Last week I took a little break from some of the Trinidad posts, but this week it’s back on! My only promise this week is to keep them short and to the point. To start back where I left off, I saw this Trini Dictionary and went searching for uncommon knowledge to fill our minds with.
Today’s word is a slang word used in Trinidad & Tobago:
Bawlin’ – To be without financial means. To be broke. To be poor.
English is the official lingo of the island, but there are several words that may be unrecognizable to the visitor. I chose this word because it sounds exactly like the slang word ‘ballin’ used here in the states to describe someone with an excessive amount of money, whips, bling-bling and other lavish items. Had I heard this word in Trinidad I would have probably thought the exact opposite of the meaning for ‘bawlin.’ One can certainly see how they concocted this bit of slang.