader, discipline of Beau Salt)

Bosol = Beau Salt

boneblocked = blocked by a pile of bones

-boss – as in runboss, planboss, resourceboss = common suffix for leader roles

bottom boobies = butt

(the) brews = Jews, short for “Hebrews”

(to do) bring – as in “I was just doing bring” (CPOH5 P21,p5) = to bring

(to) brown or (to do a) brown – as in “I’m away to brown at our perimeter” (CPOH1, P3,p4 and P6,p3) = to defecate, to crap, to shit.
browned-up – as in “on a completely browned-up world” = crappy, shitty. (CPOH1, P5,p5)
brownhole = anus, asshole
brownwipe = toilet paper (CPOH1, P23,p5)
mouse-browns = mouse shit

buddleia = actual plant (also spelled buddleja) that grows wild in depopulated urban areas. (CPOH, P6,p3)

buds = buddies

builds = buildings
(to do) build – as in “Salt was doing build on something big” = to build
(to) builder – as in “all used for buildering, could be?” = to build
builded = built
build-back = things built back up

busses = buses

(to) camp up – as in “We’re camped up” = to camp

(to) casper = to haunt, to scare. (Probably a reference to Casper the Friendly Ghost)

Caush = nickname for Cautious

Cautious = name of young woman character. See cast of characters here.

(a) certain = a certainty, a strong confidence

Chooga = human settlement in Chattanooga (today a city in Tennessee) founded 2073. See Google map of CPOH locations.

christ me = sort of “fuck me” – there’s an interesting fluidity in swear words – christ, sex, fuck, anal, even brown=shit, others? all seem to be kind of interchangeable for what today might be “fuck.” (In 2108-speak, “fuck” more or less means “very.”)

christers = christians (used mainly to describe historical Christians – the contemporary Christian sect is the Crunk movement)

churchface = crazy (describes the Crossed’s face rash)  (CPOH1, P6,p3 and P22,p2)
(to) go churchface = to go crazy

(a) coincidental = a coincidence

Columbia = Columbia, city in Tennessee. See Google map of CPOH locations.

(to) company = to accompany

connects – as in “I’m making connects that aren’t” = connections

(to) conversation = to hold a conversation, to discuss

(to be) convinced up = convinced

(to be a) correct – as in “Cautious is a correct” (CPOH5, P12,p2) = to be correct, to be right

(a) counter = an encounter
(to) counter – as in “we countered infecteds” = (to) encounter

(a) crimer = a criminal

Crossed = basically depraved zombies, recognizable in that they have cross-markings on their face, generally naked, and speaking confusing cross-language.

Crunk = a sort of small Christian ecological sect/movement, mostly appealing to young people. Crunk paint Crossed-markings on their faces.

dads = dad

(to) dead – as in “but then afawk’s been getting us deaded lately” = kill

(to) debt (for) – as in “George, I’m debted for this” (CPOH4 P20,p3) = to be indebted (perhaps: to be the right fit for)

(a) decorated = a decorated thing

(to get) disastered = to undergo/experience a disaster

disconnected = upset

(a) discuss = a discussion

(a) do – as in “I want some more do” = something to do, activity

download – as in “download the carts” = unload

(a) drawn = a drawing

(to) easy – as in “you’re easied, me theifing your run-seat?” = to be comfortable with, to be OK with

eastpeoples = people from settlements back east, from Gapple

fact – as in “Wo. Fact, fuck wo.” (CPOH2 P16,p2) = in fact, actually

fashion-the-pan = passing fad, phonetic version of “flash in the pan”

Fewch = diminutive of the name Future. See also cast of characters here. (CPOH 1, P3,p4)

(to) food = to eat a meal
(a) fooding = meal

(a) forget – as in “then there was a great forget” (CPOH5 P2,p3) = a forgetting

Forward = name of a young man character. See cast of characters here.

front up = first up

fruit-picking = secret code word used on radionet for discussing the joint Chooga-Murfreesboro sweep Crossed-killing operation beginning in CPOH4.

fuck – as in “That’s a fuck exhale.” (CPOH1, P21,p4) = very, really big, huge, important

(the) Gapple, (the) Gapple Islands = New York City – shortened form of the Big Apple

gravel – as in “You think she’s got enough gravel?” = toughness, seriousness, experience, gravitas

(to get) grip – as in “got any grip on what this is?” = to understand

(to) go over = to become infected, Crossed

guberment = government (a somewhat foreign concept in 2108)

gubernor = governor

guilted – as in “people felt guilted” (CPOH2, P5,p4) = guilty

(to be) gunned up = to have lots of guns

halt up = hold up, stop for a while

(to) happy – as in “they’re just happied she’s not with the main mopping” = to be happy

(to) hate up – as in “he’s so hated up he actuals powers for escaping and revenge” (CPOH5 P5,p3) = to fill with hatred

heart – as in “I don’t heart it much” = love – as in I [heart] NYC, etc. (CPOH1 P3,p2)

home-device = maybe a home-movie camera

homed – as in “when we’re homed” = at home

Hooch Bag Ill = Taylor’s name for her home, in the former “[C]hoo Ch[oo] Ba[r & ]G[r]ill” – see CPOH3 P5,p5 (image.)

horde – as in “unless this one infected had a weapon-horde” (CPOH5 P8,p5) = hoard (perhaps 2108-speak uses horde instead of hoard? Grammarist differentiates them here – could be a nitpick error.)

horrorball, horror-ball =  phonetic version of “horrible”, generally refers to the Crossed or things associated with them

hup = an exclamation, perhaps equivalent to “hold up” or “hey!”

hurrahs – as in “What about you? Any hurrahs?” = successes, good things

hurrrr = seems to be just a speech-tick (Oldwoman George says this, maybe it’s a sound she makes when she kind of shudders)

(to) ice-out = chill-out, relax

illbillies = the Crossed (perhaps small rural band of Crossed)

Ima’am = female Islamic leader, a combination of Imam (an Islamic leader, I think pretty much always male) and ma’am (a polite term for addressing a woman, short for madam.)

(to) incident – as in “it’s only a true that hasn’t incidented yet” (CPOH5 P3,p1) = to happen

incest-cretins (written by Future Taylor CPOH1 P12,p1) = another name for the Crossed, though it might be a certain type of inbred Crossed

infected juice = infectious Cross bodily fluids

infecteds = the Crossed

Jackson = Jackson, a city in Tennessee. See Google map of CPOH locations.

juice = electicity

(to) kick = to go, to move, to travel

Klahoma = the state of Oklahoma

(a) know – as in “this is a hole in our know” = knowledge

kuffir = disbeliever, non-believer (according to this thread: “kaafir” is dis-believer, “kuffar” is plural of kaafir, or “kufr” is disbelief.)

(to do) learn = basic schooling (done in Chooga)
(a) freetime learn = something one studies as a hobby

(a) lively = something likely, a good possibility (perhaps it’s something a reporter or detective might call a “live lead”)

literated = writing a lot of literature (but perhaps a play on the word ‘obliterated’ too.) (CPOH2 P1,p2)

lossed = lost (CPOH1, P2,p1)

(to be) loose – as in “Cautious was looser than she let on over Forward.” (CPOH2, P13,p5) = to be struggling, hurt (emotionally), falling apart – opposite of tight
(to go) loose = to fall apart, to lose composure

Lewisburg = Lewisburg, a city in Tennessee. See Google map of CPOH locations.

(a) maybe – as in “…a shrine with candles and what was salt, at a maybe.” (CPOH4, P9,p4) = a possibility, a probable thing
(to) maybe – as “I’d got such a certain, and but I maybied bad” (CPOH5 P6,p2) = to speculate, to assume

(a) mean – as in “what’s your mean?” (CPOH6 P9,p2) = meaning (“what’s your mean?” could translate as “what do you mean?”)

(a) mice = a mouse

Missippi = Mississippi

(to) mop = to kill (the Crossed typically)

mother planet = an expression used by Crunk folk, more or less Mother Nature

(to be) motived = to be motivated

mouse-browns = mouse-shit, see “brown” above (CPOH 1, P7,p4)

mouth-sex = oral sex

mouth-stain = lipstick

movie – as in “this is movie!” = spectacular, epic, awesome. (From interview in Bleeding Cool 14, AM: “This is a world where we might be able to get something technological going enough to watch an old movie, but most people have never seen them, and they are certainly not going to be making them anytime soon. So, “movie” has come to mean “spectacular” or something like that.”)
bad movie = unbelievably bad
movier (than) = more spectacular (than)

Murfreesboro = Murfreesboro, a city in Tennessee. See Google map of CPOH locations.

nega = nigger

nest = place where Crossed breed

(a) new – as in “seems fair, news getting their turn” (CPOH4, P19,p2) = new person

(to) nose = (to) smell

nukewear = nuclear radiation containment suits

o-burgers = ostrich burgers
o-stocks = ostrich stocks

oh-eight – as in “radionet is oh-eight” = screwed-up, wrong, bad (This refers to 2008, the year of the Surprise – the disastrous first Crossed zombie outbreak.)  (CPOH1, P9,p5 and elsewhere)

olds = older people (seems to apply to people over around 30)

(to) opsy = to see, to investigate, to check things out. (Not sure if this is pronounced “opp-see” or “opp-sigh.” I thought it might come from some sort of military term, but commenter Neron pointed out that it’s derived from Greek language: opsis = sight.)

ossuary = pile of bones from dead bodies. Today, ossuary means a container where people keep the bone remains of a dead person.

outdoors-in – as in “a room that’s outdoors-in here” (CPOH2, P16,p1) = describes an indoor space that’s becoming overgrown (a bit like the term “inside-out.”)

paca = alpaca

packemin = “(wolf) pack coming” (CPOH1, P1,p3-4 and elsewhere, explained CPOH1, P19,p1)

(a) painted = a painting

passed = past

(a) people = a person
(the) peoples = (multiple) people

peoplekind = humans, humanity, mankind (CPOH1, P14,p4)

petrol – as in “you’re petrol.” = awesome, sweet, great. (Probably it refers to finding petrol – gasoline – as a rare, wonderful thing in this post-industrial place. It’s a bit like movie.)

(to be) phonied = to be phony, fake

(to) piss (one) up – as in “this pisses me up” (CPOH5 P6,p2) = to piss one off

(to do) plan = to plan

(a) play-in – as in “air play-ins” = airplane

(to) positive – as in “she could positive the run for me” (CPOH4, P21,p5) = to put in a good word, to encourage approval

(a) possible = a possibility

(a) printed = printed material – book, magazine, etc.

(to) proach = to approach

(a) published = published material – book, magazine

radionet = radio network that crew uses to contact Chooga. It may be a ham radio. (First mention CPOH1, p7,p4. Shown CPOH2, P10)

(to) random = to be random

(to) rash – as in “you’re rashed at me” = crazy, angry, upset. This refers to the cross-shaped “rash” on Crossed faces, so “to rash” is sort of to act like a Crossed. (CPOH1, P4,p2 and P13,p2)

(to) refuge = to take refuge

(to be) roaded = to go by road, to drive

(a) run = an expedition, a mission, a trip
(to) run – as in “how’s it running with you” = to go – as in how’s it going

runboss = leader in charge of the current run (expedition)

rungang = group traveling together

running-tribe = more or less what it sounds like: group of people who moved around evading Crossed.

(to) sad (up) – as in “it sads me up” = to make sad, to sadden

(to) see = to envision, to imagine (note: to opsy = to see)

(a) sensible = something sensible
(to make) sensible = to make sense

(a) settle = settlement, such as Chooga
(a) believe-settle = settlement that practices a religion, such as Murfreesboro

(to get) sexed = get messed up

(a) sextime – as in “we’re about three sextimes away” (CPOH1, P21,p2) = some unit of time or distance, perhaps roughly the time it takes to have sex – could be 2-10 minutes perhaps?
(a) sex-while – perhaps same as sextime?

(to be) shocked up = to be shocked

(the) Shout = recurring town hall meeting for Chooga

sis = sister

Soddy-Daisy = Soddy-Daisy, a city in Tennessee. See Google map of CPOH locations.

sole-singer = mistaken version of “Soul” singer

(to) skull – as in “once we could skull so many useless things” = to think, to think about, to imagine, to get one’s/our mind/s around, to understand
(a) skullbaby – as in “off radionet [is] churchy John’s skullbaby” (CPOH3, P17,p4) = brainchild, idea (thanks commenter Phil Uribe)
(to) skullbaby – as in “Robbie skullbabied ringing our birds” (CPOH4, P20,p2) = to have the idea, to have the brainchild
(a) skull-bull = obsession, recurring thought, something someone is thinking a lot about.

(the) slims = short for “muslims” – mostly refers to the Islamic people of the human settlement at Murfreesboro.

splashback = stuff splashing back – in CPOH2, blood splashed from Crossed being shot.

soft-on– as in “We go in with a soft-on, get infected, we’d run it back to Chooga.” (CPOH1, P21,p2) = less than full force, not ready

standouting = outstanding

(to do) strategic – as in “all these years they’ve been doing strategic” = to strategize, to act strategically

(a) sure = a sure thing

(the) Surprise = the very first big outbreak event of the Crossed zombie plague. Started in 2008, and, of course, drastically changed everything.
Surprise-escaper = someone who escaped the Surprise

(to do) survive – as in “all these years we’ve been doing survive” = to survive, to do what it takes to survive, to focus on survival
(to) survival = to survive

survivalers = survivalists

talker = speaker, loudspeaker

talksheets = broadsheets, more-or-less newspapers

(to) thief – as in “theifed ’em off peoples maybe” = to steal

(to) tight – as in “Tomo Milovic says the infected were mother planet’s way of tighting peoplekind.” (CPOH1, P14,p4) = to tighten, to keep safe, to stay close, to reduce numbers. See tight’s opposite: loose.
(to be) tight – as in “Forward, you be tight with the bus.” (CPOH1 P13,p5) = to stay close (more-or-less as today’s usage), also to be safe (as in “tight from infecteds” from CPOH2 P8,p2-3)

(to be) traitored up = to be infiltrated by traitors

(a) true = true thing, true statement, a truth, a reality (sometimes used at end of sentence like “right?” – as in “there still has to be a chance, true?)

Tullahoma = Tullahoma, a city in Tennessee. See Google map of CPOH locations. (CPOH1, P3,p1)

(an) understood = something understood

unguhvurruhmuh = thank you very much (in a Southern accent)

urbs = urban areas, cities

viroment = environment

wana = marijuana

West Memphis = a city in Arkansas, across the Mississippi River from Memphis, TN. See Google map of CPOH locations. (CPOH2, P6,p2)

what-for = purpose, reason (sometimes spelled just “what for“)

what’s on? = what is happening?

whoever = (used in place of) whomever

(to) wilder – as in “this always wilders me” = to bewilder

with – as in “if we’re with Chooga late afternoon” = (sometimes used in place of) at

Wi-Fi = Wishful Fiction, today’s science fiction

Wishful Fiction = science fiction

wo = exclamation – probably a short form of “whoa!” (CPOH2 P15,p3) (though the questionably-spelled “whoah” also appears CPOH5 P2,p1)

(to) word out – as in “Robbie and the Ima’am worded out policy together” (CPOH4 P11,p5) = to negotiate, to work out

yeah = greeting, like “hello”, seems to be used in slightly more formal situations (when run leaders greet Chooga leader Oldwoman George in CPOH3 P3) (Thanks commenter Charlotte Gore)

(to) yell – as in “Cautious, yell Robbie” (CPOH1 P15,p3) = to call (as in verbally shout calling someone)

youngs = young people

>More 2108-speak detail at my general notes on CPOH language and my blog post on CPOH language
>Go to Crossed Plus One Hundred Annotation Index